Where in the Horror are they Now? Ami Dolenz!

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

AMI DOLENZ

THEN: I love The Monkees. The music was energetic and awesome. And if you’ve never had the chance to sit and watch the cult classic Monkees' movie HEAD (1968), you must find a way to do it. Why bring up The Monkees you ask? Well, another thing I happen to love is a cool scream queen I can root for. And not only did the great Micky Dolenz help make this iconic pop band cool, his daughter happens to be one of the most underrated scream queens around. Ami Dolenz is adorable on every level. She was one of the cutest blonde leading ladies of horror that just doesn't get enough respect. And yes, we here at AITH are going to give it to her.

Like many talented folks that we talk about in this particular column, the lovely Ms. Dolenz started off with a ton of television. This included work on the soap General Hospital from 1987 to 1989. That led to appearances on the hit series Growing Pains in 1985 and 1986, and three episodes of Silver Spoons in 1986 and 1987. Yet the big screen was calling and thanks to a little movie called CAN’T BUY ME LOVE (1987), she was part of a pretty impressive cast in this charming teen comedy. And it didn’t stop there, in 1989 she was in another teen flick called SHE’S OUT OF CONTROL that featured Tony Danza and Catherine Hicks. While that last feature may not have connected with audiences in a big way, it did prove that she could handle a featured role.

In 1991, Ami had a bit of a break from comedy and took on a few vampires. CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT was a low budget flick directed by Tony Randel (HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II) and starring horror legend Karen Black. Ami Dolenz put her charming and innocent beauty to good use as Lucy Barrett, a girl with virgin blood who becomes the prime target for the town vampires. Now, it’s been a long while since I sat back and watched this cheapie and frankly, I was never a huge fan. However, it was nice to see Ami take on genre and especially a leading role. The actress proved to be a perfect fit for horror in this gothically inclined vamp flick, and it really is hard to resist the legendary Ms. Black in horror.

With a couple more comedies on her resume, it was 1993 that brought Ami back to the spooky. Now here is the deal, Ms. Dolenz is really terrific in these flicks. She has a very charming quality and she plays terrified quite nicely. She was a blast in TICKS and she held down the fort in WITCHBOARD 2 especially well. And even in PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS, she made for one hell of a strong leading lady. Unfortunately, two of these fine features were sequels to sort of notable films that didn’t make that much of an impact. I actually enjoyed the original WITCHBOARD for what it was – Tawny Kitaen was smoking hot – and the original PUMPKINHEAD was especially intense. And while the sequels weren’t necessarily up to par, it sure helped to have Ami taking charge in leading roles.

After that year of genre goodness, it seems that this pretty blonde was taking a break from scary movies. She was back working on a number of television shows including Murder, She Wrote (also in 1993). There was Saved by the Bell: The College Years in 1994 and a handful of TV movies. Aside from a thriller tinged series called Dark Realm in 2001, she wasn’t doing much in terms of terrifying audiences. Then came 2008 when the actress appeared in the silly disaster movie 2012 DOOMSDAY and a slasher style thriller in 2009 called HOUSE RULES FOR BAD GIRLS. After that, she appeared in an episode of Rules of Engagement in 2010 and short called Committed in 2010. According to her IMDB page, she hasn’t done a whole lot since then, so the question is, Where in the Horror is Ami Dolenz?

NOW: The one time horror actress it seems has been putting her talent to good use. She is the author of children’s book entitled “Harold & Agatha The Mysterious Jewel” – which you can order from Ami’s official website right here. Also according to her site, she is working on two more children’s books, including one she is writing with her dad Micky. It seems as though much of her time is spent giving back, especially with children and acting. According to a 2013 interview she mentions her own company called KidPix Productions – where a child’s birthday party is turned into a movie set. I even found a PSA that she did for a pretty damn good group called Actors For Autism – a social skills service for children in the autism spectrum.

While it would be fantastic to see Ami return to horror, it appears that the one time scream queen is happy out of the spotlight for now. If you’d like to find out more about her writing and possibly upcoming projects, you can go to her previously mentioned website. You can also follow Ami on Facebook and Twitter. And honestly, after revisiting this lovely lady in WITCHBOARD 2 this evening before sitting down to write, I really hope that somebody gives her a chance to make audiences scream again.