| Interview: The Ladies of the Evil Dead |
| Features - Misc Features |
| Written by Shane - Administrator |
| Thursday, 09 July 2009 23:03 |
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Here I got to interview the three girls who starred in the cult classic 'The Evil Dead', as with the Scotty interview this day was one I won't forget for a while. Getting to speak to the girls who starred in the movie and finding them so fantastic to talk to makes the countless hours of creating a website totally worth it. Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 8.0.22!  Original Evil Dead Trailer (1981) - Over 18's Only
Betsy
Shane - Thanks for this fantastic opportunity girls, first up Betsy, what are your views now looking back at 'The Evil Dead'?  Betsy as 'Linda' - The Evil Dead Betsy - We've been asked this question before -- did we all give the appearance on camera that we had 'had it up to here' ?!!? Well, yes -- at times we were definitely tired, cold, freezing, hungry, exhausted, covered with karo syrup, mud, dirt, vines, you name it. But I don't remember ever any one of us threatening to leave or walk off. We had all signed contracts, and walked onto the set each night, ready to work ( although we did sometimes have to mix our own karo syrup-blood mix, or wear our coats and gloves on freezing nights until just before the cameras rolled)!
Ellen
Shane - Sam and Bruce seemed to be having all the fun making that movie, although Bruce did take some beatings from Sam! What was it like to work with those guys back then? Ellen - They were a lot of fun and very silly, while at the same time being very focused and serious about their film-making; kind of an odd mix of extremely immature and wise beyond their age. In many ways they were like a bunch of big kids, and at times it did feel somewhat like a “boys club” that we girls couldn’t get into. They’d made so many (amateur) movies together by this point and knew each other so well that they could practically finish each others’ sentences. I think the saving grace in shooting this movie was that they could always crack us up – otherwise I don’t know if we would have stuck it out through the infamous “non-glamorous” conditions. It’s kinda like a difficult child: if he weren’t so cute, you’d kill him! Shane - If any of you could go back and change any scene, what would it be and why?  Ellen as 'Cheryl' - The Evil Dead Ellen - I guess it’s fate that I (Ellen/Cheryl) should be answering this particular question – guess which scene I’ll pick? You win the prize: the woods scene! I think they just went one step too far in tastelessness; if they’d ended the scene a few seconds earlier and cut out a few of the graphic images, they would’ve still gotten the point across and still scared the hell out of people, don’t you think? Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 8.0.22! The tree rape scene, cause of much controversy Shane - I can imagine that none of you thought the movie would do so unbelievably well while you were shooting it, but just how surprised are you at it's success? Ellen - We’re flabbergasted actually. Not only did we not think it would do “well” when we shot it, we didn’t even think it would ever be seen! Then after it appeared in a few drive-ins and midnight showings in the ‘80’s, we thought, okay, so now it’ll never be seen again. Then video rental was born and though we were surprised to see it on the shelves, we still had no idea of its popularity. We really only caught on to the level of its success a few years ago, when our teenage kids’ friends started watching it and we were forced to take notice! Now that we’ve been going to conventions and making appearances with the film, we’re totally shocked at the following it has. Sarah (Sarah was only credited with that name for the Evil Dead, her real name is Theresa Tilly) 
Sarah - The first time I saw the movie at the Redford in Detroit was the first time I had seen myself on the big screen. Believe me, the only thing I was paying attention to was how bad my hair looked and how many different pair of socks I had on all in the same scene, ever notice that? But now, even after I’ve seen the movie “a few” times, I am still scared by some things. The scariest moment for me is when Ash is reluctantly about to kill his true love Linda, but when she lifts her head up and is no longer possessed she says, “I’m alright now”. Then Cheryl mimics her from the cellar, saying in her normal voice, “Ash, I’m alright now too”, then he turns around and Betsy is back to her old tricks and starts to laugh that hideous laugh and Cheryl again follows her lead and starts rattling the cellar door. Not only is it scary, but you do feel sorry for old Ash. Shane - If there was ever to be an 'Evil Dead 4' (I know you’re sick of hearing about that, sorry!) would any of you guys like to be involved for old times sake?
Sarah - I think the Ladies would like nothing more than to film Evil Dead 4! We have been having so much fun together doing these conventions I can’t imagine anything topping it off better. We’ve also had the good fortune to spend time these past few months with our now very famous director, Sam Raimi and dapper and also famous co - star Bruce Campbell. We have also spent time with Hal Delrich (Scotty) and Tom Sullivan (make-up artist) at several reunions, and at a few appearances we surprised our fans and reenacted the movie. It has been truly a blast and the fond memories just keep pouring out. Shane - What was Rich (Scotty) like to work with? I can't find much out about that guy and he was great in the movie, do you still keep in contact with him? Sarah - We do see Hal Delrich (Rich) at conventions and he sends us cornball email pretty regularly. He was a sweetheart to work with and is still the NICEST guy in the world. He would do anything for you. I think he played one of my body parts?
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