Scarecrows (1988)

Criminals hijack a plane and force the pilot and his daughter to land in Mexico. When they land the plane, they find themselves in a cemetery full of evil scarecrows.

Director:

William Wesley

Writers:

William Wesley (story), Richard Jefferies (screenplay)

Stars:

Ted Vernon, Michael David Simms, Richard Vidan

1 nomination.

Cast

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

Storyline

Five people heist the Camp Pendleton payroll, kidnap a pilot and his daughter, who are forced to fly them to Mexico. Enroute a double cross has one of the thieves parachute with the loot into an abandoned graveyard surrounded by strange scarecrows. Two of the team jump after their loot and their former partner. Everything happens during the course of one very dark night.

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Plot Keywords:

double cross | graveyard | payroll | scarecrow | heist | 

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Taglines:

When it comes to terror they're in a field of their own

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1991 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Paratroopers

Filming Locations:

Davie, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$425,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Effigy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 79 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/director William Wesley first met make-up artist Norman Cabrera in a comic book store.

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Goofs

Camp Pendleton is a US Marine Base, not an Army Base. USMC's bases start with the word "Camp" Army bases start with the word "Fort."

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

In the final credits the cast is listed in two sections: Crows and Scarecrows.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

User Reviews

Low key, but creepy little horror flick

Scarecrows shows what you can do with a very flimsy plot line and a low budget. Rather than concentrate on characters or story, the film leans more towards aesthetics; as the tale is portrayed within a very creepy atmosphere, and the central monsters of the title capitalise well on their natural scare factor. Like clowns, scarecrows are eerie creations and it's clear that director William Wesley knows that, as their dark and foreboding image makes up the backbone of this tale of terror. The only real theme that is put on display in this film comes from the idea of greed, as it is that very thing that gets all the central protagonists into life-threatening danger. The film follows a bunch of soldiers that have stolen a lot of money. They take a pilot and his daughter hostage and force the pair to take them to Mexico; but the ride has a hitch when one of the crooks decides that he doesn't want to share the money, and parachutes out of the plane with the loot. His partners in crime are soon on his tail, but the story has another twist when it turns out that the field they've jumped into is infested with scarecrows that want to do more than keep the birds off the crops!

This film isn't very well known and it's not hard to see why. Scarecrows is very short, running at about seventy minutes when you don't include the credit sequences. The film also feels very low-key, as the focus is more on the atmosphere than anything else, which can leave the film lacking at several intervals. Scarecrows is basically a glorified zombie movie, and pretty much plays out like one as the characters are picked off by their unworldly adversaries. The fact that the entire film takes place in what appears to be real time and in only one location ensures that it benefits from a claustrophobic tension, which benefits a film like this greatly. There isn't a lot of gore here, as the killings don't tend to be very bloodthirsty, and most of the violence takes place off-screen. The killings aren't bad, however, and I was impressed with the way that the film handled the scarecrows' victims after they had been savaged. Overall, this film certainly won't win any awards, and you won't really be missing much by not seeing it; but any horror fan that gets the chance to see Scarecrows probably won't be disappointed.