World’s Most Cursed Movie: It's not just the horror on-screen that left people shaken — it’s the terrifying events that unfolded off-screen during the making of this 1976 horror film. Nearly five decades later, the tragic incidents surrounding this movie still send chills down the spine.
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This is not about The Conjuring or Annabelle — the movie revolves around story of Damien, a child believed to be the incarnation of the devil. But what happened behind the scenes during its filming has earned it the title of Hollywood’s most cursed movie ever.
Directed by Richard Donner (who later became famous for Superman), The Omen starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. It was meant to scare audiences — but no one expected the cast and crew to face real-life horror during its production.
The first “omen” occurred before shooting even began. In 1975, just weeks before filming, Gregory Peck’s son died by suicide , a devastating loss that cast a dark shadow over the film from the start.
In one chilling scene, Lee Remick’s character is attacked by a group of baboons. Her terrified screams? 100% real. Director Richard Donner later revealed that the fear on her face wasn’t acting- it was raw panic.
The very next day, a zookeeper assisting with the animal scenes was mauled to death by a tiger.
Multiple flights associated with the film were struck by lightning:
Gregory Peck’s plane to London was hit, and one engine caught fire.
A few weeks later, producer Mace Neufeld’s plane was also struck.
Screenwriter David Seltzer’s plane didn’t escape the lightning either.
Even producer Harvey Bernard narrowly escaped a strike while filming in Rome.
While filming in the UK, Mace Neufeld and his wife narrowly avoided a terrorist bombing by the Irish Republican Army. The hotel they were staying in was bombed but they survived because they weren’t inside at the time.
In a spine-chilling twist, the crew had chartered a flight, but Chinese businessmen outbid them at the last moment. The plane they were supposed to be on crashed shortly after takeoff, killing everyone onboard.
It collided with a flock of birds, crashed through a fence, and slammed into a car, killing even more people.
Perhaps the most disturbing event was the death of special effects artist John Richardson’s partner, Liz Moore, in a tragic car accident. One of the wheels from the crash decapitated her ,eerily similar to the infamous death scene Richardson had worked on for The Omen.
As if that weren’t chilling enough, Richardson later reported seeing a road sign at the crash site pointing to a town named Ommen, just 66.6 kilometers away.
Actor David Warner was struck by a car during filming.
A stuntman was bitten by aggressive Rottweilers, who tore through his protective suit.
The film set was constantly plagued with injuries, delays, and strange coincidences.
(All Imaged: IMDB)
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