Kenosha horror filmmaker Danny Villanueva Jr.’s first feature-length film, I Dream of a Psychopomp (2021), was an anthology of horror stories related to the spirit world. He’s followed that up with last year’s What Happened to Dorothy Bell?, a found-footage paranormal horror film that made a Wisconsin premiere this week at the Milwaukee Film Festival.
The cast includes Michael Hargrove (2021’s Candyman), Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5), and the debut of Asya Meadows. It was filmed entirely in Kenosha. Ahead of screenings of the film on Friday and Sunday at the Oriental Theatre, we asked writer and director Villanueva Jr. about the film’s inspiration and what frightens him.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Without giving spoilers, can you tell us what the storyline is?
What Happened to Dorothy Bell? follows a character named Ozzie Gray who, after uncovering disturbing revelations about her early childhood involving her late grandmother, Dorothy Bell, sets out to investigate her past. Desperate for answers, she attempts to communicate with Dorothy’s spirit but unwittingly awakens something malevolent.
What inspired the story?
Every Halloween season, the Gilbert M. Simmons Library, a 125-year-old historic building located in downtown Kenosha, holds ghost tours. I attended the tour, was captured by the library’s charm and ambience, and felt it was a perfect location for a horror film. I’ve always had an association between libraries and the paranormal because, when visiting the library as a kid, I would head straight to the paranormal section to read books on ghosts and local urban legends.
When working on a micro-budget film, we look at what resources we have to maximize production value. I had a conversation with the library staff about the potential of using the location for a film, and they were open to it. From there I went home to write, and What Happened to Dorothy Bell? was born. It’s not only a story about a haunted library and ghost librarian, but a story about generational trauma and self-discovery.
As a horror director, you probably get asked this a lot, but what frightens you, personally?
Tornados freak me out. Maybe it’s the anxiety felt by the preceding warning siren and the act of having to hide out in the basement while I imagine nature’s kaiju (a giant monster, like Godzilla) demolishing the neighborhood.
What Happened to Dorothy Bell? screens May 2 at 10 p.m. and May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre.
