Thirty years ago a horror movie written and directed by Sam Raimi was released. That movie was THE EVIL DEAD.

Five friends go up to a cabin in the woods where they find unspeakable evil lurking in the forest. They find the Necronomicon and the taped translation of the text. Once the tape is played, the evil is released. One by one, the teens are possessed. With only Ash remaining, he must survive the night and battle the evil dead.

We caught up with Theresa Tilly (Sarah York), one of the "Evil Dead Ladies", who played Shelly, to talk about her role in The Evil Dead.

Horror News Network: Tell us a bit about your audition process in landing the role of "Shelly"?

Theresa Tilly: I don’t think Sam Raimi knew what his “monsters” would really be like at the time he was casting. So we never really explored that part of the role, the monster. In fact I wasn’t even sure I was playing the role of a monster, I think the script said something about them but it was very unclear what that was. So my actual audition took place in Sam Raimi’s basement using a card table chair as the seat of a car. He had me scream and thrust forward into the supposed windshield, just as you see in the movie. It was the most unusual of auditions as there wasn’t much to say. Beyond the screaming we mostly just talked. Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert were also there and they seemed like nice kids. I was the grandma on the set about 5 years older than the rest.

Horror News Network: What was it like on the set of “The Evil Dead”? What are some of your more vivid memories of shooting the film?

Theresa Tilly: Of course the idea of taking off to make a movie was a dream come true for me, living in a city where the most filming you could expect were industrial films related to the car industry. We drove caravan style down south to the location and as a group discovered the experience on many levels as a group. We all helped clean out the cabin as it had been inhabited and over run by animals and their droppings. That camaraderie was wonderful and was a big part of the process. Though Sam was truly the visionary the group as a whole really worked on the movie as a team. Adding to that feeling of community was the situation of our living conditions. We all lived in a rented house together with little other contact from the outside world since our location was so remote in the back woods of Tennessee. We did nothing else but make Evil Dead; a favorite memory is coming home after long nights of shooting and falling asleep on the floor of the living-room -all sitting there watching the dailies from the week before. We knew even then that it looked really good!

Horror News Network: Shelly’s death was pretty gruesome. How was shooting the scene where you were dismembered?

Theresa Tilly: I’m not sure which I hated more learning halfway through the shoot that I needed to remove my shirt and do a topless scene or that I needed to be nailed into the cabin floor with my eyes blinded and that horrible mask glued on my face. Neither things were in the original script. They were revealed to me while we were shooting. I am sure had I known in advance I would have refused to go. But since I was there and wanted to remain in it and felt a connection to the group I relented. I played only Shelly’s head in the body parts scene. Bruce was a leg and I believe Rob was an arm. During the final take of that I started to wonder why Sam was not yelling “cut “ as we’d gone on and on with it. We soon realized Sam and Tim Philo the DP had both fallen asleep filming!

Horror News Network: Where you a horror fan before the movie? Are you now?

Theresa Tilly: I have tried to watch the movies of many of the actors I meet now during the Horror Cons and I really have trouble with it. It just isn’t my thing, never was and never will be. I really am a wimp, Ellen and Betsy will attest to it!

Horror News Network: Thirty years later, “The Evil Dead” still has a pretty fanatical following. Did you realize the sort of staying power it would have at the time?

Theresa Tilly: I never thought the movie would see the light of day, which is why I used a fake name Sarah York. I had tried to get a waiver from Screen Actors Guild to make the movie but the powers that be never came through. So I figured no one would ever see it anyway, I’ll just use another name. Hah! That didn’t really work out, the guild suspended and fined me. So to answer your question, no I never thought 30 years later I’d be running around the world talking about Evil Dead!

Horror News Network: When you meet horror fans today, are you surprised at the reaction the movie still gets?

Theresa Tilly: I love to hear all the stories of how people first came to see ED and how meaningful it is for people. By now I’ve concluded that ED’s place in film technology history played a big role in its power. For many youngsters this was their first videotape! No one had ever been able to view a movie over and over in the way that video tape provided. Evil Dead and videotape hit the world about the same time. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Horror News Network: Where can fans find out more about you and your current projects?

Theresa Tilly: We have a Ladies of the Evil Dead Facebook page were we enjoy interacting with our fans. Of course the Ladies have a website too. And then there’s the ole IMDB where you can get a general idea of what I’m doing. Recently my stage work seems to be the focus, currently in a play that opens in Santa Monica the second week in June, A Flea in her Ear. It’s a french farce and a lot of fun over the top acting...reminds me of a movie I once made!

Horror News Network: Thank you so much for your time, Theresa. Comment on this interview on our forum.

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Published on: 2011-04-11 (772 reads)