Movie Review: Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

by Jeff Dolniak




Directed by: Frank De Fellita


Distributor: VCI Entertainment


Buy Dark Night of the Scarecrow on DVD


The "Scarecrow" horror sub-genre has always appealed to my diverse tastes. There's really nothing more frightening than being alone in a giant pitch-black cornfield with a creepy raggedy man, made of straw holding a pitchfork. Some of the better examples in my viewing experiences of scarecrow horror have been William Wesley's splattery Scarecrows, and surprisingly, an entry in the second season of Friday the 13th: The Series, called (You guessed it!) Scarecrow. In 1995, Jeff Burr (Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre Three) also helmed the moderately entertaining Night of the Scarecrow, starring Bruce Glover. All three, solid efforts, but still not as unforgettable as the film I'm covering in this review; VCI's new re-mastered special-edition release of the made-for-TV film of, Frank De Felitta's, Dark Night Of The Scarecrow. Dark Night of the Scarecrow has always seemed to be as mysterious as a scarecrow itself. Often bootlegged with God-awful image and sound quality by collectors (Mainly from the long out-of-print Key Video release), it became a seriously elusive item...until now.

Movie Review: "The Name of the Game...is Kill" (Fanfare Films/VCI Entertainment, 1968)

...there's no doubt, director Alfred Hitchcock's terrifying classic 1960 horror/thriller, indelibly left it's mark on world-wide cinema. Since the film's influential inception, and well into the inspired horror, terror & thriller-flavored productions of today, the multiple-personality, schizophrenic psycho killer...given twistedly skewed and underlining motivations, as well as often deceptive and compelled appearances & visages...these bad boys (...and sometimes, bad gals) seductively draw in the unwary and unsuspecting, taking them to the point of no return...no escape...and without warning, strike with maligned intent, knowing little of what is right or wrong...often, not even caring about the two...the cold-hearted, alluring spider, drawing in the flies. Mad & maniacal 'mickey mouse' role call...sound off, now: 1961's "Homicidal"...1980's "Silent Scream"...1964's "Strait Jacket"...1973's "Sisters"...1982's "Pieces"...1992's "Raising Caine"...2012's "Maniac"...1980's "Dressed to Kill" (...notice the obvious emphasis on director Brian de Palma)...1976's "Schizo"...1980's "Fade to Black"...and so many countless others...both prominent and obscure...it might be understandable that something worth noting...something almost forgotten, though no less inspired and powerhouse, in it's presence...something razor-edge terrifying...something under-the-skin creepy...something...something like...