Movies that horrifyingly killed people in real life
"That movie scared me to death!" How many times have you said this after exiting a theater? For a film fan — especially one who appreciates a healthy dose of pulse-pounding horror and/or good old-fashioned big-screen excitement — those words can be one of the highest compliments you can pay a movie, even if we never mean them literally at all. But the next time you say it, keep this in mind: you're lucky to be leaving the theater at all, because for some people, the final credits truly are final. It doesn't happen often, but it's true — sometimes, buying that ticket, stopping by the concession stand, and sitting down for a couple hours of seemingly innocent entertainment turns out to be some of the last things people ever do. With that scary fact in mind, here's a look at some movies that literally killed viewers in real life.
Heart attack - Jaws (1975)
Steven Spielberg pioneered the summer blockbuster in 1975 with his thriller-horror flick Jaws, starring Roy Schneider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and a great white shark named Bruce. Until Spielberg's friend George Lucas released his space opera Star Wars in 1977, Jaws held the title of being the highest-grossing film of all time, earning over $470 million worldwide on an estimated $7 million production budget. All it took was a heart-pounding soundtrack, some blood, and a set of massive jaws to scare viewers out of the water for years to come—those who were lucky enough to make it out of the theater, that is.
On September 9, 1975, a few months after Jaws arrived in theaters, 45-year old Elmer C. Sommerfield attended a screening at Ford City Cinema in Chicago, IL, with his wife Marilyn. Forty-five minutes into the film, Sommerfield collapsed of a heart attack. Sommerfield's wife alerted the theater manager, Vince Tripodi, of the situation and he called for an ambulance. In the meantime, two doctors in the audience administered CPR for ten minutes until paramedics could arrive. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough—Sommerfield died on the way to the hospital, and Tripodi told The Chicago Tribune that he had never seen something like that happen during his 27 years working in movie theaters.
Death by over-excitement - Avatar (2009)
James Cameron's 3D CGI epic Avatar marked a groundbreaking achievement in visual effects, but they unfortunately proved to be a little too stimulating for one poor soul in Taiwan. An unidentified 42-year-old man felt ill and left a showing of Avatar; by the time he reached the emergency room, he was unconscious from a severe stroke, and 11 days later he died. The man had a history of high blood pressure, and doctors blamed his death on "over-excitement from watching the movie." We're honestly not sure whether that counts as a positive or negative review.
Collapsed from shock - Aliens (1986)
Aliens isn't even the scariest entry in the franchise, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back for a student in India. After staying up all night to watch a horror movie marathon that also included Blood, Ghost, and Atmakatha, M. Prabhakar excused himself to use the restroom. He emerged screaming and collapsed from shock, dying shortly after.
According to the Times of India, Prabhakar's collapse wasn't initially noticed by his fellow filmgoers, and by the time they tried resuscitating him, the movie marathon was over and it was too late to save him. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.
Dead on arrival - The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The Conjuring franchise gains an extra queasy dollop of scariness thanks to the fact that it's based on the allegedly real-life exploits of actual people, which has helped the two movies (and counting) in the series scare up positive reviews and impressive box-office receipts. But 2016's The Conjuring 2 may have been a little too scary for one filmgoer in India. According to a June 17, 2016 report published by the Times of India, an unidentified attendee at a screening in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu passed away during the movie's final act—and the story only gets weirder from there.
The afflicted viewer, described as a 65-year-old male, reportedly complained of chest pains during the film and was taken to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. His body was then remanded to another hospital for further examination, but it never arrived—as the Times put it, the driver "disappeared with the deceased's body," prompting an investigation to determine the whereabouts (and the identity) of the dead man. Perhaps we'll hear more about the story in a Conjuring sequel a decade or two from now.
Found unresponsive - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Sure, lots of people say they would rather die than watch Twilight. But how many people have actually done it? One that we know of, and it's really a sad story. 23-year-old Damian Anthony Smythe sneaked into a screening of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in Wellington, New Zealand during the summer of 2010, and was found unresponsive when the lights came up—with an empty one-liter bottle of whiskey on the floor next to him.
The coroner's findings were pretty much what you'd expect, given the details: Smythe's death was attributed to acute alcohol toxicity, and described in the report as "a sad, tragic loss of the life of a person so young." Smythe's father acknowledged his son's drinking problem, telling reporters he'd tried convincing him to enter rehab, to no avail.
Two incidents from The Passion of the Christ
Mel Gibson's biblical epic was criticized by some viewers for excess gore and violence in depicting the death and resurrection of Jesus. Those critics may have had a point, given that two people are known to have died during screenings of the film.
The first incident occurred in Feb. 2004 during a screening in Wichita, Kansas, where 56-year-old Peggy Scott suffered a fatal heart attack during the movie's crucifixion scene—understatedly described by a spokesperson for a local TV station as "the highest emotional part of the movie." A nurse who happened to be in the theater tried reviving Scott, but her efforts were unsuccessful, and Scott was pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital.
One month later, the same fate was suffered by Jose Geraldo Soares, a 43-year-old Brazilian pastor who'd rented out a theater to watch the movie with his congregation. During the film, Soares' wife noticed he'd lost consciousness; as was the case with Peggy Scott's death, a medical professional happened to be in the theater, but they were unable to save Soares. Although some were quick to blame the film's violence for Soares' passing, a family friend disputed those allegations, retorting, "He was calmly watching the movie next to his wife."
source: (https://www.looper.com/)
Heart attack - Jaws (1975)
On September 9, 1975, a few months after Jaws arrived in theaters, 45-year old Elmer C. Sommerfield attended a screening at Ford City Cinema in Chicago, IL, with his wife Marilyn. Forty-five minutes into the film, Sommerfield collapsed of a heart attack. Sommerfield's wife alerted the theater manager, Vince Tripodi, of the situation and he called for an ambulance. In the meantime, two doctors in the audience administered CPR for ten minutes until paramedics could arrive. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough—Sommerfield died on the way to the hospital, and Tripodi told The Chicago Tribune that he had never seen something like that happen during his 27 years working in movie theaters.
Death by over-excitement - Avatar (2009)
James Cameron's 3D CGI epic Avatar marked a groundbreaking achievement in visual effects, but they unfortunately proved to be a little too stimulating for one poor soul in Taiwan. An unidentified 42-year-old man felt ill and left a showing of Avatar; by the time he reached the emergency room, he was unconscious from a severe stroke, and 11 days later he died. The man had a history of high blood pressure, and doctors blamed his death on "over-excitement from watching the movie." We're honestly not sure whether that counts as a positive or negative review.
Collapsed from shock - Aliens (1986)
According to the Times of India, Prabhakar's collapse wasn't initially noticed by his fellow filmgoers, and by the time they tried resuscitating him, the movie marathon was over and it was too late to save him. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.
Dead on arrival - The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The afflicted viewer, described as a 65-year-old male, reportedly complained of chest pains during the film and was taken to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. His body was then remanded to another hospital for further examination, but it never arrived—as the Times put it, the driver "disappeared with the deceased's body," prompting an investigation to determine the whereabouts (and the identity) of the dead man. Perhaps we'll hear more about the story in a Conjuring sequel a decade or two from now.
Found unresponsive - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Sure, lots of people say they would rather die than watch Twilight. But how many people have actually done it? One that we know of, and it's really a sad story. 23-year-old Damian Anthony Smythe sneaked into a screening of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in Wellington, New Zealand during the summer of 2010, and was found unresponsive when the lights came up—with an empty one-liter bottle of whiskey on the floor next to him.
The coroner's findings were pretty much what you'd expect, given the details: Smythe's death was attributed to acute alcohol toxicity, and described in the report as "a sad, tragic loss of the life of a person so young." Smythe's father acknowledged his son's drinking problem, telling reporters he'd tried convincing him to enter rehab, to no avail.
Two incidents from The Passion of the Christ
The first incident occurred in Feb. 2004 during a screening in Wichita, Kansas, where 56-year-old Peggy Scott suffered a fatal heart attack during the movie's crucifixion scene—understatedly described by a spokesperson for a local TV station as "the highest emotional part of the movie." A nurse who happened to be in the theater tried reviving Scott, but her efforts were unsuccessful, and Scott was pronounced dead after being taken to a nearby hospital.
One month later, the same fate was suffered by Jose Geraldo Soares, a 43-year-old Brazilian pastor who'd rented out a theater to watch the movie with his congregation. During the film, Soares' wife noticed he'd lost consciousness; as was the case with Peggy Scott's death, a medical professional happened to be in the theater, but they were unable to save Soares. Although some were quick to blame the film's violence for Soares' passing, a family friend disputed those allegations, retorting, "He was calmly watching the movie next to his wife."
source: (https://www.looper.com/)
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