Barone's World: for Danielle Harris, the hottest actress you've never heard of

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

for Danielle Harris, the hottest actress you've never heard of

At the risk of pissing off any horror diehards who happen across this site, I have a confession to make: I'm a fan of Rob Zombie's Halloween. ***ducks proverbial axes, daggers, tomatoes, insults, hisses*** I totally understand and even agree with the common attacks against it---how it squanders a very strong first half by in-rushed-fashion remaking John Carpenter's original during the final 35 minutes; how it basically turns suburban Haddonfield into a typically Zombie-esque area of hillbillies and profanity-spewing rednecks; and the basic stupidity with Michael Myers growing up to be a WWE-wrestler-sized behemoth even though his entire life has been spent in an insane asylum.

All valid. I just can't help but love the film's sporadic great moments, like the kid-on-kid brutality in the woods via stick, or adolescent Mike going apeshit on his family wearing the oversized, classic Myers mask. I also love the stuff with Danielle Harris, who plays one of Laurie Strode's friends in the film's latter portion.

Which is/was a nice treat for horror heads. Harris, for the uninitiated, is a genre vet, first seen as Myers' little psychic little niece in a couple of the older Halloween sequels, and then later in Urban Legend (another flick I hesitantly show love to) and several other low-budget scare affairs. A true "Scream Queen," and one of those adorable and talented specialty actress you wish would break out bigger, swipe roles from the lesser-able hands of lames the likes of Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Well, its far from her big mainstream break, but Harris has just officially signed on to Zombie's Halloween sequel, cleverly-titled H2 and set for August dropping. And rejoice for that. [SPOILER WARNING] She made it through the first flick, surviving a particularly-intense and brave scene where she's fending off Myers topless, so her presence in the follow-up seems right. Not sure whether I'm that excited about H2 on the whole, but Harris' return is a step in the positive path. She best not get the kill-treatment early on, or I'll damn well walk out. It's like that, yes.

Because, if you haven't gathered from this fawning post, I'm more than a bit smitten by one Danielle Harris. Have been since first seeing in Halloweens 4 and 5. She was only about eleven years old in those, but, see, I was merely about ten when I initially watched those, so at that point she was already the hot older chick. Which she still is, though now she's the excruciatingly-hot older chick. A Hall of Famer in my mental museum. Here's to casting agents waking the fuck up and upgrading their flicks with her.....see for yourselves:

This one's for you, Ms. Harris.....showing you singled-out love because, really, somebody's gotta do it.