Day 5: Scarecrows

Scarecrows

Crow to hell!

Scarecrows is a very simple movie; it's a horror film framed by a heist, but mostly it's just a mess. The main characters are a group of commandos stealing money, a plane, and people, mostly in that order. Honestly I'm not really sure what's going on, except that it's a movie and people are doing bad things, and it is these bad things that eventually lead them to the scarecrows.

The scarecrows come to life and start using their magical psychic scarecrow powers to drive the commandos the father, and the kidnapped teenage girl nuts. Did you know scarecrows have psychic powers? That one is new to me. I guess they're just straw, so you have to give them a little something extra, but the “voices in the head” seems to come out of nowhere.

Grandpa looks a little dry today

There is no back story, no reason for the heist, where they got their weapons, or where they're going. We don't know why the plane was so easy to commandeer and why the father and daughter were just hanging around. I understand the desire to get to the monsters, but that doesn't even happen right away. What's the point of rushing the story if you don't get to the good stuff quickly? I know sometimes it's best not to question motives in these movies, but seriously, an extra five minutes of story would have made all the difference. We never find out why these scarecrows are alive and going around killing people, or how they are doing it in the first place. I can suspend my disbelief as much as the next horror fan, but I need at least a little something to work with.

One small problem (other than the horrific acting by the daughter) with the film itself were scenes involving the plane. The movie takes place during one dark night. When they show the plane, its still light out, but when they show the actors, it's pitch black. Didn't anyone notice? 

 I. Am. Act. Ing.

There are some fun kills by the scarecrows, nice special effects and a decent amount of blood and gore. There is a good use of sound, music, and atmosphere that definitely help you believe that scarecrows can actually be scary. I give them credit for working with what must have been a shoestring budget. I can see how it has gained a cult following and while there are some good ideas, at lot is left to be desired. If you don't think too much, you can enjoy Scarecrows for what it is: a cheap 80s horror movie with a ridiculous premise and some fun acts of violence.

6/10