10 Horror Movie Scenes More Real Than You Think
6. Deliverance - Pretty Much Every Stunt
In the introduction I mentioned how a lot of movies in the seventies embraced the lack of regulation and producer oversight to essentially sacrifice the well-being of their actors and stunt performers in pursuit of maximum realism.
Well, nothing embodies that dated philosophy more than Deliverance.
While not a straight horror, this movie sees four men hounded by rapist murderers while stranded in the wilds of Georgia. It's an intense and unforgiving film, with the deadly game of survival taking place across volatile white water rapids and dangerous woodland.
In order to save money and deliver more realistic scares, the actors were encouraged to do their own stunts, no matter how dangerous they may have been. Consequently, in the majority of scenes that feature characters in peril due to the elements, you can bet their actors didn't have to do much conventional "acting".
There are plenty of infamous stories of these scenes going wrong, from Burt Reynolds breaking his coccyx during a canoeing sequence, to Ned Beatty needing to be saved by a production hand after nearly drowning.
Honestly, it's probably easier to point out the scenes where the actors weren't in real danger.