Writer: Stu Shone, Adam Rodness (Screenplay)
Starring: Hannah Gordon, Mike Taylor, Umed Amin, Maaor Ziv, Jason J Thomas
Plot: Teenagers are kidnapped and made into scarecrows that are left to die in the crop fields
Tagline – It was supposed to be the summer of their dreams.
Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Late Night Horror 101
Story: Scarecrows starts when four teenage friends Ash (Gordon), Farbsie (Taylor), Ely (Amin) and Devon (Ziv) head of for a weekend trip at a luxury lagoon, well that is what Farbsie is calling it. Their trip takes them onto farm land where they keep running into crows eating body parts.
After they have their fun, they decide to head back to the car which has gone missing, they head towards the farm for help, only to learn the farmer has his own plans for them as he likes to make his own scarecrows.
Thoughts on Scarecrows
Characters – Ash is the ‘good’ girl out of the two, she is thinking about breaking up with her boyfriend before he goes to college, she is the more sensible of the two friends, though the character gets caught between being the virginal girl and the out going girl. Devon is the best friend of Ash, she is pushing her to dump Ash and believes all men are the same, she is your typica slutty friend. Frabsie is the louder mouth of the two guys, he thinks he is the real deal and supplies the drinks or drugs for the friends, this character feels like Stiffler from the American Pie movies. Ely is the one going off to college, he wants to pop the big question to Ash on this trip, though his eyes often wonder to Devon. Now these are four generic horror characters that do seem to fall into the brackets of the basic characters for horror, though we get the problems with character decisions being made throughout as the chemistry between the doesn’t feel real. The farmer is a silent killing machine, he whistles to warn of his arrival which only makes him feel more terrifying, he strength makes him an threat to anyone who gets in his way.
Performances – The performances from the cast are difficult to judge because they do lack chemistry between themselves, when the horror side of the film starts, it does improve, though the only one that gets a chance to become good enough is Hannah Gordon who gets the most to do.
Story – The story here follows four friends that end up in a remote location where they get picked off by a farmer that wants to make his own scarecrows. Let’s break the story down, first off not once, but twice do the group find body parts and still decide to go on their trip, this is easily one of my pet hates in horror, when people ignore clear warning signs of danger and still continue on. When it comes to just what the killer is up to, this does become twisted and interesting because it would be horrific way to go and to give this character a minor backstory which could have been shown more feels like a missed opportunity. The story is easy to follow, even if certain character decision will leave you wondering about the friendships between the friends.
Horror – The horror does take time to get going, once it does and you think about it, it is quite terrifying what the killer is doing to his victims.
Settings – The film is set in and around a remote farm house, which does create the isolation factor needed with the corn fields making us understand just how scary they can be.
Special Effects – The effects are used slowly at times which is good because we get to see how the preparation unfolds.
Scene of the Movie – The preparation.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Knowing the mouths are sworn shut and still calling out like they will go ‘yeah I am here’
Final Thoughts – This is a solid enough late night horror movie, it will best enjoyed with a drink because certain moments are eye rolling for the most part.
Overall: Late Night Drinking Horror
Rating