From child stardom in Halloween 4 to fully grown scares in the Hatchet series, Danielle Harris has spent a large part of her acting career screaming. Now 36, she reflects on her transition to horror icon — and why she might be nearing the end of her stint as the slasher film’s Final Girl.
Via: Dimension Films
Annie Brackett was never supposed to make it out the front door in Rob Zombie's 2007 reboot of Halloween. But Zombie hadn't counted on Danielle Harris' escape skills.
"[Michael Myers, the killer] didn't get me fast enough," says Harris. "So I actually ran out the front door while we were rolling. And I got down, and then he ran and grabbed me. Rob was like, 'That's fucking great. Put cameras across the street.'"
It's no surprise that the 36-year-old Harris has a unique familiarity with narrow escapes and death scenes. When Harris took on the role of Annie, she was no stranger to the slasher film — or even the Halloween series. At the age of 10, she played young Jamie Lloyd, Michael Myers' niece, in 1988's Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and the following year's Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. So by the time she filmed the Halloween reboot, she knew she couldn't be the traditional passive victim. And she was clear about that with Tyler Mane, the man who played Michael Myers.
"I told Tyler, 'You better get me,'" she recalls. "'I'm not gonna be slowly running to the kitchen to do the scene. I'm gonna go. I'm not gonna be the girl that runs upstairs when the front door's right there.'"
After the impromptu leap out the front door, which was incorporated into the final cut of the film, Annie and Michael face off against each other.
Harris continues, "I told Tyler, 'You need to put on pads. I'm the sheriff's daughter. I'm going to kick your ass. I'm going to fight you off me, so good luck.' And he was like, 'All right, all right, all right.' And then I just went for him, kicking his shins and punching him and beating him up, and he was like, 'Holy shit! I actually need pads.' And I was like, 'Yeah. Of course you do.'"
But kicking ass comes at a price: For every showdown with a masked killer, there's a recovery period where Harris has to nurse her wounds — both physical and psychological. And now, Danielle Harris is reckoning with whether it's time to retire as the industry's ultimate Final Girl.
