Trivia
Jump to:
Spoilers (1)
The filmmakers had a most practical way of performing the 360 degree panorama shot of the classroom transforming into Langer's torture chamber with actress Josie Maraninside of it. First, the set was built to resemble a classroom. The camera was then brought in and bolted firmly to the ground. The shot was filmed and a protective bag placed over top the camera while the art department made the room into a dungeon. The camera was then unbagged and the shot repeated. Blending the two takes together created a perfect precision transformation. Actress Josie Maran was then superimposed into the scene.
Share this
Director of Photography David Armstrong has a cameo as a policeman in the flashback where Emma is discovered playing the piano.
Share this
The location used for the Parapsychology institute had been abandoned for years. It had no electricity or running water at the time of shooting. Several large generators had to be brought in to power the sets and camera equipment.
Share this
Director Mike Mendez fought against the opening of the film with Oakley Stevenson (his real-life wife) and has said he wished it wasn't in the film, but the sales company said "they gotta know it's a horror movie" and insisted someone die. He was so opposed to the idea that he refused to direct the sequence, which was ultimately directed by producer Al Corley.
Share this
During the Director Commentary on the DVD, director Mike Mendez and composer Joseph Bishara played a drinking game every time they saw a lit lamp during the film.
Share this
The headstone at the end of the film is an homage to Director Mike Mendez's wife Oakley Stevenson.
Share this
Producer Lawrence Elmer Fuhrmann Jr. plays The Gravedancers' departed friend Devin Lansing.
Share this
Later scenes with the cat were eliminated after it proved to be uncooperative in its first scene and even badly scratched Clare Kramer.
Share this
In South Carolina they burn down abandoned and/or condemned houses as opposed to demolishing them and the filmmakers asked if they could use an abandoned house before it was to be burned down. It was used several times throughout filming, as Kira's house and the sets of the pyromaniac ghost.
Share this
The hospital was actually a convalescent home and filmmakers received numerous complaints about the loud screaming and dangerous stunts while shooting.
Share this
The character of Vincent was originally written as a college student but re-written when for Tchéky Karyo.
Share this
The flashback to Emma's past was shot months after production in Mike Mendez's aunt's house.
Share this
The flashbacks to William Langer's torture victims were shot in Joseph Bishara's basement right after he had moved into his new house.
Share this
The grave-digging sequence proved to be the most difficult night of filming when a fight broke out on set between the crew-members.
Share this
Disney's ride The Haunted Mansion was a major inspiration to the film, including the design of the ghosts.
Share this
Clare Kramer really did hang from a three-story window with only a wire to keep her from falling.
Share this
Upon her first reading of the script at 2 in the morning, Megahn Perry was so frightened half-way through the script that she threw it across the room.
Share this
Spoilers
Dominic Purcell was literally buried alive and held his breath while waiting for Clare Kramer and Tchéky Karyo to dig him back up. Initially they had trouble finding him.
Share this
