1980
In Sam Raimi’s 1987
horror classicEvil Dead 2,
Bruce Campbell’s idiot-hero
Ash attempts to shoot his pos-
sessed (and severed) right
hand after it scurries behind the walls of a
cabin in the woods. Instead of slaying the
extremity, Ash causes a torrent of blood to
rush out of the wall and drench him in gore.BRUCE CAMPBELLThe blood flood? We
had to try that a couple of ways. We
tried pumping [blood] out of a wall.
They had these 55-gallon drums, one
on top of each other, so you’ve got 110
gallons. They tried the best they could
to get the pumps going, but it took
time to build up the pressure. You
could editorially cut around it, but
Sam’s like, “No, we’re going to cut to
the chase. Bruce, lie flat like this. We’ll
turn the camera sideways, so if you’re
lying sideways, and we’re looking atyou sideways, it looks like you’re
standing up, and you’re looking
straight forward.”
So I’m lying that way and the
55-gallon drum is now directly above my
face. They’re gonna pull the plug and
gravity is going to do the work. You
don’t need a pump. It’s all coming out.
Sam says to me, “Bruce, if you’re drown-
ing, wave your arms.” I’m like, “That’s
what I’m supposed to do anyway!” He
goes, “Shut up! Just do it! You’ll be fine!”
They tested one drop. It hit me right
square in the forehead. They were like,
“It’ll hit, it’ll get him.” In the movie, you
see it come rocketing out and just hit me
square in the face. It was a bull’s-eye.
I was blowing red snot for easily a
week. People make fun of these movies
sometimes. They think you’re not
working hard, or they think these low-
budget movies are easy, or whatever.
They’re so full of s---.BEHIND THE SCENEInThe Shining,twins
Lisa and Louise Burns
sent shivers down
audiences’ spines as
the ghostly Grady sisters, who haunt
the halls of the Overlook Hotel and
beckon little Danny (Danny Lloyd) with
their creepily monotone siren call.
Thirty-seven years later, Lisa and Louise
reflect on filming their “Come play with
us, Danny” scene in Stanley Kubrick’s
1980 phantasmagoria of horror.
LISA BURNSStanley only had one
[Steadicam]. He could only take one shot
and then roll it again and roll it again.
That happened a lot. To us, we weren’t
saying our lines any differently. He just
heard something different every time.
LOUISE BURNS[The powder blue
dresses] were awful, horrible material.
[Costume designer Milena Canonero]
bought those two blue ones and
she couldn’t get any more, that’s my
understanding. Which is why the blood
scene was filmed at the end, because
they didn’t think the dresses would
be able to be saved.
LISAEven for those days, those dresses
were really not what people wanted to
wear. I think it was just polyester, but it
was a very scratchy material.
LOUISEI remember being concerned
that I would be very cold [in our mur-
der scene], because I thought it would
be clammy, but it was more like sticky.
Stanley got heaters. He spoke to us
a lot beforehand. He was a lovely man.
Very friendly...[but filming] did seem
to take ages.
THE SHINING
THESE TWINS STILL WANT
TO PLAY WITH YOU
Lisa and Louise Burns explain how
director Stanley Kubrick inserted
them into every kid’s nightmare.
By Chancellor Agard
5-MINUTE ORAL HISTORYEVIL DEAD 2
GEYSER OF GORE
BRUCE CAMPBELL reveals the unforgettable stunt that gave him
a bloody nose—for a week.By Clark Collis1987
Bruce CampbellLisa and Louise Burns inThe Shining; Louise and Lisa in 2015ANIA
AHLBORN
SEED
AUTHORTHE SHINING: WARNER BROS./HAWK FILMS/KOBAL/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; THE BURNS: JAMES SHAW/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; AHLBORN: COURTESY ANIA AHLBORN