Dark Night Of The Scarecrow

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Frank De Felitta

Starring: Charles Durning, Robert F. Lyons, Lane Smith, Tonya Crowe, Larry Drake

From: Wizan Productions

I probably won't be back for a few days; I won't go into details why, but just know that is the case. At least last night I got to see a cult classic. I explain it below: 

For the last review that I may do for a few days (I will be busy with other things) I figured I should see one of the many hundreds of movies in my virtual (and sometimes literal) queue and I selected this cult classic horror film that I imagine would be better known if it did not happen to be a made for TV movie that aired on CBS back in 1981. There's something I remember from my childhood in the 80's and 90's... made for TV movies that aired on the broadcast networks.

This is a Southern Gothic tale (because I am a nerd, I noticed that it was obviously filmed in Southern California, but we can pretend that it's some small rural town in the South) where a little girl has an adult male for a friend but to put it matter of factly, he was “mentally handicapped”. Some good old boys don't understand so they think the relationship is gross and when an accident happens to the little girl, they go wild and poor Bubba is dead. Suddenly, mysterious things start happening, and there is also a mysterious scarecrow...

To me, I was not bothered by the fact that because this was a made for TV film from the past there was little gore and no “naughty words”. I don't need such things to be entertained. Besides, the story was always interested and there was plenty of both mood and atmosphere. Time is spend building up the characters and we quickly discover that Charles Durning (as the lead guy of the good old boys, and to think that he was a mailman) is a real A-hole, especially when the chips are down and those things happen to him and his crew. Despite the limitations the deaths are still effective and some of them are pretty nasty.

The cast does a solid job and the same goes with the direction. The little girl is a fine child actor, the late Larry Drake thankfully isn't awkwardly over the top as Bubba, and it was nice to see familiar faces to me like Durning and Lane Smith. I tell you, what the movie immediately cut to after Smith's last scene, hilarious.

Like I said this probably would be better known if it was a theatrically made film; don't let that be a hangup for you to check this out. It can be found online either for free or a cheap rental. It is an effective spooky tale.