Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Memorable, crazy movie

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Admirable film.

A group of bigoted locals wrongly blame gentle man-child Bubba (Larry Drake) for the death of a young girl and hunt the frightened dolt down, eventually finding him disguised as a scarecrow in his mother's field. Without giving poor Bubba a chance to explain what happened, the trigger-happy gang fill him full of holes. The ensuing murder trial is a farce and the men are acquitted, but one by one they are menaced by a creepy scarecrow before turning up dead.For my money, scarecrows are every bit as disturbing as clowns, but they don't seem to have captured film-makers' imaginations in quite the same way: there's tons of scary clown flicks (with more and more on the way following the success of this year's horror blockbuster It), but only a handful of scarecrow films. TV movie Dark Night of the Scarecrow, directed by novelist Frank De Felitta, attempts to prove to the boob tube masses that a creepy straw man can be just as terrifying as a grease-painted killer, but fails to do so: the limitations of the small screen format means that there is zero gore, and the film delivers very few genuine frights simply because the victims are all thoroughly deserving of their fates (it's hard to be scared when you're rooting for the scarecrow).It's a shame because the cast is good (Charles Durning is delightfully loathsome as mailman Otis, leader of the lynch mob, who, it is implied, is also a pedo) and De Felitta displays some not inconsiderable skill behind the camera.

A quartet of backwoods vigilante buffoons chase a mentally disabled man, Bubba, through town after they believe him to have kidnapped a young girl. They find him disguised as a scarecrow in a field, and execute him, only to receive immediate news that the girl is alive and well, and that he actually saved her life. Oops. After being acquitted of the murder, all four men are plagued by a bullet-ridden scarecrow appearing on their property, and talk that Bubba is somehow stalking them beyond the grave.There is truly something special about the television horror films of the late 1970s and early 1980s— "Home for the Holidays," "Trilogy of Terror," "Race with the Devil," just to name a few— for whatever reasons, the horror films that made it to the small screen during this era were consistently well made and legitimately suspenseful. In fact, a lot of them have the production values and feel of a major studio picture, and "Dark Night of the Scarecrow" is no exception here. Directed by Frank De Felitta, who also brought us 1977's "Audrey Rose," the film boasts impressive cinematography and some playful and inventive terror sequences as the redneck geezers/wannabe vigilantes get their just desserts. Since it is a television film, the violence is obviously minimized, but the implications during each of these payback scenes are grim, and mostly revolve around farm machinery— ouch.Charles Durning's turn as the reprehensible small town postman and cold-blooded bigot is effective in that his character is truly reprehensible, and Jocelyn Brando (yep, Marlon's sister), is wonderful as the spiteful mother of Bubba. An understated and spooky synth score accentuates the eerier moments here, particularly the wide shots of the ominous scarecrow (or Bubba...?) hanging in the distant fields.While the overall premise may not be particularly original ("Les diaboliques" comes to mind), this is a remarkably well put-together thriller that is miles about standard television fare as we've come to know it. Sophisticated production values and De Felitta's attention to detail are impressive; in fact, had I not known it was a made-for-TV movie beforehand, I may have not guessed it at all. A truly worthy genre entry, and quite frankly much more elegant than half of what the eighties had to offer in terms of slasher films. 8/10.

I never judge a film by its budget, but nevertheless, the overall effect that Frank De Felitta managed to achieve with so little is something that I find very impressive. It is a bit of a sad story, ignorant bullies rushing to some very harsh conclusions and murdering a helpless mentally backward man and not even really feeling any remorse about it, only thinking of their own skins and fearing justice - and that they should indeed in this spooky country tale of just desserts from beyond the grave! It's quite straightforward and is really just a simple yet strongly focused story of supernatural revenge that they were trying to tell, and it's one of the rare flicks where you're actually rooting for the restless spirit and not the people who brought about its curse in the first place. What I most enjoy about this film is its chillingly effective foreboding atmosphere of dread and tension that builds as each of the condemned men are picked off one by one by a dark force that remains unseen... That's also something that I love a lot about this, how you don't even need to see a rampaging undead scarecrow running around slaughtering people in order to feel the fear, if they had chosen to go that route I believe the film would have turned out very hokey and wouldn't be anywhere near as well-made as it is. And to me anyone who hates the picture because of the fact that you don't really see that much just isn't getting the point, I think it's an excellent example of that which you don't see being much more eerie and unsettling, and when you finally do see just a little something at the very end it's a lot more meaningful and is like the icing on the cake! It's all done in a nice subtle way with all the gruesome horror gags being practically stripped down to nothing, which while I'm aware was very likely due to the budget, is still something that in the case of this movie I could really appreciate because I thought it made the spartan plot a lot more impactful. I liked the windblown rural setting, all of the plain and dull country visuals do a lot for the tone of the story. It's slow but to me felt like it took its time, and once again I liked how its horror was very minimalistic, as opposed to the typical everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to many other slasher movies of the time. Something else that works in its favour is how the actors who played the four vigilantes really made their small roles into pretty well-rounded characters instead of just generic faceless bad guys. The fat squeaky-voiced fella's death is the most suspenseful sequence for me, and I find it hilarious when the scared rabbit of the group has a mental breakdown in the graveyard! But I think the overall best performance goes to Charles Durning who truly is the real monster of the movie and actually kills more people than the scarecrow! He may be a mailman, but he's such a relentless evil-spirited toad that you really grow to hate him and can't wait for him to get what he deserves. When it's subtly suggested what his real reason for wanting Bubba out of the picture is, I liked that because it added an extra depth to his creepiness. And the sequence that leads up to the demented Hazelrigg ironically impaling himself on the very pitchfork that he originally placed in the scarecrow's hands I love because the scene is so hectic and the pumpkins give things a surreal, almost fable-like quality for a moment, and especially with what follows and the poignant closing image of an ending that is both touching yet also a little bit 'off' and chilling somewhere. Bubba the scarecrow gives her the flower holding it by the stem, like she taught him to do in the opening scene. Sweet. There was something enigmatic and sometimes a little sinister about the girl's attitude regarding the ghostly nature of her friend and how she didn't seem to grasp or care about what death was, and how she just continued to play with him even after he was dead. She was cute as corn-on-the-cob but at times creepy as Children of the Corn.. Sweet little Marylee had a hit-list! Unlike many of its fans, I never saw this as a child, so it doesn't have that special nostalgic place in my heart, but the first time I watched it, I did really like and get into it right away and found it to be a compelling and satisfying viewing experience, one that deserves its praises as a mini classic that was once forgotten and rediscovered by word of mouth. Good old movie.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow starts as the mentally child like 36 year old man Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake) plays with his best friend, a young girl named Marylee Williams (Tonya Crowe) whom are inseparable. While out innocently playing together Marylee is attacked by a dog, Bubba manages to rescue her but thinks she is dead & takes her home to her mother. Four local men including mailman Otis P. Halzelrigg (Charles Durning) hear what has happened & assume that the mentally retarded Bubba killed Marylee, together they find Bubba & hunt him down into a corn field where Bubba hides in a scarecrow. The men shoot Bubba in cold blood thinking that he killed little Marylee but they hear on the radio that Marylee is still alive & that Bubbe actually saved her life, they quickly make up a story that they shot Bubba in self defence & are subsequently spared jail. However a mysterious scarecrow appears in a field, a scarecrow that wasn't there before & soon two of the men responsible for murdering Bubba have died in strange accidents...Directed by Frank De Felitta this was originally made for US network TV & first broadcast on 24th October 1981 before it was subsequently released on VHS around the world & more recently on DVD, it's fair to say that Dark Night of the Scarecrow has enjoyed classic status for a long time now & while I think it's a fine film I don't think I could quite call it a genuine classic. Sure, it's a classic in some other people's eyes but as far as I am concerned it's not much more than a good solid chiller. Dark Night of the Scarecrow tells a good story, it takes it's time to build up the situation & the character's & it's easy to become engrossed, I suppose some say how the script touches on subjects like mental illness, prejudice, the way the legal system can be manipulated, assumption & child molestation & while that's true to an extent I thought the script never went into huge amounts of detail which I think is good as it could have become really bogged down with wider issues. At just over 90 minutes Dark Night of the Scarecrow might seem slow to some viewers but none of the running time is wasted & a lot is crammed into that time, the main area that I found disappointing was that there's not much of a pay-off here. Sure, the script takes the time to set the story up, to bring the character's to life & build-up some creepy atmosphere but all of the death's are off screen & I was sitting there waiting for it to really come to life but it never does which is a pity as I don't really have anything else bad to say about it. Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a good solid horror thriller that is perfectly watchable & enjoyable but didn't stand out as the classic that many seem to claim so readily.Probably not having much money to work with director Felitta does a good job of creating atmosphere, sound effects, good nighttime photography & good use of the creepy Scarecrow image help. There's no great amount of blood or gore in it, someone is shot & there's a bit of blood but nothing excessive, in fact Dark Night of the Scarecrow is very restrained which is not a criticism just a statement. Sound is also used to good effect as well. Apparently had an eighteen day shooting schedule but was filmed in just seventeen.Filmed in Piru in California the production values are great, made for television films have certainly regressed a long way since Dark Night of the Scarecrow, can you imagine the SyFy Channel making such a good looking & carefully crafted film as this today? The acting is very strong, Charles Durning is great in a role that was originally intended for Strother Martin before he died while the rest of the cast are also excellent here.Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a really good, solid horror thriller that is is worth watching but I would stop just short of calling it an absolute classic. A good film to watch at Halloween.