The Terror Trap had the pleasure to speak with Marilyn Burns, star of such classic horror films as 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and 1976's Helter Skelter. And while Ms. Burns' finely sculpted beauty was a welcome reprieve in these pictures, her serious contribution to Chainsaw should not be underestimated or overlooked.

As sole survivor of Chainsaw, she gave the role everything she had. In fact, despite the attention the more flamboyant members of the murderous clan have received over the years, the entire last half-hour of Chainsaw clearly belongs to Burns.

Terror Trap: Tell us about your background.

Marilyn Burns: I was always interested in the arts...and took drama and dance. I did all the things that little girls do.

TT: Did you play "dress up"?

MB: I played dress up, I did plays...I even did Shakespeare in the seventh grade.

TT: Ah...do you remember what nugget of the Bard you tackled?

MB: Yes I do. It was A Midsummer Night's Dream.

TT: How did you get into film?

MB: When I was in high school, Robert Altman made a movie called Brewster McCloud (1970) and I made sure I got a part as a tour guide. Sidney Lumet shot a movie out of Austin called Lovin' Molly (1974) and he offered me a part. I was all ready to do it and then he told me that in order to get Blythe Danner and Beau Bridges, the agency told him to replace me with a new girl named Susan Sarandon.

TT: Oh wow...

MB: So then I was Susan and Blythe's stand-in! Blythe is about 6 feet, Susan is about 5'7" and I'm 5'2".

TT: Have you met Sarandon since?

MB: Yeah, I had a small part in George Roy Hill's The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) and I helped cast some of the extras. I was just involved with the movie business in Texas.

TT: Were you raised in Texas?

MB: I was born in Pennsylvania but I was raised in Houston.

TT: Let's talk about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We understand you were attending the University of Texas at the time...

MB: I went to UT and I was on the film commission there. It was started to bring movies into the state. There was a casting call and a million people showed up. The rest is history.

TT: Did you have to go in more than once?

MB: It was talked about a lot at first. We did have one read-through.

TT: And you read for the part of Sally?

MB: Yes. The script was a little different then. There were several changes made after the original.

TT: We read that Ed Neal (everyone's favorite stuttering, psychotic hitchhiker) got into it by attending this big casting call. He said they were looking for "weird" people and he just acted goofy and director Tobe Hooper and writer Kim Henkel just ate it up.

MB: Yeah, Ed's funny.

TT: Do you still talk to him?

MB: All the time. We all keep in touch because something brings us all together. In fact, I just got back from London with Gunnar (Leatherface). We were there for the release of the Blue Dolphin Special Edition DVD over there.

TT: How did that go?

MB: It was wonderful.

TT: Were you asked to do the commentary for that?

MB: No, we had done interviews. Just going back over the movie, reflecting...on crazy things.

TT: In the second half of the film, you really go through the most hellish experience. Do you agree with that estimation?

MB: Oh yes I do!

TT: Did it affect you emotionally? Not only when you were shooting it but afterwards?

MB: Afterwards, I was just so grateful it was over. I probably was the happiest girl alive. During it, I was 100% focused and I probably wasn't a joy to be around. It was an interesting shoot for sure.

TT: So here you are, making this film...but you couldn't have known what it was going to be.

MB: No, but I knew it would get released. Everybody else thought it wouldn't. All the other actors...they weren't even coming anymore to work. (Laughs) We had to go pick them up. I felt it WOULD be released. I had no idea it'd be this. I knew it was gonna go. It had to.

TT: Was it everyone's intention to make a film that was different?

MB: Well, it was an idea just to keep the movement going...instead of having all those little stops and starts they have in horror films - where it's safe to go get your popcorn. I don't think many people ran and got popcorn during the movie.

TT: You can't even go to the bathroom when you're watching Chainsaw!

MB: Exactly. That's what's good about it.

TT: Can you think of a movie that came before that had that kind of pace?

MB: Oh, I'm sure there are. I love movies. I've always been in love with movies. The pace of Chainsaw? I can't think of one right now. Chainsaw was different.

TT: It was incredibly hot, we know that.

MB: Yes.

TT: And it smelled, right?

MB: Oh my, yes.

TT: What caused that exactly?

MB: What happened is...oh, this is a terrible story. Somebody thought about getting dead cats and dogs from the pound and using formaldehyde on them. And it wasn't a good idea. When the make-up artist did the first animal, she shot herself in the leg. Everybody agreed that was a terrible idea.

So they had to decide they'd burn them and give them a burial. The smell of burning flesh just enhanced the feeling around the movie. It was awful.

TT: Were there a lot of dead animals?

MB: No, they were just gonna try something. The smell was also from a chicken head that was with the feed on the dinner table. We just didn't formaldehyde that right. That really smelled. You know how chicken can smell...imagine that in the lights, under the heat.

TT: ...we can imagine.

MB: And Gunnar, of course, smelled so bad because he had on that costume. He had to wear it for continuity...no one could wash it. He couldn't stand himself after awhile.

TT: So it was dead animals and Gunnar, right?

MB: (Laughs) He said he felt like he couldn't even eat.

TT: That mask must have been so hot.

MB: Oh it was.

You know...one thing I realized in London and it was the first time I ever thought about it was... my God, I ran through dark woods chased by someone holding a live chainsaw! Where was my head?

We were tripping and falling...one time, Gunnar tripped and the chainsaw went up in the air. What were we thinking? And it didn't ever dawn on me how crazy dangerous that was until I was in London.

We took the chain off the chainsaw but you know, it still has the rubber thing that keeps going around and around...that'll cut you just as good.

TT: Sure.

MB: It dawned on me just this year. Oh my God, am I nuts?

TT: How did the London audience react to the film?

MB: Oh, they loved it. They were wonderful. Everything was great.

TT: In the movie, Sally jumps through a window twice. Was that you?

MB: One was me and the second was Mary Church. Tobe said "oh Marilyn, we don't want to hurt you. I'm gonna let Mary go through it."

So I gave her a wig of mine. Mary goes through the glass and the next thing you know, Tobe puts a scaffolding about 7 feet up in the ground and it's early in the morning. And they have the sugar glass and because it's early in the morning, the mist and humidity is making the sugar glass now into sheets of glass. Real heavy...you know how sugar gets hard?

TT: Right.

MB: They said "now we're just gonna throw some of this at your head while you jump down." I said, "you've got to be kidding!" That's why I have a limp at the end of the movie.

TT: So that means it's really you who jumps through the window near the end during the dinner scene?

MB: The one at the very end, yes...that was ME jumping from a scaffolding. The scene where I look like I'm in pain? That was me with my ankle and also that darn sugar glass hit me in the head. I really wanted to kill somebody.

TT: They just threw the panes of sugar glass down on top of you?

MB: That was the idea. But see, by this time...the "glass" had crystallized.

TT: Did it make any gashes in your head?

MB: No, but it hurt. Especially after the dinner sequence - when my head had been hit so many times. They used that big sledgehammer. You know...a sledgehammer is just a piece of steel and then you have a hammer on it. They did a fake hammer with foam rubber.

TT: And that's what you were getting hit with?

MB: Yes. But foam rubber is no protection from the arm of the real sledgehammer that's made of steel. Foam just doesn't cut it when they're banging you.

TT: How about that dinner scene?

MB: Oh that was fun. It was really weird especially when they were all taunting me. And the smell and the heat. We were all so tired. It was surrealistic and became so frightening because I had to be tied up and screaming for so long.

TT: Did the taunting really bother you?

MB: They were good! They enjoyed their job. Those guys are good.

TT: When you were done, did they make overtures to you so that you weren't too freaked out?

MB: Oh, please! When they were shooting me tied to the chair, Ed Neal was leering at me to my right so I tried to get away from by leaning to my left. My chair fell sideways. I'm sitting there with my hands tied, my feet tied, the filthy gag in my mouth they just picked off the set (who knows where it had been) - and the guys goes, "she went out of the shot!"

TT: What about the cutting of your finger? That was real.

MB: I just heard in London that it was intentional. Maybe the knife thing wasn't working but all these years, I've said they forgot to tape the knife in every interview. And then I'm talking with Gunnar and he told some guy who's writing a book on the film that it wasn't an accident.

Then the guy interviews me and he goes "now you know, that knife wasn't an accident."

TT: And that was the first time you heard that?

MB: Yeah, it was the first time!

TT: Do you remember being cut?

MB: Oh, please! Like it was yesterday. I can see the blood spouting out of my little finger. My index finger. That was a bitch. I mean, it HURT!

TT: Was it real deep?

MB: No, but it was deep enough. Enough to give you the blood.

TT: And they didn't stop the filming at all?

MB: I think I reacted like I was supposed to and they probably thought "that's good!"

TT: Tell us about the final scene...in the pick-up truck...

MB: We had shot it. Over, cut! I would never have to put on those horrible bell-bottoms with blood/Hershey chocolate syrup...with bees and ants...and they stood up every morning when I went to the set. There were like standing pants!

TT: They were all caked with the syrup?

MB: Yeah, and the top too. We shot that and I was miserably hot. My hair stuck to my head, shoulders and chest because the syrup hardens in the sun.

TT: Your hair almost looks like a wig at the end...the color looks so dark.

MB: It's all the chocolate Hershey syrup and red food coloring in my hair. It's not a wig...that is Marilyn with her pretty hair flaking off everywhere. It's like you have glue on your head.

We shot it all and I was really happy. I went home and I said, "I will never, ever have to wear that outfit again." And they said, Oh Marilyn...we've got some bad news. You have to shoot the ending over again." So at the end, on the truck...that's how I felt.

TT: The almost maniacal laughter?

MB: I was acting but I sure gave it all I felt at the moment. I didn't need to sink way down deep inside me to give that ending performance.

TT: It's about as real a moment as you can get...because of what you've gone through.

MB: She's crazy! (Laughs) That's why the laughter. This time it was really over!

TT: Did you bond with Teri McMinn, who played Pam?

MB: Oh, we were friends. We're all friends.

TT: Friends beforehand?

MB: No, I didn't know her before. Teri is real sweet.

TT: Have you ever had any cause over the years to revisit those locations?

MB: Well, I haven't. I would like to go to the restaurant in Austin or where ever it is...because I've heard it's good. I can't imagine a restaurant, a wonderful mom and pop place that's really good, being from that house. I'd like to see that.

TT: You mean, they just took the infamous main house, picked it up and moved it and made it a restaurant?

MB: Right.

TT: And what about the house that belonged to your family in the film?

MB: Oh, I wouldn't know. I'm always surprised by these things. When I saw rocks being sold on the Internet from a location used in the film...I just thought, oh man, this is too weird.

TT: What was the best part about the shoot?

MB: Just making a movie! I'm happy. I'm not complaining. Sure it was tough but I enjoyed every minute of it. I wouldn't have traded the experience for love or money.

TT: What was the absolute worst moment?

MB: I don't know, there were lots of them. From hammers and brooms and wrenches and fingers...

TT: Having the bag over your head?

MB: Yeah, all that was...amusing.

TT: Did you have bruises from Jim Siedow poking you with the broom?

MB: Oh, please. We shot that scene all night and Tobe kept saying, "Jim, it doesn't look real enough." It was four in the morning and I told Jim to just go for it. I know he felt really bad.

First, we had a wooden broom and then we had an idea to use a rubber broom. Well, a rubber broom hurts probably more than a wooden broom because it's denser. When I woke up, I had a black eye. And I had to keep remembering what scene I was shooting...to know if I had a black eye in that one or whether to cover it.

TT: Have you ever seen any of the other films based in part on Ed Gein?

MB: All of them. PSYCHO, Silence of the Lambs...

TT: Deranged...

MB: I can't believe that guy 'inspired' so many people. He must have struck a cord. He had to have been an incredible monster.

TT: Did you read about him?

MB: Oh, yeah. I've been talking about him for years since he was the inspiration behind this film. All we did was take the Ed Gein story, added a chainsaw, put it in Texas and had a bunch of kids.

TT: What's your relationship with Tobe Hooper now?

MB: I haven't talked to Tobe in a long time but he's a nice guy. I just haven't seen him in a long time. He doesn't go to some of the conventions and gatherings that some of us have gone to.

TT: Is it true there were hard feelings towards Hooper after the shoot?

MB: This is the deal. We got a teeny bit of money. And then we were gonna be paid from the profits. That's why the actors never wanted to return to the set. Because they didn't believe it would ever get distributed. Therefore, why keep working in hell when you're not gonna get paid?

But we were in college and I was so grateful for the work. This wasn't Hollywood...this isn't a big movie. This is just kids getting together. And you know what kids can pay kids. We were promised what the profits would be. Since no one believed there was gonna be a profit, people just wanted to quit.

And what happened is, due to a whole bunch of circumstances, Tobe and Kim had to sell a lot of shares that they owned to finish. So then the movie goes out and does well and we find out there isn't that much of a pie anymore.

TT: Because they had sold off the shares?

MB: He had to finish the picture. And we were on such a budget. So there wouldn't have been money anyway if he hadn't finished the picture.

TT: And the picture was a big hit initially? Not like some movies that open and disappear and they become hits later on...

MB: No one wanted to walk past a billboard that said "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and not want to see it. People hated it, some booed it...they said people were getting sick in the theatres. People were screaming at the theatre owners for having it. Well naturally...what do you think that did to it? It made everyone want to go. It was infamous.

TT: Anything you want to add about the movie, nearly 30 years later?

MB: When I was in London with Gunnar, we were walking down the street. And we went into an English Pub (to have actually fish and chips) and we just had a break from our little duties...you know, we did a lot of TV and radio and stuff...and we were walking down the street. And I said, "you know Gunnar, they said we never got paid for this but for the last almost 30 years, it's been fun. And now we're in London." So how can you think that?

TT: Cool attitude. Had you been to London before?

MB: Oh yeah. I had been over there but this time I wasn't a tourist. It was great and this time I felt like it was old home week. It was insane.

TT: How did you end up in Eaten Alive?

MB: I have no idea.

TT: Any thoughts about that experience?

MB: Let's just say that very first scene in the movie...I didn't know about it because it wasn't in the script. Remember the line? The first scene? After my name flashes across the screen. The very first thing you hear is "my name is Buck..." My parents in Houston were in the theatre with a lot of other couples. I heard about it later on!

It was an interesting film.

TT: How so?

MB: Right by my dressing room, I had the spider monkeys. They parked them there.

TT: The one that dies?

MB: Yeah, there were two of them.

TT: And spider monkeys have a propensity to... smell badly, don't they?

MB: They do.

TT: Did you decide to wear the wig in your first couple of scenes?

MB: I did.

TT: The thing we like about that film is that it has kind of a double personality. On the one hand, all the sets look fake...like in a Hammer film. On the other hand, there's a gritty feel to it that comes out. It echoes Chainsaw a bit.

MB: Sure, I see what you're saying.

TT: Let's talk about the TV film Helter Skelter.

MB: That was fun.

TT: We love it. How did you get the part of Linda Kasabian?

MB: I auditioned. It was a Lorimar production at Warner Bros. I went home and I cried because I thought my audition was terrible. I was sobbing on my bed and thinking I was so awful.

TT: Do you remember what scene you had to do?

MB: Yes, it was the courtroom scene, where Linda is telling of the killing night.

TT: How did you find out you had the role sewn up?

MB: My agent called and said, "you've got the part." And I realized the reason why I was crying and thinking I was so terrible...is that what I just read for was so terrible. She's telling of the murders and I was into it.

Actors do things that are terrible and we do cry a lot when we think we've blown it...but I was sure I might as well leave Los Angeles.

TT: In other words, it was a good sign that you were upset because it was coming from the material?

MB: Yes, but I didn't realize that because I was young and didn't know better...

TT: Did you have strong feelings about how you were going to play the character?

MB: Yeah, I wasn't gonna shave my head. That's what all the actresses said in Hollywood - "we're not gonna go because you have to shave your head!" I got Kasabian so I didn't have to.

TT: Did the other three lead actresses actually shave their heads?

MB: No...because to get the part, you had to SAY you were going to. But in the end, Tom Gries (the director) was good to them and gave them skull caps.

TT: It looks good!

MB: I know. It saved their hair.

TT: You didn't meet Linda because she was in the witness protection program, correct?

MB: I wouldn't have wanted to meet her...

TT: Did you have sympathy at all for her? In other words, what kind of connection did you need to make with Kasabian in order to play her?

MB: At the time, I was able to relate. It's kind of like in Chainsaw - under those circumstances, I'm sure I wouldn't have been a good date. With Linda's circumstances, you go somewhere else. You can't play (a real person) if you don't have some amount of "sympathy" at the time.

TT: Did you feel threatened when you were filming?

MB: When I was at Paramount Ranch, an extra came up to me and put her nails in my arm and said, "Linda wasn't there that day."

TT: An extra who was sympathetic to the Manson family?

MB: Yes. That was interesting...

TT: That's kind of scary. Couldn't they weed those people out?

MB: You'd think so...

TT: Was Vincent Bugliosi (who prosecuted the case and whose book was the basis for the film) a presence on the set?

MB: Yeah, he came on. In fact, he called George DiCenzo (who played him) and told him he had to do the ending over.

TT: Why?

MB: Because he said he was much more dramatic than the portrayal. He said, "I'm much more flamboyant than that!"

TT: Had you read his book?

MB: Of course.

TT: What was your impression of Steve Railsback, who played Manson?

MB: He's a real nice guy but I didn't know that because when I saw him, he had on the beard and the hair. He WAS Charlie. I never saw him clean cut like he is.

TT: Helter Skelter was one of the biggest TV productions up until that time. It must have been a different experience from some of your previous pictures.

MB: Oh yeah, it was a great experience. And it was pretty awesome because of the subject matter. And nobody really wanted to touch it. It was kind of like...who wants to be in that picture? Who's actually gonna do that picture?

TT: How did you get along with the other actresses?

MB: They were all great. I mean, they're all wonderful people.

TT: Every couple of years, we hear parole updates on the various participants. Do you still follow the story?

MB: Oh yeah, I always look. Susan Atkins is saying that she wants to get out and we're being unfair to her. She's a born-again Christian and a religious person.

TT: Any thoughts on your 1981 psychic/zombie film Kiss Daddy Goodbye?

MB: We can probably skip over that one! You've found some gems out there! Where did you find it?

TT: It was put out on video.

MB: Uh, okay. That's good.

TT: You didn't know it was available?

MB: I heard it was but I don't go in search of it. It's not like I call my friends and go "hey man, if you're in the video store and see this one...will you pick it up for me?" (Laughs) I don't think so.

TT: Do your friends ever tease you about some of your films?

MB: No...but I might say something about a guy in the parking lot and they say, "did he have a chainsaw?"

TT: It seems like many people who have made films in this genre say they don't really care for it. Do you yourself enjoy horror films?

MB: I do.

TT: Do you have a favorite?

MB: They're all favorites. I used to watch horror films on Saturday mornings. I like them all. I'm like you guys. You've got more films on your website than I know! And I thought I used to have the category down...

TT: Thank you! Which genre do you enjoy the most?

MB: I like it all. I like mysteries, suspense, horror, comedy, historical...I run the whole gamut. It's all wonderful.

TT: Have a favorite movie?

MB: I don't know...I can't name favorites because I like them all.

TT: That's understandable. If you like a wide range of movies, it's hard to pick one.

MB: All the energy and time you put into your website of all these films...you really have to have a love of film to do what you do.

To say what's the greatest...it's hard for me to say.

TT: What are your thoughts on your performances? Are you critical?

MB: Oh no. It's there on film. What am I supposed to do now? (Laughs)

TT: Can you tell us what you're doing now and if you would like to continue acting?

MB: I still work in theatre and I direct stuff here. And I have this little community place where we put together plays. I still would love to go into acting but I'm in Texas and I'm union. That's not always an easy thing here.

TT: Well, Marilyn...we wish you the best. Thanks for talking to us.

MB: Thank you.