Shudder Announces a Second Season of CURSED FILMS!

Season One Was Shudder’s Second-Most-Watched Series After ‘Creepshow’ and Most-Watched Documentary Ever 

August 6, 2020 — Shudder today announced the season two pickup of hit docu-series Cursed Films, written, directed and executive produced by Jay Cheel (How to Build a TIme Machine). Cursed Films explores the facts and legends around iconic films and franchises whose casts and crews have been struck by misfortune and tragedy. The first season examined The Omen, Poltergeist, The Exorcist, The Crow and Twilight Zone: The Movie. Season two, now in production and set to premiere in 2021, will turn its focus to a new group of “cursed” films whose titles will be revealed at a later date. 

“Season one of Cursed Films captivated audiences with its thoughtful but unflinching exploration of the often tragic events surrounding some of history’s most notorious productions, becoming an instant hit for us and earning rave reviews from both critics and viewers. Since its debut, the number one question we’ve been asked is: Will there be more, and how soon? We’re delighted to say that we’re partnering with Jay once again for a second season of Cursed Films that will be even bigger and better than the first,” said Craig Engler, Shudder’s General Manager.

“Filming season one of Cursed Films was an amazing experience, so I’m thrilled to have the chance to interview a new group of talented filmmakers and film critics while exploring the stories behind five more legendarily ill-fated film productions. This time around we’ll be heading outside of North America for a few episodes, which will not only widen the scope of the series but offer an exciting collection of stories connected to a diverse group of movies,” said Cheel.

“We’re thrilled to be on board for the second season of Cursed Films and to be working with Jay and Shudder. We can’t wait to dive into the fascinating stories behind these films and see where Jay’s bold vision and creative approach takes us this season,” said executive producers Jonas Prupas and Courtney Dobbins.

Cursed Films features conversations cast and crew who were there to witness these tragedies firsthand—and bear the weight of them to this day—along with writers, scholars and experts. The show debuted in April as the second most-watched series premiere in Shudder history, behind only breakout hit Creepshow. Cursed Films also stands as the service’s most-watched documentary premiere (series or film) ever. 

Season two of Cursed Films will be written, directed and edited by Jay Cheel (How to Build a Time Machine) and executive produced by Jonas Prupas and Courtney Dobbins from Muse Entertainment, along with Jay Cheel and Brian Robertson from Low End. 

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ABOUT SHUDDER

AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Germany. New members can enjoy 30-days free with the promo code SHUTIN when signing up at Shudder.com.

ABOUT MUSE

Muse Entertainment is a leading film and television production company known for its well-crafted and high-quality productions. Muse Entertainment’s most recent television series are the police procedurals Coroner (CBC) and The Murders (Citytv), the horror drama Being Human (Sy Fy), as well as the miniseries The Kennedys: After Camelot (Bell). The latter is the sequel to Muse’s 8-hr. historical drama The Kennedys, which earned 10 Emmy Award nominations. Muse recently produced documentary series include: The Real Red October (National Geographic), Cara Takes Up Space (OutTv) and Collision Course (Blue Ant). The company also produces TV movies for Disney (Turkey Drop, Cyber Bully) and Hallmark (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Gourmet Detective Mysteries, Christmas entertainment and romantic comedies). Muse has a number of projects in production with major US networks including Discovery, CNN, CBS and Netflix.

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CURSED FILMS Is the Second Biggest Premiere Ever on Shudder!

New Show Is Shudder’s Most-Watched Series After ‘Creepshow’
And Most-Watched Documentary Ever 

April 9, 2020 — The Shudder original series Cursed Films debuted to huge numbers for the streaming service, becoming the second most-watched series premiere in Shudder history behind only breakout hit Creepshow. Cursed Films also stands as the service’s most-watched documentary premiere (series or film) ever. The series, which is part of Shudder’s “Halfway to Halloween Month” programming lineup, released its second and third episodes earlier today, focused on The Omen and Poltergeist.

“Cursed Films became an instant hit for us across every metric we have, including total number of viewers, percentage of subscribers who watched during its opening weekend, and completion rate,” said Craig Engler, Shudder’s General Manager. “Jay Cheel’s thoughtful — and at times heartbreaking  — examination of the tragic events that led people to label films like The Exorcist and The Omen ‘cursed’ has clearly resonated with audiences and critics.”

“The entire Cursed Films team is thrilled by the enthusiastic response the series has received from critics and horror fans,” said series writer/director Jay Cheel. “It was a deeply gratifying experience traveling around the US and Canada, interviewing some childhood horror heroes along with some of the most intelligent, articulate, and empathetic subjects a documentary filmmaker could ask for. We're so excited to finally be able to share the finished product with Shudder's members who we hope find the experience of watching Cursed Films as rewarding as we did making it.” 

Cursed Films explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror film productions through interviews with experts, witnesses and the cast, directors and producers who experienced these events first hand. Were these movies really cursed, as many believe, or just victims of bad luck and bizarre circumstances? The Exorcist star Linda Blair, The Omen director Richard Donner, Poltergeist III director Gary Sherman, podcaster Matt Gourley, critic April Wolfe and Fangoria editor Phil Nobile Jr are among the many insiders and experts interviewed for the series.

Last week’s record-breaking premiere focused on the legend and impact of The Exorcist “curse.” Episodes two and three, premiering today, explore whether the Devil himself might have cursed The Omen, and if a curse might be connected to the tragic deaths associated with the Poltergeist franchise. The final two episodes, examining the horrific deaths on the sets of The Crow and Twilight Zone: The Movie, will premiere Thursday, April 16. 

Cursed Films is written, directed and edited by Jay Cheel (How to Build a Time Machine) and executive produced by Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith and Laura Perlmutter for First Love Films, along with Jay Cheel and Brian Robertson. 

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ABOUT FIRST LOVE FILMS

Laura Perlmutter and Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith created FIRST LOVE to create exceptional screen based content regardless of the platform. Since 2012, FIRST LOVE has played on the most prestigious screens across the world, including Sundance, TIFF, Locarno, and AFI. FIRST LOVE has taken home over dozens of top awards including a Canadian Screen Award, Grand Prix at Claremont Ferrand, and the Locarno’s Jury Prize. Most recently First Love produced COLD (New Form/Go90), WARIGAMI (CW/CBC), CURSED (AMC/Shudder), and the critically acclaimed horror film THE DARK (Dark Sky).

ABOUT SHUDDER

AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Germany. New members can enjoy 30-days free with the promo code SHUTIN when signing up at Shudder.com.

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First Trailer, Poster, & Premiere Date for Shudder's New Docu-Series CURSED FILMS

Written, Directed & Edited by 

Jay Cheel 

Executive Producers

 Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith 

Laura Perlmutter 

Brian Robertson 

Jay Cheel 

Featuring interviews with 

Lance Anderson • Hector Avalos • Bridget Baiss • Nate Bales Vincent Bauhaus • Stefano Beninati • Michael Berryman • Linda Blair Tony Burke • Sean Clark • Michael Correll • Douglas Cowan • Eileen Dietz Richard Donner • Stephen Farber • Colin Geddes • Matt Gourley • Sarah Graff Kane Hodder • Robert Hofler • Richard Holloman • Mitch Horowitz Matthew Hutson • Lloyd Kaufman • E.A. Koetting • Barton Lane Max MacDonald • Joseph Mazur • Matt Miller • Jeff Most • Mace Neufeld Phil Nobile Jr. • Craig Reardon • Clay Routledge • Richard Sawyer Gary Sherman • Michael Shermer • Ryan Turek • 

April Wolfe Series trailer: https://youtu.be/X4LZBEVlSXA 

A Shudder Original Series | 5 x 30’ Episodes | Premieres April 2, 2020

SYNOPISIS Cursed Films is a five-part documentary series which explores the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror film productions. From plane accidents and bombings during the making of The Omen, to the rumored use of real human skeletons on the set of Poltergeist, these stories are legendary amongst film fans and filmmakers alike. But where does the truth lie? 

Cursed Films reveals the events that haunted these productions through interviews with experts, witnesses and the cast, directors and producers who lived through the real-life events. Were these films really cursed, as many believe, or just the victims of bad luck and bizarre circumstances?

EPISODES 

The Exorcist — Premieres April 2 The release of The Exorcist was surrounded by controversy, as reports of fainting theatre-goers and mysterious on-set accidents raised questions as to whether or not the film itself was evil. 

Poltergeist — Premieres April 9 Untimely deaths connected to the making of the Poltergeist films inspire rumors that the production was cursed, stoked by stories that real human skeletons were used during the making of the film. 

The Omen — Premieres April 9 A series of unfortunate events plague the cast and crew during the making of The Omen, raising fears that the film might be cursed by the devil himself.

The Crow — Premieres April 16 Years after Bruce Lee’s mysterious death is attributed to the “Lee Family Curse,” his son Brandon’s life was cut short due to a tragic on-set accident during the making of The Crow. 

Twilight Zone: The Movie — Premieres April 16 A horrific on-set accident during the production of Twilight Zone: The Movie leaves those involved in the making of the film cursed by the memory of the incident they witnessed.

ABOUT JAY CHEEL 

Jay Cheel's debut doc feature, "Beauty Day", premiered at NY's MOMA as part of their Canadian Front Programming Series. The film was also an official selection at the Hot Docs and was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Doc in 2012. His follow-up, "How to Build a Time Machine", premiered at Hot Docs, and screened at AFI, Rotterdam, and DOC NYC. 

ABOUT FIRST LOVE FILMS 

Laura Perlmutter and Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith created FIRST LOVE to create exceptional screen based content regardless of the platform. Since 2012, FIRST LOVE has played on the most prestigious screens across the world, including Sundance, TIFF, Locarno, and AFI. FIRST LOVE has taken home over dozens of top awards including a Canadian Screen Award, Grand Prix at Claremont Ferrand, and the Locarno’s Jury Prize. Most recently First Love produced COLD (New Form/Go90), WARIGAMI (CW/CBC), CURSED (AMC/Shudder), and the critically acclaimed horror film THE DARK (Dark Sky). 

ABOUT SHUDDER 

AMC Networks’ Shudder is a premium streaming video service, super-serving members with the best selection in genre entertainment, covering horror, thrillers and the supernatural. Shudder’s expanding library of film, TV series, and originals is available on most streaming devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Germany. To experience Shudder commitment-free for 7 days, visit www.shudder.com Press Contact: sean.redlitz@shudder.com.

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