originally posted — October 2009

Our exclusive interview with Danielle Harris continues

By Elaine Bergstrom

What are the main ingredients for an outstanding horror film?

There are so many layers. First you have to start with an amazing script. You need a good villain. If you don't have a good villain who will scare the crap out of you, you won't have a great movie. You need believable non-cliché actors that you can relate to because if you don't you're just going to be laughed at. I've sat through many a horror movie where you just laugh at the actors because they are really dumb. If you are supposed to be camp, I get it, but that's not the kind of horror I like to see. I like to be scared. I like it to be real.

I also think you need believable effects, and simple is better. That's hard to do now because with kids, it's hard to shock them. And I think we are approaching horror in 2009 the wrong way. It doesn't need to be shocking. I think if [filmmakers] simplified things a little bit, it would be scarier. I think when they go gung-ho with all these crazy effects, it just kills the realism. Keep it simple and don't show too much. It's never as good as what's inside your mind. So if you show it about to happen and after, what your mind has imagined within itself is more intense than anything you could ever film.

And location. And music, of course. If you watch a horror movie with the music off, it's not scary.

I think the strong female lead is important, that's for sure. What I also like about the horror genre is that women get to be the stars. In most other genres, except for maybe romantic comedies, men have the lead. In horror, the killer is always the male lead and the hero is always the female.

It's really like a painting. It's a big piece of art. You don't have that with an action movie — you just need great chase scenes. You don't have that in a romance — you just need a good couple. With a horror movie, you have to have all of the elements right to pull it off.

To what do you attribute your success in the horror genre?

I think that destiny just chose me. I have a saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." It's been 22 years since I did my first horror movie. I was your typical child actor and now I'm in the same franchise as a different character. Fans sort of fell in love [with me]. I watch the movies I did as a kid and I think, "Oh my god, I was a good little actress!" And I think there are a few actresses nowadays that are wonderful. Dakota Fanning is amazing, and there are a few others that are really good.

Horror is fun. It's a great platform for actors because it is really hard emotionally. You get to get it all out — all that stuff that you were working on in therapy — if you use it. It feels good to have that release. And if it works for you it works for me. It's also fun to work in crazy locations and night shoots - I do like working nights.

I am leaving to do Stake Land in Philadelphia now [August 2009], and the entire month of November is all exterior. I have to like a script to work outside at night in the cold.

What are your favorite horror films?

My favorite horror movie is still Poltergeist. It still scares the crap out of me. The Exorcist was amazing. When a Stranger Calls. I still get creeped out by Gremlins — it's cheesy but I was a little kid and I thought they were under my bed, but I was afraid of Cookie Monster, too. Let the Right One In was amazing, amazing. Just a beautiful piece of cinema, a beautiful love story. It was incredibly well done. I am honestly getting tired of vampire movies. There are so many out there and I think if you make one, do it right. I love The Descent. It was wonderful. I love the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. And Hatchet was really fun. There's a lot. I could go on and on and on and on. Even the bad ones are good for certain things.

And your favorite directors?

Obviously Steven Spielberg. And Quentin Tarantino, he's a buddy of mine. He's a nutjob but I adore that man. He's a cinematic genius.

Did you see "Inglourious Basterds"?

I saw it on his table in his kitchen. He writes by hand and I saw it and thought, "Oh my gosh, he spelled bastards wrong." Then I saw it in print and realized he did it for a reason.

What did you think of "From Dusk Till Dawn"?

I actually watched From Dusk Till Dawn at his house. And he looks over at me while I am watching him on TV in his house, and he says, "I can't believe I am watching myself on TV sitting next to Danielle Harris." And I'm looking at him thinking, "I can't believe that I am watching Quentin Tarantino on TV sitting next to Quentin Tarantino." We have a sort of mutual admiration. It's very cool because he is a rock star.

I hear rumors that you are creating an application for the iPhone where you will scream for a ringtone.

I am. It takes a really long time to get Apple to approve stuff. But I am also doing a fansite called horrorgal.com. It will launch on Halloween. It's a fan place. It has everything that other sites don't offer you. It's a personal look into the lives of these genre celebrities. It gives you what you're missing. I feel like all these other horror websites are kind of the same. I'm not a reporter. I don't want to sit online all day; I just kind of felt like the wave of the future is the video content. We get a two-minute blip on ET for the Halloween premiere. What about the audience that does want more than two minutes? Maybe I can give that to them. I have a lot of friends, I have a lot of access. I can produce these little segments. I want to be the Barbara Walters of the horror genre. I can ask questions that journalists don't feel comfortable asking. I can go into their house and sit on their couch. I'm starting to ask the fans what they are missing ... and I am getting bombarded with amazing ideas.

I'm also looking into directing. I've wanted to option a script for a long, long time. Maybe I'll have a contest where I'll direct [a fan's] movie.

And I gather that you do a lot of conventions. Do you like interacting with fans?

I do. It's why I do what I do. Without them I would be nothing.

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