The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, were a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, mainly eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation, sickness, or extreme cold, but in one case two Native American guides were murdered and eaten.
Crispin Hellion Glover is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentric character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in Back to the Future (1985), which he followed by playing Layne, one of the leading roles in River's Edge (1986). Through the 1990s, Glover garnered attention for portraying smaller but notable roles, including Cousin Del in Wild at Heart (1990), Andy Warhol in The Doors (1991), Bobby McBurney in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and the Train Fireman in Dead Man (1995).
Kane Warren Hodder is an American actor, stuntman, and author.
Dawn Elberta Wells was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mary Ann Summers in the sitcom Gilligan's Island.
Phantom of the Opera is a 1943 American romantic horror film directed by Arthur Lubin, loosely based on Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera and its 1925 film adaptation starring Lon Chaney. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film stars Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster and Claude Rains, as well as being composed by Edward Ward.
Veronica Cartwright is a British-born American actress. She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Her younger sister is actress Angela Cartwright.
The following timeline provides an almost day-to-day basic description of events directly associated with the 1846 Donner Party pioneers, covering the journey from Illinois to California—2,500 miles, over the Great Plains, two mountain ranges, and the deserts of the Great Basin.
Night of the Demons is a 1988 American supernatural horror film directed by Kevin S. Tenney, written and produced by Joe Augustyn, and starring Amelia Kinkade, Cathy Podewell, Linnea Quigley, Hal Havins, and Alvin Alexis. The plot follows a group of high school students who throw a party inside an isolated funeral parlor on Halloween night. While attempting a séance, they accidentally release a demon locked in the crematorium that begins to possess them one by one.
Susanna Foster was an American film actress best known for her leading role as Christine in the 1943 film version of Phantom of the Opera.
Michele Santopietro is an American actress best known for her recurring character JoJo Palmice on HBO's The Sopranos. Santopietro also made guest and recurring appearances on television shows such as Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Sex and the City, and the CBS television series New York News.
Lethal Weapon is an American buddy cop action-comedy media franchise created by Shane Black. It focuses on two Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. The franchise consists of a series of four films released between 1987 and 1998 and a television series which aired from 2016 to 2019. The four films were directed by Richard Donner and also share many of the same core cast members, while the television series is a reboot with different actors. Although the first film was not explicitly a comedy, the later films and the television series gradually became comedic in nature.
Edges of Darkness is a 2008 American direct to video horror film directed by Jason Horton and Blaine Cade. The plot is about three interconnected tales of terror set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse.
Hack! is a 2007 American horror film directed and written by Matt Flynn. The film centres on a group of students who, while on a field trip, become victims in a snuff film, and stars Danica McKellar, Jay Kenneth Johnson, William Forsythe, Sean Kanan, Juliet Landau, Justin Chon, Travis Schuldt, Adrienne Frantz and Gabrielle Richens. The film was released in the UK on July 20, 2007, before receiving a US release on December 11, 2007.
Bundy: An American Icon is a 2009 American direct-to-video horror thriller film written and directed by Michael Feifer, based on the criminal career of serial killer Ted Bundy. The film stars Corin Nemec as Bundy, alongside Kane Hodder and Jen Nikolaisen.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a 2014 American slasher film and serves as a metafictional sequel to the 1976 film of the same name. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon in his feature-length directorial debut, the film was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and produced by Jason Blum and Ryan Murphy. The film stars Addison Timlin, Travis Tope, Spencer Treat Clark, Veronica Cartwright and Gary Cole and was one of the last films of Ed Lauter and Edward Herrmann before their deaths in October 2013 and December 2014, respectively.
It Follows is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. It stars Maika Monroe as a young woman who is pursued by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter. Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, and Lili Sepe appear in supporting roles. It Follows debuted at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was later purchased by Radius-TWC for distribution. After a successful limited release, the film had a wide release two weeks later on March 27, 2015.
Wolves at the Door is a 2016 American horror film directed by John R. Leonetti and written by Gary Dauberman. The film is loosely based on the murder of Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of Roman Polanski, and her friends in 1969 by members of the Manson Family, and, though not considered an installment in the franchise, takes place within The Conjuring Universe. The cast features Katie Cassidy, Elizabeth Henstridge, Adam Campbell and Miles Fisher as four friends who are stalked and murdered by a group of intruders at a farewell party, with Eric Ladin reprising his role as Detective Clarkin from Leonetti's 2014 film Annabelle.
Smiley Face Killers is a 2020 American slasher film directed by Tim Hunter and written by Bret Easton Ellis, who is also one of the producers. The film loosely based on the Smiley face murder theory. The film stars Ronen Rubinstein, Mia Serafino, and Crispin Glover.
Johann Ludwig Christian Keseberg, also referred to as Lewis Keseberg, was a member of the Donner Party of 1846–1847. He was the last survivor to be rescued from the Donner campsite. His reputation and his involvement in cannibalism allowed him to be remembered as "the most infamous and vilified member of the Donner Party."
What Josiah Saw is a 2021 American Southern Gothic psychological horror drama film directed by Vincent Grashaw. The film follows members of a damaged family before they reunite at their remote farmhouse, where they will confront long-buried secrets and sins of the past.
