Scarecrows
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Movie Reviews of Scarecrows
Movie Review: Scarecrows
Summary: 4 Stars
SCARECROWS is a dark and mean-spirited late-80's Slasher with a supernatural twist that generates successful scares and atmospheric suspense using a small cast and only a single shooting location. The film begins shortly after a daring robbery, when a group of elite military thieves become stranded at a remote farmhouse during their run for the border. As they attempt to recover their loot, the demonic forces at work outside in the corn fields set in to destroy them for their evil deeds. William Wesley creates a large feel to the cramped production by incorporating the soldier's hi-tech equipment into the storytelling. In slower expository moments when the characters become separated, the pacing and suspense are maintained over their radio headsets as their terrifying encounters are relayed over the airwaves. Wesley also makes use of their night vision goggles and rifle scopes in a number of first-person shots that are filled with frights! On top of the unique filming, SCARECROWS packs in a great deal of unexpected gore, with everything from a bloody decapitation to several dismembered limbs, a knife through the skull, a pitchfork through the hand, and several sickles through the leg. It also hits on several psychological terrors, where the mocking voices of friends and loved ones call to the soldiers from the darkness and lure them out into the fields. Later, the corpses of the fallen soldiers return to taunt their remaining comrades in order to drive them slowly insane. With creepy costuming and blackened sets, SCARECROWS drives home a constant feeling of dread and an unsettling mood. The film is only crippled by its short run-time and weak performances, but it ranks closely with INTRUDER as one of the better late-80's Slashers in the genre.
-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies
Movie Review: Another lost gem of 80's horror exhumed
Summary: 4 Stars
When direct-to-video horror films were a legitimate market in the 80's and early to mid nineties, thousands upon thousands of low or modestly budgeted movies flooded the market and squeezed themselves onto local mom and pop and mainstream movie rental stores. More than often, these films would be all promise and no delivery, with glitzy artwork and enticing taunts from the ads and synopsis claiming that these films were full of true terror and unrelentling carnage. About 80% of the time they were totally misleading. Time after time we would be duped into watching some boring and/or heavily edited time-wasters with so much left to be desired. Then a movie like William Wesleys Scarecrows peeks out from behind the usual "Satan's _______ whatever" and the countless Slumber/Sorrority party slash and stalk. So being jaded by the usual selection, I took a chance so many years ago and found a truly underscovered gem of fright flick. William Wesley isn't an auteur by any means. In fact his only other directorial credit to my knowledge is the passable Route 666 starring a washed-up Lou Diamond Phillips. But Route 666 aside, with Scarecrows, Wesley does know how to deliver a straight forward horror tale with enough action, gore, suspense, and clever creature design on a low but not impoverished budget. They just make them like this anymore. Oh and i forgot to mention that I liked this film so much that I kept the vhs copy I rented back in the day and just payed the full ammount because I knew i would never be able to find another copy. I have shown this film to my friends countless times over the years and my tape is in pretty bad shape, so I am more than overjoyed that MGM is releasing it. Check it out if you're a fan of old-school 80's horror.Movie Review: Good 80's horror
Summary: 4 Stars
**minor spoilers**
A gang of militaristic commandos hold up the Camp Pendleton payroll and hijack a plane for Mexico. It looks as if they got away with over 3 million dollars when one of the men decides to jump out of the plane with the loot, leaving the others high and dry. It's never that easy though, as he lands in a cornfield surrounded by creepy scarecrows and the others are right on his tail. He finds an abandoned farm house in the middle of the field and a truck and attempts to make his escape. Much to his dismay, he soon discovers why the farmhouse is abandoned, as the previous inhabitants are now undead scarecrows, and they are not happy about his intrusion. Predictably, he gets caught by the scarecrows, gutted, and stuffed with the stolen cash. The others arrive in the cornfield and soon meet the same fate.
Scarecrows isn't the best horror movie from the 80's, but it is better than a lot of other stuff released in that era. The story is at times muddled, with the origin or reasoning of the scarecrows never explained. Why, for instance, did the victims come back to life after getting stuffed? Instead of pushing that angle, I would have liked to learned more about the Scarecrows and what their driving force was. The atmosphere was great though. Is there much spookier than an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of a corn field?
I would give Scarecrows a solid 6.5/10 and it is a must see for horror fans. It wouldn't surprise me to see this be one of the countless remakes puked out by Hollywood.
Movie Review: Not without it's flaws, but still an entertaining and creepy little piece of horror
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't think I'm alone in saying that attaining this movie, along with a copy of The Burning, has been somewhat of a semi-quest. Not a single Best Buy in my state (Wisconsin) had either, nor did any Sam Goody, Suncoast, Barnes and Noble or Borders; so I had to go the 2nd route and order it online (not even from Amazon, who said that the two DVDs wouldn't even arrive until early NOVEMBER!)
So, while I'm still waiting on my copy of The Burning, I watched Scarecrows, which arrived in the mail pretty quickly.
I didn't know what to expect going into it, 80's slashers aren't my specialty, so all I knew going into this one was that it was supposed to be
A) Incredibly creepy
B) Gorey (this is the un-cut edition, woo hoo!)
Well, safe to say I received both in a great amount. Sure, two of the actors were trying, but this is a B-movie, so I let it slide. The atmosphere was kept at an incredibly murky level, with a constant feeling of total dread.
And with all the generic slashers to come out of the 80's, seriously, there's one called Death Spa, come on people, it was nice to see something where the killers were more monsters than just some psycho with a breathing problem and a mask.
Highly recommended for an entertaining time.
Movie Review: "IF I WERE A CROW I'D BE SOMEWHERE ELSE!"
Summary: 4 Stars
Fantastic lost horror gem of the 80's finally gets its due on DVD! Previously only available on beat-up VHS tape or an overpriced full-screen German import titled Paratrooper, MGM has blessed the horror masses with a definitive version for our collections! The movie has a refreshingly original plot, which drops a group of ex-military robbers and murderers into the wrong field in search of their missing bounty. A great unique script and really good acting (except the pilots daughter who is AWFUL) always makes me wonder why this film sat in obscurity for so long? Although our main characters are all villians they have individual personalities and believable dialogue that keeps us interested in them and their plight. Of course atmosphere, jump scares, and a generous and well done amount of gore is also included for our viewing pleasure (including a brutal face stabbing)! If you are new to horror or are a horror buff starving for a truly enjoyable horror film (especially in these times of remakes and direct-to-DVD dreck) this is a can't miss. Also make sure to pick up MGMs upcoming releases of the 80's classics From Beyond and The Burning. For horror fans... Christmas comes early this year!