By Joe Puccio

Horror movies, historically, are mostly shunned by mainstream institutions such as the Academy Awards. While recognition has transpired sporadically throughout the years, with Ruth Gordon winning Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary’s Baby in 1968, Kathy Bates claiming Best Actress accolades for Misery in 1990, and Jordan Peele being lauded for Best Original Screenplay for Get Out in 2017, the prestigious honors are most commonly bestowed upon the more typical biographical and historical dramas. In fact, as difficult as it is to fathom, the sole fright flick to ever obtain the Best Picture Oscar is The Silence of the Lambs – a worthy selection, of course, but it occurred 35 years ago.  

Dakota Gorman, the breakout star of the new psychological thriller Hellcat, agrees that the media’s treatment of the genre is rather iniquitous. “I do think that horror has been gradually sneaking up on people, changing viewers’ minds,” said Gorman, during a recent conversation with Generation X Wire. “Foreign horror cinema is really incredible and respected, and I think it’s beginning to cross over into the American market. I feel that it’s inevitable and I’m excited for that day.”   

Written and directed by Brock Bodell (Ultrasound, Dead Water), the clever promotion of Hellcat, loosely about a young woman named Lena (Gorman) seemingly taken captive inside a moving camper trailer driven by an unseen enigma (Todd Terry), has been a large factor in its initial appeal. “It’s been marketed beautifully, in my opinion, because so many people close to me, who I somehow kept the reveal a secret from, assumed it was a straightforward abduction movie. And then seeing how excited everyone was to talk about it with me afterwards was just great,” she affirmed. “They were all surprised and that was the common denominator. And unless there’s a film that I’m unaware of, I’m glad that we were the ones who got to do it.”

Although both of the gifted actress’ parents were actors (“My mom used to bring me to her auditions and I’d wind up getting hired when I was a baby”), Gorman stepped away from the business while still a child, a move she doesn’t regret. “I’ve always been in touch with what I need for myself. And I’m glad that I gave myself the chance to just be a regular kid,” she admitted. “It was for the best.” Fortunately, the Los Angeles native eventually opted to give Hollywood another shot. “At about 17, I decided I really wanted to pursue it again and I got aggressive about it. There were hurdles, though. It’s a tough industry and as someone who’s always been an introvert, I had to learn to be more assertive,” she revealed. “It’s been a journey and I’ve really stepped into my confidence over the last few years. It comes easily for a lot of people. But I had to grow that muscle.”

While the (spoiler-free) plot of Hellcat is certainly one of its draws, the performance given by Gorman is equally as notable and impressive. The range of emotions that the multi-talented artist so seamlessly taps into over the course of the film’s 90-minute duration runs the gamut from fear to desperation to anger to acceptance – with a sprinkling of hallucinations thrown in for good measure. “One of the characteristics that I love about acting is being spontaneous. But in being authentic to the character and situation in that spontaneity is doing all the background work. To me, that’s very important. Brock and I talked a lot about the stages of grief and how it would steer Lena in one direction or another and be markers for certain points in the film,” she explained. “So, I didn’t necessarily plan everything out beforehand. A lot of it was energy on the day of shooting and things we built together as we went through the process.”

To be clear, the emotional aspects weren’t the only feats accomplished by Gorman. The role also called for an abundance of physicality, and she tackled the challenge with great skill. “During the scene where I break the radio, I went full rage, and I wound up destroying it. Afterwards, Brock said that we were going to use that take since we didn’t have a backup,” she laughed. “I would definitely wake up in the morning and feel the soreness in my body. But I’m a hyperactive person and if there was a moment in the movie where I had to be exhausted, I would run nonstop until we started filming it.”

Another example of Gorman’s tenacity is on display during a scene in which Lena is desperately banging on the camper’s door. “We had about four guys holding the door shut on the other side and I was still whacking it open,” she smiled. “It’s a different type of skill and I’d love to eventually do more parts that require stunt work.”

In addition to acting, Gorman dabbles in the creative side of show business as well. Besides being an avid writer, the renaissance woman helmed the comedic Natural Disasters and The Girl in the Pool, the acclaimed mystery starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Kevin Pollak and also has a significant directing gig on the horizon that’s about to be announced publicly. Being in front of the camera, however, is still a current priority. “I recently filmed The Wretched Devours, the sequel to The Wretched, which is a horror project but a very different character than Lena,” she clarified. “It’s in post-production right now and the first one is on Shudder so there’s a possibility the new one will be too, or they may do a festival circuit run.”

As for Hellcat, as those who have already seen it are aware, the conclusion is undoubtedly ambiguous enough to allow for a second installment. Although there are no concrete plans for one at this point, Gorman is game, especially for the opportunity to again work with Bodell. “I’d jump at the chance to be a part of any set with Brock in a heartbeat. And honestly, with anyone from the Hellcat crew,” she enthused. “So, I’m hoping there’s a collaboration down the line, whether in the form of a sequel or something else entirely.”

Despite scary fare holding a special place in Gorman’s heart (“I light up with it and love watching all types – even bad horror can be great if it’s terrible enough”), the genre she’s perhaps most associated with isn’t necessarily her next venture. “The creation of art, in any form, is fun,” she surmised. “It ultimately comes down to the script and the character. I seem to have gained some momentum recently and things aren’t slowing down, which is awesome. For that, I’m grateful.”

Follow Dakota Gorman on Instagram here.

Hellcat is currently streaming on Shudder and AMC+.