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#11 Danielle Harris




Child characters can be the worst. Remember Seven from Married with Children? At least the show tried to right its wrong by saying he went missing and was never found. Children in horror movies had a higher survival rate. I don't blame the actors so much because they're just giving what's expected of them---cuteness. So darn cute and sweet that it's like diabetes in human form. Show of hands from those that was hoping Dakota Fanning's character would be vaporized by the aliens in War of the Worlds.

Kids in slasher movies sounds like a terrible mixture. In a genre in which the main attraction is seeing how much blood the human contains, you know the children are safe. At least from any onscreen violence. They won't be making the highlight reel.

Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a massive exception. She's not only capable, but she delivers just enough sympathy that the audience doesn't turn on her. Harris is easily one of, if not the, biggest strengths the sequels have. In the case of Halloween 5, about the only thing the movie has going for it. She's also great as the sarcastic young sister of Christina Applegate in Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead.

Like what happens to all of us, Harris grew up. She swapped out the cute factor for an improvement in her acting capability. Say what you want about Rob Zombie's Halloween and its sequel, and there's plenty to say, her portrayal of Annie Brackett is the kind of stuff you don't normally see. Ok, more so in the sequel as the 2007 film is just 30-year-old her playing a horny high school senior. The follow-up has her supporting character succeeding where the main heroine, Laurie (Scout Taylor Compton), falls and smacks her face on the concrete. Both women survive a brutal night of tragedy. Both are physically and mentally scarred. Annie's character tries to cope by putting on a happy face, but is obviously troubled underneath. That's understandable and likeable. Laurie decides to be an edge lord who draws pentagrams on her bedroom door. Because pentagrams can create portals. A door is a portal. Get it? Get it?! Cut my life into pieces! This is my last resort!!

Sigh. Harris's Annie is more subdued with glimpses into her mental state coming through her acting. Not all of her work is like that. She took over the lead role from Tamara Feldman in Hatchet. It's a slasher movie that pays homage to the films of the 80's before doing so became an entire subgenre. It's campy and bloody and it can scratch that itch if you're looking for an entertaining slice-n-dice romp through the Louisiana swamps. The series is fine, but nothing that Harris has to already stretch her craft for. That describes most of her work, unfortunately. There's talent there, but it feels wasted.

There is a notable exception with 2010's Stake Land. It's the Walking Dead meets I Am Legend where zombies are switched out with vampires. Sounds like an easy cash grab except the movie premiered before the famous zombie tv show. Harris plays a young woman carrying a child in an apocalyptic world. Sounds like 2020.

Maybe Danielle Harris will get another opportunity to do something a little more character driven. She does have a bit part in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as the pregnant woman at the ranch. Maybe that's the key---Harris and children. If she can't turn back time like Cher, then the next best thing is to have a baby growing inside of her.

Selected Horror Filmography:
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Hatchet 2
Stake Land
Urban Legend
Tom Holland's Twisted Tales

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