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Alien (1979 – Directed by Ridley Scott)

Scriptwriter Dan O’Bannon was down on his luck when he conceived the idea for Alien. At the time he was living at Ronald Shusett’s house and was desperate to no longer be sleeping on his friend’s sofa. The two of them got together to write the screenplay for Alien and were surprised at the positive reaction it received from the studios after they sent it out. But they knew the Hollywood system well enough to know that projects can easily fall apart, “Everything had fallen through for us. Nothing had ever worked,” O’Bannon said. Even after they received their first paycheck they continued to be pessimistic. Fortunately sci-fi was hot in Hollywood at the time, owing to the massive success of Star Wars, and the project continued to expand, “We caught this science fiction boom just right… our script was on the market just a month after Star Wars was released.”

O’Bannon has said in early interviews that producers David Giler and Walter Hill only wanted to give him a story-writing credit in the finished film, claiming that they had extensively re-written the original screenplay. It appears that their motivation was simply to steal the credit from rookies O’Bannon and Shusett. The producers clearly had a change of heart throughout the lengthy production process and O’Bannon would be given sole writing credit with Shusett receiving co-story credit with O’Bannon.

Whilst shooting the classic chest-burster sequence, director Ridley Scott thought the best way to get a realistic reaction from his actors was to not tell them exactly how intense (and bloody) the effect was going to be. Actress Veronica Cartwright’s (Lambert) performance perfectly captures her surprise and horror as the gory scene unfolded before her eyes - and all over her face!

John Hurt had initially been considered for the role of Kane but a scheduling conflict meant that they had to cast actor Jon Finch instead. Hurt was supposed to be filming Zulu Dawn (1979) in South Africa, although he was denied entry into the country when they confused him with actor John Heard (who was banned from South Africa for his political views). The weekend that Hurt returned to London he was informed that Jon Finch had been taken seriously ill. Ridley Scott immediately got in touch with Hurt to ask him if he wanted the part and Hurt was on the set the following morning, albeit very tired!

The working title for the script was Star Beast. In footage from the making of the movie the clapperboard can sometimes be seen to read The Alien.

The writers of the movie never intended for Ripley to be female – during the early stages of pre-production John Travolta was considered for the role.

Aliens (1986 – Directed by James Cameron)

Gordon Carroll, one of the executive producers on Aliens, says that James Cameron’s pitch for the movie was as simple as walking up to a chalkboard, writing the word ‘alien’ and adding an ‘s’ – to which he then drew a line through to make ‘$.’ Oh, and he had just made a little film called The Terminator, so that may have swung it for him!

Tip Tipping, who starred as Pvt. Crowe, was also a very well respected stunt performer in films such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Batman (1989) and Robin Hood: Prince of Theives (1991) as well as a couple of the Bond movies. Sadly in 1993 he was filming the BBC television show 999 (about real-life accidents) when his parachute failed to open and he tragically plunged to his death.

Alien 3 (1992 – Directed by David Fincher)

Michael Biehn was paid more for Alien 3 than he was for Aliens – even though he doesn’t actually star in it! The money he received was merely for the use of his photograph that featured at the beginning of the movie.

Actor Charles S. Dutton, who played the inmate Dillon, was charged and convicted of the death of a man he got into a fight with when he was 17-years old. He served seven years in prison for manslaughter and only a few months after being released he was charged with possession of a deadly weapon and sentenced to three more years in prison. Maybe he was just getting into character for Alien 3?

With it being director David Fincher’s debut feature film, the executives at Fox kept a very close eye on the young director during production. It was clearly the cause of much friction on set. In the documentary chronicling the making of the movie, Wreckage and Rage, Fincher grabs a boom microphone and says into it, “It’s amazing to me that Fox is the number one studio in the country because they’re all such a bunch of morons.” This scene had initially been omitted from the Alien Anthology DVD box-set release but was restored for the Blu-ray version – along with over twenty minutes of other excised footage featuring Fincher’s difficulties on set.

An American Werewolf in London (1981 – Directed by John Landis)

The scene in which David and Jack are attacked on the moors was actually filmed on the grounds of Windsor Castle in Windsor Great Park.

After Michael Jackson saw the movie he fell in love with it so much that he hired director John Landis and special effects make-up artist Rick Baker to work on his Thriller video. John Landis’s wife, Deborah, designed Jackson’s now iconic red costume for the video. Only two of the jackets were ever made, one of which recently sold at auction for $1.8 million. Deborah Nadoolman Landis is also notable for creating the fedora and jacket for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The Amityville Horror (1975 – Directed by Stuart Rosenberg)

Peter O’Neill Jr. who lived in the real Amityville house between 1987 and 1997 was one of the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001. The 21-year-old was training to become a bond trader at his Uncle’s firm, Sander O’Neill & Partners on the 104^th floor of Tower Two.

The original film has spawned thirteen sequels to date – a lot of which seem to have nothing to do with the original storyline and film: Amityville II: The Possession (1982), Amityville 3-D: The Demon (1983), Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes (1989), The Amityville Curse (1990), Amityville 1992: It’s About Time (1992), Amityville: A New Generation (1993), Amityville Dollhouse: Evil Never Dies (1996), The Amityville Horror (2005), The Amityville Haunting (2011), The Amityville Asylum (2013), Amityville Death House (2015), The Amityville Playhouse (2015) and Amityville: The Awakening (2017).

Anaconda (1997 – Directed by Luis Llosa)

Whilst shooting the film a power surge caused one of the massive animatronic snakes to go completely out of control, thrashing around as if it were a real anaconda. Actor Ice-Cube (Danny Rich) said that, “It was like fantasy and reality merging.” The cameras were actually rolling at the time but they cut when they realized that the snake had gone completely loco – however, the filmmakers did include some of the footage in the finished film.

Actor Eric Stoltz (Dr. Steven Cale) has said that he didn’t really have a fear of snakes before working on the movie - that was until he encountered a real 15-foot anaconda on the balcony of the hotel he was staying at whilst shooting the film in Brazil.

In 2014 wildlife expert Paul Rosolie announced that he was going to allow himself to be eaten alive by a giant anaconda whilst wearing a specially constructed protective suit. After all the hype surrounding the Discovery Channel show (Eaten Alive) viewers were disappointed to witness Rosolie merely wrestle with the snake for a minute or two before complaining that his arm was hurting. After viewers had waited for almost two hours for the big event, Rosolie was quickly pulled away from the snake and the whole debacle was quickly aborted. Disgruntled viewers quickly took to Twitter to voice their opinion that the program was all a big hoax.

Annabelle (2014 – Directed by John R. Leonetti)

The real Annabelle doll is quite unlike the one featured in both The Conjuring and Annabelle, although the stories connected to her are equally as chilling. The doll, which is actually a Raggedy Ann doll, is currently housed at the Warren Occult Museum in Connecticut, USA. It resides in a specially built cabinet with a holy cross above it and the words, ‘Warning – Positively do not open’ written upon it. The doll was said to be possessed by a deceased 7-year-old-girl called Annabelle Higgins and would often be found in different rooms or positions around the house. Notes were mysteriously found in the handwriting of a small child and blood appeared on the doll’s hands and chest. It was only when the doll physically attacked someone that the famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (the Amityville and haunting in Connecticut investigations) were brought in to attempt an exorcism on the doll. They concluded that a demon inhabited the doll, not a young girl. It has been alleged that a man who taunted the doll at the Warren Occult Museum died in a motorcycle accident shortly after his visit.

Taken from Incredible Horror Movie Facts

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Killian H. Gore presents an incredible collection of shocking true tales from over 100 horror movies. From the weird to the scary to the completely unbelievable! Discover some of the most bizarre stories in the annals of horror film history and experience a little of the mad and the macabre with each bloodcurdling entry. Read all about... The haunted history of the Evil Dead cabin. The Jaws: The Revenge actress murdered by her father. The 9/11 victim who lived in the Amityville house. The stuntman mauled to death by a shark. The fired film director who returned to the set in disguise. The UFO incident that inspired The Blob. And finally, Killian H. Gore reveals the truth behind the story of Ellen Mort - the "serial killer in the family!" PLUS! The Wicker Man inspired short story: Morning Jogger.