Old Man Suddard

The original suddard film was written and directed By Reuben Jomero and was released in cinemas globally in 1975. It was an immediate success and smashed box office records in over fifty countries. The poster featured the lead actor Patty Rick as the infamous Old Man Suddard as he towered over a group of screaming teenagers. Set in a small town called Horton, this horror movie was about to spawn a franchise that ran for decades.

Synopsis

Three teens are swimming in the black lake of Horton when they are brutally murdered by a scary entity. Their bodies are found by local Sherriff, Quentin Green who deems the lake as unvisitable. One year after the deaths, a small group of teenagers, made up of Rob, Yasmine, Harold, Jeremy and Greg swim in the lake where they hear noises. They promptly leave but soon learn that the lake is cursed by the spirit of a man who died at the lake conveniently 100 years ago today.

The group return to their homes but Rob is murdered during the night by a shadowy figure. The following day, the rest of the group are reasonably okay with this but when Yasmine is also murdered, the group learn that the curse of Old Man Suddard is real. They travel to visit Sherriff Green and learn the story of Suddard, an old racist man who one night, 100 years ago got drunk and went to the black lake in order to beat it for being black. He drowned during the fight but cursed the lake with his dying breathe saying that he would kill anyone who swam in it.

The group leave the place planning to set a trap and kill the risen Suddard. The trap fails and Greg is killed. The two others try to escape but Jeremy is badly injured. Harold, carrying his friend, manages to escape to a cabin in Horton but soon finds out that it was the cabin that Suddard owned which conveniently was also cursed. They booby trap the house and when Suddard attacks, they manage to kill him. Sadly by morning, when the police arrive, the body is nowhere to be found. Jeremy and Harold get into Green's car and leave the cabin.

Trivia

The likeness of Patty Rick as Old Man Suddard was later used to create a waxwork to be placed in the Old Man Suddard national museum along with his Old Man teeth and a bit of Cabin wood from the original cabin.

It won an award for best actor for Patty Rick along with numerous awards for script, special effects, make up and best teen ensemble.

Various cuts of this film were produced over the years. These were the censored cut which featured no blood or violence, the extra violence edition and the Director's cut which features a remastered edition with CGI elements which better reflect Jomero's original vision. The extended edition features more backstory on Suddard which is now considered non canon. Finally there was an alternate ending which was released only in Germany. The Germans were sworn to secrecy and this ending has since been lost over time although rumours of it redurfacing over the years have constantly appeared in the media and Suddardy forums.