In 1981, a made-for-TV movie was released called Dark Night of the Scarecrow, starring Charles Durning and Larry Drake, and creating the Evil/Killer Scarecrow subgenre of horror. Yeah, believe or not, a scarecrow was not the centerpiece of a horror movie until the 80s, which seems crazy.
The plot: Bubba (Drake), is a developmentally disabled man who is friends with Marylee (Tonya Crowe),a child neighbor. Otis (Durning) considers Bubba to be a blight on the town and is just looking for a reason to get rid of him. When Marylee is attacked by a dog and saved by Bubba, he is instead blamed for the girl's death and Otis gets three others - Skeeter, Philby, and Harliss (Robert F. Lyons, Claude Earl Jones, and Lane Smith) - and takes vigilante justice against Bubba as he hides in a scarecrow. Shortly thereafter, the group learns that not only is Marylee still alive, but she lives only because of Bubba's intervention.
A quick trial - and some perjury from Otis - sees the vigilantes get away with their murder (which, for anyone familiar with small town politics, reads as sadly realistic) and released without consequences. However, all of the men start seeing a bullet-riddled scarecrow appear near their homes and bad things start happening...
First, I want to say, for a made-for-TV movie, this is amazingly effective. It's genuinely creepy in parts, and despite a lack of gore, the implied violence is still harrowing. Between this and the Salem's Lot miniseries, the late 70s/early 80s must have been a golden age for made-for-TV horror.
Secondly, this cast is absolutely phenomenal. Not a weak performance in the bunch, with Durning a particular strong case for best in show as the vindictive and slimy (and possibly pedophilic?) Otis. It's great to see the character actor - Oscar nominated for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and To Be or Not to Be - playing what amounts to the lead character. Lane Smith is probably most well-known as the district attorney in My Cousin Vinny, and sister-of-Marlon Brando Jocelyn Brando plays Bubba's mother. Not a single member of this A-list cast phones it in.
Honestly, this movie is so much better than several theatrically released films from the same - or even the following - years that it's kind of crazy the it was never in theaters. It does atmosphere and tone so well! Even the set design is better than I've seen in some modern films!
This movie was hard to find for the longest time, but now is available on DVD and Blu-ray and is also streaming at various sites so I'd highly recommend finding and watching it.
7.5 out of 10
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