An Interview with Walter Ruether a.k.a. Scarlet Fry on Scarlet Fry's Horrorama'S VHS Re-Release

by Mike Haberfelner

March 2026

Walter Ruether on (re)Search my Trash

Your very first film Scarlet Fry's Horrorama has just been re-released on VHS - but before we get to that, and even if we have talked about this before, do bring us up to speed, what's the movie about?

From deep within the grave comes Scarlet Fry's Horrorama that is a SOV anthology with six short stories brought to you by the horror host Scarlet Fry. Six tidbits of terror are presented before the horror genre hating protesters end Scarlet Fry, who is determined to not allow them to ruin the fun.

So how did that new release of Scarlet Fry's Horrorama come into being?

With the massive comeback of VHS particularly in the horror genre, tapeheads seemed to embrace the shot-on-video gems of the 80s and 90s. Scarlet Fry's Horrorama was part of the original VHS heyday of the 1990’s and its SOV goodness. The movie was discovered by collectors who quickly became aware of how rare this movie is to find. One of the originals on tape is next to impossible and only 3 original tapes are known to exist . In the spirit of the original, Lunchmeat VHS in partnership with SRS Cinema decided to release 50 limited edition VHS sporting the original artwork and offer it to the fans on its original format.

As mentioned, this is a VHS release - so how do you explain the continued fascination with what's objectively an outdated format?

If you're as old as me you remember how much VHS changed the way we watch film forever it was the first at home format to bring films right from the big screen into our living rooms and it also opened the door to a massive amount of talent - hence the indie filmmaker was born. I think people like to relive those days when watching movies was an event and a perfect way to have fun with your family and friends.

You*ve made Scarlet Fry's Horrorama 36 years ago on a shoestring budget on non-professional equipment - so did you back when even begin to dream that this film might have such long lefs in terms of re-releases?

I never imagined it would have lasted this long. I have become very honored and proud of my little SOV horrific morsel, I owe it to the collectors out there who discovered this movie all on their own and even wrote about it in books. Time has been very kind to this film, it’s become a 90s cult classic.

Let's talk about Scarlet Fry's Horrorama's host Scarlet Fry for a bit, your alter ego you have returned to again and again over the years - so what can you tell us about the character's initial concept, and how has he evolved over the years?

I always go back to 1984 when I was in high school and was a huge Alice Cooper fan. All my buddies were musicians and I wanted to make Scarlet Fry a singer in a theatrical splatter rock band but nobody wanted to go along with it, so I brought Scarlet Fry into the horror film genre which was absolutely perfectly fitting for this character.

Looking back at Scarlet Fry's Horrorama now, is there anything you would have done differently given the experience you have gathered over the years, and how do you think you have grown as a director since?

I would have added a few more short stories to make it longer, and that was something we intended but those stories were never finished or just partially shot. I have grown a lot and learned the virtue of patience but I was young then and I’m just very proud of myself for actually picking up a camera in the late 80s and finishing this project and got it released by 1990.

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Besides Scarlet Fry's Horrorama, are there any other past films of yours that might get a re-release any time soon?

The last thing I put out was all my films in a 3 disc Blu-ray collection called The Scarlet Fry Collection, which is available now at the SRS Cinema store.

Enough about the past: Are there any future projects you want to share?

I was asked to be one of 10 directors in a trilogy of Amityville films which was called Amityville Infinity that just started shipping also from SRS Cinema.

Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?

srscinemastore.com and lunchmeatvhs.com

Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?

Keep horror alive and watch more VHS. For awesome horror movie reviews check out Madam Cadaver's horror review page on Facebook.

Thanks for the interview!

© by Mike Haberfelner

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