You’d be hard pressed to find a movie out there steeped in as much mystery and controversy as The Crow. (Maybe Cannibal Holocaust, but that’s not exactly mainstream fare.) Based on James O’Barr’s comic book, the film was supposed to be Brandon Lee’s springboard to movie stardom, but instead, ended in tragedy.

The Crow — which happens to be available for streaming on Netflix, I might add — came out 20 years ago today, and in that time has spawned sequels, video games, lawsuits, and rumors. Between the anniversary and the inevitable remake in the works, now is the time to go digging into the movie’s mystery.

– Let’s take a look at the false rumors and allegations surrounding Brandon Lee’s death. There have been lots of rumors about how and when exactly Brandon Lee died while filming the movie. So, to hopefully clear some of the smoke surrounding his death, we’ll break it down by the rumors and what actually happened — or at least what those on set said happened.

Rumor A: Lee was fatally shot during the “Big Moby” gun-fight scene. The fatal shooting that killed Lee involved the scene with the rape of Shelly and the death of Lee’s character Eric Draven. The script called for Lee to enter the room holding a bag of groceries that contained explosive blood packs, and for actor Michael Massee to shoot Lee, setting off the blood pack. This is where things went horribly wrong.

Rumor B: Lee was shot in the head. Lee was not shot in the head, but shot in the abdomen with the bullet hitting his spine. Immediately following the incident, a paramedic on site began to administer CPR with Lee being transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center 30 minutes later. According to a People Magazine profile of the incident, Lee’s doctor struggled for five hours to save the actor.

Dr. Warren W. McMurry began desperately trying to stanch the bleeding, but at the end of the five-hour operation, Lee’s condition had not improved. “There was so much blood loss, ” McMurry says. “It wouldn’t clot. It was oozing from everywhere.”

Rumor C: You see Lee’s death in the movie. Watch this movie with a group of people and somebody will undoubtedly say “dude, he for real died in this scene, look closely and you can see it!” It’s been fueling online movie forums since 1993. There is no actual footage of Lee’s death — or at least none that has ever been found in the darkest corners of the internet. Those involved with the film say the footage of Lee’s fatal shooting was destroyed without ever being developed.

– Brandon Lee’s death was largely due to cost-cutting measures. Gun-play was a common place on the set with Lee telling one interviewer that during a scene he was shot “60 or 70 times.” The scene that took Lee’s life was rather simple compared to the previous action sequences, calling for a .44 Magnum revolver to be cocked and pointed at the camera. To achieve the close-range of the camera shot, the bullets loaded had real brass caps, but no powder.