SCOUT TAYLOR-COMPTON
THEN: Come October there is one film franchise that will always be a part of my existence. Good or bad, for better or worse, HALLOWEEN and all its sequels and the remake hold a special place in my heart. Call me a completest, but I have a deep affection for all of them in some way. And while Jamie Lee Curtis is my number one when it comes to scream queens, I have to hand it to the shockingly adorable Scout Taylor-Compton for stepping into the iconic role of Laurie Strode in Rob Zombie’s remake and sequel. She was a very different Laurie, but she certainly added a little bit of fire to the babysitter next door.
When the young actress began her career doing short films, she quickly made the jump to day player roles in a few television series such as “Ally McBeal”, “ER” and “Gilmore Girls”. Soon she was cast in the feature film 13 GOING ON 30 with Jennifer Garner as well as the teen comedy SLEEPOVER, both in 2004. Her name didn’t register with me at first taking into account I didn’t see either of these two films. Whether she was on my radar or not, Scout continued to find a ton of work back in television and even landed an eight episode gig on the hit series “Charmed.” Since this is all about horror we are going to skip right on ahead.
In 2006 she found herself with a leading role in WICKED LITTLE THINGS with Chloe Grace Moretz. Part of After Dark Films, this freaky looking flick still didn’t register, but I decided to take a look back and had a blast watching her taking on evil. While not necessarily horror, the actress appeared with Ellen Page in the disturbing flick AN AMERICAN CRIME in 2007. The story of a psychotic housewife holding a teenage girl hostage is super freaky and not terribly fun to watch. Acting wise, Ms. Page and Catherine Keener stole this flick, but it was nice to see Scout continue taking on some seriously dark material.
And speaking of dark, love it or hate it, Rob Zombie sure made a brutal show of his take on HALLOWEEN (2007). As Laurie Strode, Ms. Taylor-Compton took the character on a very different path. This Laurie cursed like a sailor, talked back to her mom and wasn’t quite so naïve. And since she survived such an awful ordeal as a teenager stalked by a psycho in the first film, this tough little babysitter became a pitch black character when she faced Michael Myers again in ROB ZOMBIE’S HALLOWEEN II in 2009. It’s been awhile since I sat down with both of these flicks, so I’d be curious to revisit. Either way, the actress gave her all in both films and became a very familiar face in the horror genre.
Somewhere between the two HALLOWEEN movies, Scout did another remake of sorts – albeit one that had absolutely nothing to do with the original. Was this ever really considered a remake? The 2008 feature entitled APRIL FOOL’S DAY was nothing like the Deborah Foreman/Amy Steel awesomeness, and quite frankly I wasn’t a fan. That being said, I enjoyed seeing this lovely young lady in a different kind of role. For me, she was one of the bright spots in this otherwise generic flick. Personally I preferred her playing Lita Ford in the enjoyable rock biography THE RUNAWAYS in 2010.
Over the past few years Scout Taylor-Compton continued to work in horror. She has appeared in small budget features like LIFE BLOOD in 2009 and 247°F in 2011. And this makes me content, as she is a charmingly adorable on-screen presence which works for horror. And happily I can say from my own experience that she is absolutely lovely in person as well. I had the honor or moderating the ROB ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN panel one year for an official HALLOWEEN Convention. Getting to chat with this incredible girl was one of the highlights for me personally. But the question is, what is this two time Laurie Strode up to lately?
NOW: Way back when, I had heard about a flick she was appearing in called 7500. I’m still perplexed as to why it has stalled on the runway as we’ve failed to see a release for the film. It’s a shame, as this flick also sports a pretty decent cast with Leslie Bibb, Ryan Kwanten and Jamie Chung. Has anybody seen it? It did get a release somewhere in the world, so if you happen to be in Thailand you may have caught it. Now according to the always reliable (???) IMDB, she also stars in TAG alongside Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Traci Lords. While not a horror flick, it’s good to see her in what seemingly is a starring role.
With the recent release of GONE GIRL making Rosamund Pike a guaranteed leading contender for an Academy Award nomination, it is good news that Scout is starring alongside her in a thriller called RETURN TO SENDER. Featuring Pike, Nick Nolte, Rumor Willis as well as Shiloh Fernandez (EVIL DEAD and WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD), this certainly has promise. I’ve got a feeling that, just like her own take on Laurie Strode, this lovely and talented actress is going to fight and be around for a very long time. Here is hoping the projects will continue to be bigger and better. Hell, there is even some talk that she may be coming back for HALLOWEEN 3 – if and when it happens. Personally, I’d be very interested to see where she and another director might take this character.