Scarecrows (1988)

Director:

William Wesley

Writers:

Marcus Crowder (additional dialogue)
Stephen Gerard (additional dialogue)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

They Only Want A Brain ... Yours.

Plot:

Five men heist the Camp Pendleton payroll and kidnap a pilot and his daughter, who are forced to fly them to Mexico...

Plot Keywords:

Heist | Scarecrow | Voodoo | Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ted Vernon	...	Corbin
Michael David Simms	...	Curry
Richard Vidan	...	Jack
Kristina Sanborn	...	Roxanne
Victoria Christian	...	Kellie
David James Campbell	...	Al
B.J. Turner	...	Bert
Dax Vernon	...	Dax
Tony Santory	...	Jakob Fowler
Phil Zenderland	...	Norman Fowler
Mike Balog	...	Benjamin Fowler
Don Herbert	...	Radio Newscaster (voice)
Howard E. Haller	...	Helicopter Pilot / Base (voice)
Bambi Darro	...	Kellie (voice) (as Dyane DiRosario)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Davie, Florida, USA

Company:

Effigy Films

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): This movie was filmed in Florida, but the story takes place in the California area. The radio broadcaster we hear says the radio station is WORZ, but radio stations West of the Rockies all being with the letter "K", not "W". Since the situation always gets worse for all the characters, the lettering of the station is meant as a hint to that WORZ (Worse), this wouldn't work with the correct use of KORZ, as it should be.

Quotes:

Corbin: God to Bert - your birthday has been cancelled!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silent Hunter (1995)

A little over-hyped, but not a complete washout

'Scarecrows' is one of those little known horror films you read about in message boards and on sites reviewing the obscurest movies in the genre. It also has one of those artworks that really catches your eye and keeps bugging you until you finally see it for yourself. It's developed a cult following over the last 20 years and has since been released on a remastered DVD. It's also one of those films available in R and Un-rated versions, the latter said to have a lot more gore. But is it really all that good? Does it deserve the attention it's been getting? Well, to a certain degree yes, but after seeing it I feel it is a tad overrated.

Pros: A subtle, eerie score. The lack of light really helps give the movie a spooky atmosphere. The performances are adequate. Starts slow, but the pace picks up and moves fine. A good job on the look of the scarecrows, who make some other 80s movie monsters look like pansies. The people behind this film do a pretty good job of keeping things, like the kills for instance, unpredictable. Some chilling moments.

Cons: We don't really get to know the characters well enough to care about them. In the first half some scenes are very hard to make out. No explanation, or even speculation, whatsoever on how the scarecrows come to life or why. The actress playing Kelly gives new meaning to the word overacting. Not exactly an original idea.

Final thoughts: I really do like this movie, it's just that it's not nearly as amazing as a lot of people make it sound. Casual moviegoers and ones looking for something more action packed will be bored, but if you're someone who likes something with a slow build up, a simple story, real chills, and a feeling of doom then this may be for you.

My rating: 3/5