Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Directed by Frank De Felitta [Other horror films: Trapped (1973)]

Easily among one of the finest made-for-television horror movies I’ve seen, Dark Night of the Scarecrow has a strong reputation, and for good reason, as it’s a fantastically-made and suspenseful film.

Not only that, but it’s rather emotional, in a tragic way. In fact, the first 25 minutes of the film have to be among the most emotional sequences in a movie, as a mentally-challenged man is killed by four vigilantes, but these good ole’ boys lie about the circumstances, and in an affront to justice, are released from police custody.

Luckily, the movie becomes far more wholesome from there, as they start being killed off in mysterious circumstances, possibly by a charming scarecrow chap.

The casting of this movie is great. Playing the four murderers are Charles Durning (Sisters and When a Stranger Calls), Robert F. Lyons (The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver), Lane Smith (Prison), and Claude Earl Jones (Bride of Re-Animator), and all four do a great job. I don’t think Lane Smith gets a whole lot of time to make an impression, but he does well with what time he has, and the other three, especially both Jones and Durning, were a lot of fun.

Larry Drake (Dr. Giggles) did an amazing job playing Bubba, the mentally-handicapped man killed at the beginning. He was a likable character, and it was just depressing to see him killed how he was, especially since he was innocent of any wrong-doing whatsoever. Playing his mother was Jocelyn Brando, who did a fantastic job with an emotional role. Tonya Crowe, who played a friend of Bubba’s, did really well also, which is something I don’t generally say when it comes to younger performances.

Being a television movie, there’s nothing in the way of gore, but the suspense makes it so that such doesn’t matter. The way some of these individuals die is gruesome enough even without seeing the aftermath – one guy falls into woodchipper, another drowns in grain in a silo (worst hiding place ever, on a side-note), and another almost gets ran down by a plowing machine, only to run into the business end of a pitchfork.

Oh, as for the scarecrow? This is the first scarecrow-centric horror film, but the scarecrow barely appears at all, save for the final minute or so. Personally, I’ve never minded this, as it gives a sort of psychological feeling to the movie – are the men really being killed by a scarecrow, or is it related to a manifestation of the guilt they feel? – though I, of course, love the final scene. Another favorite scarecrow film of mine, Scarecrows, certainly makes up for the perceived lack of straw bois in this one, should that be a concern.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a classic, and I think that most in the horror community know that. I know that in the past, I’ve thought the movie was a bit sluggish, but seeing it again, I was enjoying every moment, so if you want an idea of made-for-TV horror done right, then this is a movie I highly recommend you view.

8/10