10 Movie Stunts That Went Horribly Wrong

First of all, Vampire in Brooklyn is just as awful as it sounds. Starring Eddie Murphy and Angela Bassett, the story really is just about a vampire in New York who seeks out an dhampir (an offspring of a vampire and a human). It is unfunny, poorly acted and badly directed.

Worst of all, Vampire in Brooklyn has a disturbing tale of a stuntwoman's life tragically cut short during an haphazardly organised stunt. At age twenty-seven, Sonja Davis was the double for Angela Basset's character Rita Veder. The scene required Davis to drop back into an alley from the top of a high building. There was twelve feet of space between this building and the one next to it, as well as a large airbag which filled a large portion of the alleyway.

According to cinematographer Mark Irwin: "there was no way she could miss it unless she did the stunt wrong". Unfortunately, it did go wrong. When performing the fall, she was instructed to just relax rather than push herself back. But the nerves took over and it caused Sonja to push back, hitting her head on the opposing brick wall. As she landed, only the tip of her toes made contact with the airbag, whilst the rest of her body slammed on the pavement.

Even worse, her mother and siblings were there to witness the entire mishap. They filed for a death lawsuit against the studios, director Wes Craven and actor Eddie Murphy after the passing of Sonja.