Editorials
From ‘The Faculty’ to ‘Trap’: Looking at Josh Hartnett’s Career in Horror
Almost any search of Josh Hartnett will return a bevy of articles with a headline that is some variation of “Why Josh Hartnett Left Hollywood,” which is fair. It’s a fascinating story about a guy who saw himself as an artist thrust into the spotlight of a teen heartthrob. It’s the rare story of a human choosing a simpler, more purposeful life over ultra-fame.
It’s more than admirable. A great story. But today, in honor of his latest leading role in M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, we’re just here to talk about blood, guts, and Josh Hartnett’s strange relationship with the horror genre.
It all began with The Faculty in 1998. Though Halloween: H20 was released first, he was offered the role of Zeke in The Faculty beforehand and had to work on both simultaneously. This started his career working with Dimension Films and the dreaded Weinsteins.
When you look at the track record, it’s no wonder Hartnett had a love/hate relationship with Hollywood. The Weinsteins decided he was their guy and immediately locked him into a multi-picture deal under the misleading guise that he wouldn’t be asked to see it through. Hartnett would explain, “We had a sort of antagonistic relationship because the contract I signed for those first two films guaranteed me to be a part of, like, five more or something. They’re called contract extensions. I was told at the time that nobody ever uses them, but then I guess I became popular and they decided to, um, exercise that right. What they did a few times was to jump on other projects I was working on already and become co-producers.”
Alas, history is history and we, the horror audience, had the pleasure of seeing Hartnett start his career with two prominent roles in the post-Scream horror genre. A guy who was so cool at the time, he could make a haircut that looked like it came from the “Suck Kut” machine in Wayne’s World appear bad ass. Hartnett had such an X-factor about him, he probably could have pulled off Courtney Cox’s Scream 3 bangs and gotten away with it. A legit star, the moment he arrived on the scene. Even if he hated it.
For the answer to the question of whether Hartnett was here for art or fame, one need look no further than the behind-the-scenes interviews for The Faculty. You won’t see a person who thinks he’s the next big thing. You’ll see a film nerd waxing philosophical about Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi. Again, we’re not here to talk about that. But it’s important to appropriately note as we adorn Hartnett in his well-earned horror flowers.
‘The Faculty’
On-screen in The Faculty, Hartnett was portrayed as a tortured but painfully hip drug dealer whose parents weren’t often around as he used their home to create his own drug, “scat.” Which was… of course… ”guaranteed to jack you up.” In the first draft of writer Kevin Williamson’s script, the character of Zeke was far more unlikeable. Bullying Elijah Wood’s character incessantly. Even forcing him by threat of a “beating” to rip off a girl’s top in front of the whole school. My imagination tells me someone at Dimension didn’t want their new leading man to be seen in such a harsh light, so we received the semi-toned-down version of Zeke.
And Hartnett brought more to the character of Zeke than he ever had to. While you wanted to like Zeke, you also kind of hated him and simultaneously felt genuinely bad for the guy. He was aware enough as an actor to bring out the nuances of the character Williamson had written, and we all know he rocked the shit out of the long sleeve undershirt/short sleeve t-shirt combo.
While Hartnett was never in a Scream film himself (he would have fit right in), his career trajectory was no doubt impacted by its success. Dimension was desperately trying to replicate the genre-rescuing success of Wes Craven’s film and was running writer Kevin Williamson down to his bones in an attempt to do so. While Williamson didn’t write Halloween H20 (those honors go to Robert Zappia), Harnett’s simultaneous debut film, he did write an initial treatment for it, and there’s no doubt when you watch the film…. well, it’s Scream influenced. In H20, Hartnett plays John Tate, the son of Laurie Strode. Hartnett wasn’t sure he even wanted to do it, stating at the time: “Halloween 7? Is that going straight to video? Or straight to Hell?”
In the end, he took the role and made it one of the more memorable characters of the Halloween sequels. He made his mark in multiple face-offs with both Michael Myers and his mother/school headmistress, as his character tried to break his mother of her obsession with her past, paranoia, and alcoholism. Trading lines with a legendary actress (Jamie Lee Curtis) returning to her most legendary role in your first-ish film ever is quite the task and it never appeared that Hartnett ever so much as blinked.
’30 Days of Night’
Perhaps working in the horror genre via the confines of Dimension soured Hartnett to the genre for a while, or maybe it was just fate, but Hartnett wouldn’t work directly in horror again for almost a decade before 30 Days of Night came calling. Or more specifically, producer Sam Raimi, who Harnett credited as the reason he took the role. Raimi assured Harnett (in Hartnett’s own words) that, “Aside from this being a vampire film it was going to be something that was quite elevated. Something that was actually worth working on as an actor.”
Hartnett would run and scream, of course, as the film’s premise (based on a graphic comic series) was a small Alaskan town being hunted by vampires during their month of total darkness. Hartnett, however, spent most of his time playing the character Sheriff Eben Olsen more as if he were in a subtle Western than your typical vampire flick. A soft-spoken, calming center of gravity amidst the bloody chaos. Sam Raimi wasn’t lying to him.
A mostly inward but multi-faceted character, Olsen was one of the very few protectors of a remote town, suffering through a broken relationship with his significant other (played by Melissa George). The film had its moments; a great idea for a horror movie, along with a stand out setting, and a frightening lead vampire (played by Danny Huston), albeit with some major pacing issues and a lack of true scares. Hartnett though, was again a bright spot and a welcome sight for the sore eyes of horror fans who had missed seeing him. It was the beginning of an actor maturing in front of our eyes, complete with vampires ripping out folks’ throats.
Hartnett’s next tour into the dark arts would be in 2014 when he played Ethan Chandler in the TV series Penny Dreadful, which ran for three seasons on Showtime.
For a man who loves to play multi-dimensional characters with introspective turmoil, Ethan Chandler was an interesting choice for Hartnett. The character was a womanizing, American gunman, and semi-con artist with a drinking problem. One of those characters who had a whole hell of a lot going on behind those eyes. The show takes this character along with fellow leads, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green, into a twisted underworld, using his talents, and misgivings, to unravel a story involving everything from Frankenstein to more vampires. Lots of vampires. For those of us who hadn’t seen Hartnett in a while, it was awesome just to see him in general. But also great to see him in a role where he could do some real scenery chewing.
‘Penny Dreadful’
Fast forward to 2023 and Hartnett was back in the horror genre, or at the very least, in the ballpark, with an episode of Black Mirror titled Beyond the Sea. I’ll keep this mostly spoiler-free as I imagine many who haven’t heard of this mini-movie will want to check it out, and it’s well worth doing so. In the episode, we’re in an alternate universe of 1969. Two astronauts, played by Hartnett and Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, are the first test subjects of a new technology. While they are in space on a six-year mission, they are able to crawl into a chamber of some sort and mentally take over the synthetic version of themselves that is back at home with their families. But when a group of hippies decide this is unnatural, they intervene Charles Manson style and send the episode catapulting into a horrific tale of pure anguish.
Hartnett is tasked with playing a character who goes through the absolute darkest of human emotions from unbelievable grief to extreme loneliness. It’s an amazing exhibition of his underrated acting abilities. It’s a must-watch episode of the show and feels more like its very own movie than anything else.
A while back, Hartnett stated himself that, “People wanted to create a brand around me that was going to be accessible and well-liked, but I didn’t respond to the idea of playing the same character over and over, so I branched out. I tried to find smaller films I could be part of and, in the process, I burned my bridges at the studios because I wasn’t participating. Our goals weren’t the same.”
As we stand today, I think it’s fair to say that Josh Hartnett has flipped the script the way he wanted to all those years ago. Hollywood knew he was a star, but he was more interested in becoming a serious actor. Anyone who’s seen his recent work knows he’s accomplished that, and I’m willing to bet he’s still pretty damn marketable too.
We look forward to seeing him back in the thriller/horror genre with Trap on August 2.
It’s guaranteed to jack us up.
‘Halloween H20’
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
You must be logged in to post a comment.