5 Horror Films That Were Scarier Behind the Scenes

We love giving you the creeps with the horror-themed escape rooms at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game, but sometimes, setting out to freak people out puts you in danger of being the one who gets the biggest scare of all.

That’s definitely something that the cast and crew of these five famous horror films learned the hard way.

1. The Exorcist (1973)

Inarguably one of the most successful horror films of all time, The Exorcist hasn’t just been terrifying audiences for decades—its cast and crew also received a good dose of fear. Several odd occurrences made filming a nightmare: rigging fell down, sets burnt to the ground, and star Linda Blair nearly broke her back from a prop malfunction. Then there’s the large number of people connected to the film who died or fell ill during its production. It was all convincing enough that a priest was brought in to bless the set.

2. The Omen (1976)

Where to begin with “The Omen Curse.” It shouldn’t be surprising that the crew of a film about the spawn of the devil was subjected to a little bit of terror, but they definitely got more than they bargained for.

Not only did lightning strike the plane carrying novelist/screenwriter David Seltzers, lightning also struck a plane carrying star Gregory Peck. On the first day of filming, crewmembers were in a head-on car crash. After that, Peck nearly boarded another plane to Israel, which crashed and killed all onboard. Director Richard Donner didn’t escape the curse either—he was both hit by a car and stayed in a hotel that was bombed by the IRA. Worst of all: this isn’t even a complete list of what happened to the poor crew of The Omen.

3. The Shining (1980)

The behind-the-scenes horror of The Shining comes in two forms: eerie coincidence and director Stanley Kubrick’s notorious antics. At the end of filming, a massive fire broke out at the hotel that stood in as the Overlook—which is exactly what happens at the end of Stephen King’s original novel.

But the more menacing onset horror might be Kubrick’s treatment of actress Shelley Duvall. He intentionally put her under insane stress, including making her and Jack Nicholson film the famous bat scene a record-breaking 127 times. He even asked the cast and crew to torment Duvall—and the shoot lasted a massive 500 days. Sounds like a fun time.

3. The Amityville Horror (2005)

The set of The Amityville Horror, starring Ryan Reynolds, perhaps offers a better example of how a film can get in your head than of supernatural events. Just like the psychopathic character he portrays in the film, George Lutz, Reynolds woke up precisely at 3:15 am. And it wasn’t just him—several members of the crew found their eyes popping open at this particular hour.

5. The Conjuring 1 and 2 (2013 and 2016)

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga must be braver than the average Hollywood star, because they filmed not one but two Conjuring films—with supernatural events occurring on both sets. The crew’s hotel caught on fire, a member of the real-life family that the film is based on broke a hip, and dogs started barking when no one was around. Creepiest of all, curtains moved when there was no wind, while trees stood still when there was. We’ll see if the stars come back for a third Conjuring, or if they’ve had enough.

Now we dare you to play one of Krakit’s three horror-themed escape rooms with the scary-factor turned all the way up to 11. Book here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Top 5 Jump Scares in Film History

Here at Krakit Escape Room, one of our favourite things in films and in our escape games is the jump scare. Why? Because it’s the best part of being a horror fan—it’s what we’re all waiting for and simultaneously what we’re all dreading.

The music starts to get all intense and screechy or, alternatively, everything drops dead silent. And then—WHAM. It’s got you. Because there are two essential parts to any good jump scare: the build up and the actual scare. One just can’t exist without the other.

Below we list our top five perfectly built up and perfectly executed jump scares. (Spoilers ahead!)

5. Alien (1979)—Dallas’s death in the air vents

In Alien, it’s the ping, ping, pinging of the motion tracker that builds much of the suspense the franchise is known for. And this scene is no exception. Nostromo captain Dallas crawls into the pitch-black vents in an attempt to force the xenomorph into the airlock, and then out into outer space. We watch, breathlessly, as the pings of his tracker getting ever more frequent.

Unfortunately, the alien has the upper hand in the dark, cramped space of the air vents, popping up out of the blackness to end it all for Dallas, in one of cinema’s classics jump scares.

4. It Follows (2014)—The bedroom scene

A primary reason It Follows has been named one of the best horror films in recent years is it’s perfect use of music to build up tension. It uses a classic screeching horror score in combination with dead silence to pull off some masterful scare jumps. This scene, where a tall man suddenly enters Jay’s bedroom, is one of the film’s best.

3. Mulholland Drive (2001)—Diner dream scene

Though more of a thriller than a horror, David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive has one of the most perfectly controlled jump scares out there. The very simple yet incredibly eerie build up—during which a man tells another man of a strange dream he had about the very diner they’re sitting in—is what makes this one of the best.

The slow switch from reality to dream and the two men’s incredibly tense walk from the diner to the alleyway behind it—to see if the dream holds true—means that absolutely anything that awaited them at the end of that walk would have the audience jumping from their seats.

2. The Descent (2005)—The night vision scene

The Descent doesn’t just have a few choice jump scares, but actually employs the jump scare formula throughout the entire film. The “atmosphere” comes courtesy of the labyrinthine and claustrophobic cave chain the protagonists are stuck in, and the “scare” comes courtesy of the creatures that are down there with them, just waiting to pop out.

The creatures’ first appearance, in the night vision scene, is just the cherry on top of a perfectly nerve-wracking film with several acutely scary moments.

1. The Shining (1980)—Danny’s tricycle ride

This granddaddy of all jump scares has an incredibly long build up and a flawless payoff.

We watch little Danny Torrance take the most terrifying bicycle ride in history, with every corner he turns becoming more and more stressful. With one major false start at the middle that makes the audience drop its guard too early, the scene’s grand finale—the sudden appearance of the Grady twins—is almost more than a viewer can take.

At Krakit, we employ live actors to spice up our eerie atmospheres with a right good scare. But remember, the jumps you get at Krakit Vancouver Escape Room are all in good fun! There’s never any real danger.