Interview with horror writer, Dani Bethea
Can you tell us about yourself and your work?
I’m a non-binary grey-asexual horror pontificator/writer from North Carolina; I’m also a gardener and weightlifter. All of which, I do to decompress and find a deeper connection between my brain and my body…so cathartic. Writing is one of my favorite forms of self expression and helps me unpack a rolodex of things I have running around in my head all the time. I love nothing more than challenging myself (and others) about the grey areas, spaces, places, and people that are often underrepresented in the genre.
What was the first thing you encountered that made you fall in love with horror?
The visuals, sound, and overall aesthetic of horror. From adolescence to now, I’ve always been enthralled by the making of horror films, special effects, sound design, crafting the visuals, and the backstories of these films. Every film (well, most) have an abundance of time, care, and passion teeming from them. I remain in awe of the human imagination to create some of the films/tv programs/etc. that we’ve been able to create, find, keep in print, or archive.
What does the horror community mean to you?
The horror community means everything to me. They’re my family, friends, and confidantes in innumerable ways. So many of them were a listening compassionate ear who just got it…whatever the it was…so many people in the horror community come from the queer, Black, Latine, disabled, neurodivergent, etc. communities. We all come into this community from so many places of otherness that (at least in my experiences for now) its been a safe and affirming space.
You’ve written impressive and thought-provoking pieces on disability, queerness, classism, and intersectionality in horror. What have been some of your most personally loved articles?
Some of the first horror pieces I ever wrote examined the reality for Black Americans that are betwixt and between the margins (domestic violence, penal system, environmental racism, etc.) Those early pieces were a precursor to now where critical analysis of Candyman’s world inside/outside of the film, the real-world horror of Gojira’s narrative, thorough highs/lows reading of Lovecraft Country, or the ‘lighthearted’ pieces exploring The Weekend’s After Hours and the neverending font of love we have for Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village coalesce…aka…I’m a nerd about so many genres (horror, history, video games, anime/manga, fashion, etc.) so you never know what I’m going to write about next. *Truthfully, I love all of the pieces that I write because they’re a labor of intense love and I could never choose just one.*
What have you learned through analysing horror movies?
I’ve learned that horror is the most malleable and diverse genre imaginable. You can inject anything into the medium that you want and it will always work because we’re tapping into those parts of the brain that want to experience varied sources of input. There’s a science/politic/history/artistic component to the scare, the visual(s), ‘the monster’, etcetera that will always evoke something different for every individual. It’s a genre that will never run out of steam for that very reason and it's a space that’s always ripe for dissection.
Who has been an inspiring person in horror for you and why?
I have far too many horror inspirations to list, but a few include Toni Morrison (her writing continues to be prescient, prophetic, and astounding in its complexity), Sigourney Weaver (her legendary status in horror needs no introduction and I’m an avid shoe collector from the films), every single Black film/filmmaker/writer/actor that paved the way for all of us now, Junji Ito (images/stories that continue to terrify and inspire), Ashlee Blackwell (who gave me kudos and mentorship on various platforms), Tananarive Due (an icon and legend in the industry who deserves an endless bouquet of flowers), Robin Means Coleman (whose text Horror Noire is THEE foundation and springboard for so many of my thoughts on the horror genre) and so many others that it would take an infinitesimal amount of pages to write…
What are you working on in 2022?
I started the year with a piece that addressed the myriad of Black stories that are being left behind in the horror genre (impoverished, the South, etc.) or have never been given their just due (disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, etc). The follow-up to this piece addressed the paltry amount of Black non-binary and trans actors currently working (or having worked in the tv/film industry) and the dire need for this representation beyond social media spaces. The next piece in the queue salutes the talented Black trans actor/tech geek/activist/horror icon Angelica Ross and how imperative and important her work is for the broader community of telling Black trans stories of life, rather than death. Since my excoriating critique of The Last of Us 2 and its tone deafness regarding Black trauma, I haven’t visited video game horror in a while…but this year I plan on writing some lengthy pieces on We Happy Few, Alien: Isolation, and Soma. I have some more ideas for this year, including some of the films from Sundance if I can get my eyes on them, but I’ll see where my mind/heart/wallet takes me. (*cough cough: Jordan Peele’s Nope!)
