Acorn Media International, out now

A thrilling five-part documentary series examining the stories behind some of Hollywood’s most spine-chilling movies.

Shudder’s documentary series about the urban myths that have surrounded a number of horror movies is a fascinating watch, not least because it is so balanced, featuring fascinating testimony and opinion from experts inside and outside the entertainment industry.

Each of the half-hour segments has either a star or key production personnel as the backbone to the episode. This is then supported by cloud from the movie, contemporary news footage and expert analysis. This first series covers the Poltergeist trilogy, The Omen, The Exorcist, The Crow and Twilight Zone: The Movie.

To its credit, the series does not perpetuate the myth that a film can be cursed. It explains the tragic events that happened around each film (death of cast and crew during and post production by illness or accident) and then rationalises why these things happened.

It’s an emotive experience for those who were present at the death of their colleagues, and they are understandably still haunted by what they experienced. The footage of the helicopter coming down and killing Vic Morrow and two young children is very hard to watch.

The greater point made here is that it’s disrespectful to the dead to suggest that they died because the devil suddenly focused his attentions on a Hollywood movie. Most of these stories were used as PR at the time of release to help with the box office and deserve to be held up real-world scrutiny. This release contains fascinating audio commentaries on all episodes by writer, director and editor Jay Cheel.

Verdict: Not the tacky, superficial show its title suggests, but a nuanced and sensible look at a cultural phenomenon. 9/10

Nick Joy

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