Researching this guy was
tough. Very little is known (or
available) regarding Simon Scuddamore
other than he committed suicide promptly
after completing the film Slaughter
High in 1986. In the
movie Scuddamore played the tormented
geek (Marty Ratzen) of Doddsville County
High School. As anyone who has seen
Carrie (or
numerous other slasher flicks) will tell
you, Dont push a geek too far
or he or she will snap. Guess what?
After a second prank involving nitric
acid (That old prank! Not so funny) Marty
snaps, big time. Before you can say,
A psychopath is born Marty
vows vengeance, and he gets it. Score one
for the burned and disfigured geeks
everywhere!
Marty organizes one
of those fake reunions (Hey, I
thought you sent the invitations!)
at their old high school before its
to be leveled and invites that hated
clique back for their karmic comeuppance.
It starts with a cool death -- beer laced
with something that makes a guys
intestines explode (was that a Schlitz
Malt Liquor?) At once the
gang suspects foul play (DUH!) and
decides to (DOUBLE DUH!) split up and try
to find a way out of the school (Oh
my God, were locked in!).
Knowing there is a homicidal maniac on
the premises they do additional insane
things like --- hmmm, since the
circumstances are oh so sexy, lets
have sex
Look out you
fornicating folk, that mattress is hot
wired! One takes a bath (I mean,
wouldnt you given the
circumstances!) and hops into a tub of
acid. Another climbs under a riding
mower (A very bad horror movie idea!) to
fix it so they can ride away.
Slaughter High
is all rather-paint-by-the-numbers gore
fair, but its sort of like comfort
food -- you know just what to expect and
thats what makes it delicious. In
fact, its quite entertaining
watching these idiots do absolutely
insane things and get theirs. One of the
most mind-boggling and uncomfortable
parts of the movie however has to do with
the casting. Its weird watching
scream queen extraordinaire Caroline
Munroe (a gorgeous woman, but still 36 at
the time!) play a 16-year-old high school
student. The rest of the cast is also
considerably long in the
tooth for the early parts of the
movie. Some even look a bit old for any
high school reunion.
Back to our boy
Simon
Scuddamore certainly sunk his teeth into
the role of Marty and has fun with it. He
even has a full frontal nude scene
(always appreciated). The young actor
leaves behind this single film, which
brought him just a bit of slasher
immortality. Its a small body of
work for a troubled soul that for
whatever reason grew overwhelmed by the
circumstances in his life and ended up
taking his own. This ones for you
Simon! |