User reviews

Dark Night of the Scarecrow is directed by Frank De Felitta and written by J.D. Feigelson and Butler Handcock. It stars Charles Durning, Larry Drake, Tonya Crowe, Jocelyn Brando, Lane Smith and Claude Earl Jones. Music is by Glenn Paxton and cinematography by Vincent Martinelli.

Small town Americana and Bubba Ritter (Drake), a friendly but mentally challenged man, is falsely accused of attacking and severely injuring young Marylee Williams (Crowe). Four of the town residents, with hate and ignorance driving them on, hunt down Bubba and find him hiding as a scarecrow in a field. Murdering him, they claim self defence and walk free from court. It's not long afterwards, though, that the men start to see a scarecrow in their midst…

Some things from movies just stay with you from when you were a wee youngster, I still remember the first time I heard the anguished cry of Bubba Ritter stating that he didn't do the crime he was being hunted for. Dark Night of the Scarecrow stood out by some considerable mile as one of the best TV horror movies I saw as a youth, not for things that I would later appreciate in film making as I got older, but just for sheer terror of a scarecrow stalking his prey for divine retribution. How wonderful to revisit the movie three decades later and find that it is still one of the best TV horror movies out there.

Oh it doesn't terrify now, though it still packs a sense of unease and keeps scarecrows firmly in the realm of creepyville, but it has a style so sorely lacking in many of today's horrors. There is no need to bludgeon us with slash and stalk, showing us gore front and centre, the makers here are subtle, refusing even to put the scarecrow in the limelight like Michael or Jason. There's a smart ambiguity about the supernatural elements, keeping the mystery element strong as the guilty men begin to crack and head towards their real judgement.

Simmering away nicely in the narrative is of course the vile stench of bigotry, and the pain inflicted by such narrow minds. There is also a dark thread left dangling that suggests one of the guilty men is impure of thoughts towards little Marylee, one of the very things he whipped up as reason to hound Bubba for. Some thought went into the screenplay, and it's credit to the writers that it never becomes a moral crusade, while the crafting of the lovely innocent friendship between Bubba and Marylee is beautifully born out by actors and technicians alike.

Durning and Drake dominate the movie with classy shows, impressive in Drake's case as he is only in it for a short amount of time, but the work of young Tonya Crowe puts her in the club that houses best child performances of the 80s. Her reactions to Bubba and Otis (Durning) naturally call for different human emotions, and she in turn nails the aspects of youthful innocence and mature awareness of who the monster actually is. The photography is textured, the music equally so, and there's even some shards of humour and irony along the way.

I can imagine many of today's horror fans going into Dark Night of the Scarecrow and being very disappointed not to get a Voorhees type movie, while some more sensitive viewers may find the portrayals of backwater folk as being ignorantly stereotyped by the makers. It isn't for every horror fan, without a doubt, and clearly it's not perfect, but to those who loved it back when it first showed, those who are jaded by how this type of sub-genre of horror has evolved into bloody overkill and remake/sequel hell, then Dark Night of the Scarecrow is in fact a minor classic. 8/10

Frank DeFelitta, who also happened to write the novel Audrey Rose, turned to directing for this 1981 horror fantasy. The film opens with an eerie credit roll set on a pastel-colored windmill backdrop, and this is when we first hear the film's unforgettabley chilling score. Twenty years after seeing this film for the first time, I can still play it over in my head. The film soon progresses to its undeniably clever storyline, which I won't bother describing in detail as that has been done for me by previous reviewers. The atmosphere of this film is almost unbearably suspenseful at times, and the fact that we never see even a far-off image of the murderous culprit during the film adds to the creepiness. Charles Durning gives one of his best performances as the selfish, provincial mailman who is stalked by a vengeful killer. This film is best viewed alone late at night!

It's strange this was a movie made for TV and it wasn't released in DVD yet! It was extremely good! The story was original and touching, the atmosphere throughout the movie was just perfect and don't let me tell you about the acting: EVERYONE in this movie portrayed its role exceptionally. I think the best were Bubba, his mother and the mailman, but as I said, everyone even the kid was just perfect.

This movie had several and tremendous creepy moments! It's interesting to see those moments were not based in gore or special effects. Instead, they were based in suspense, atmosphere and acting. That makes this movie better than many others of its genre. And the ending? Well... I will just tell you it's one of the most chilling endings I have ever seen. It's VERY haunting. The first time I had seen this movie was 20 years ago and today I still remembered it!

Recommended 100% for all horror and suspense lovers. You won't be disappointed! If you see the VHS at your club or library go for it!

Mindless and acceptable film is packed with thrills , chills , intrigue , suspense , horror and lots of interminable screams with no much sense . Decent chiller about a gentle developmentally-disabled man, Bubba Ritter (lane Smith) , befriends young 10-year-old Marylee Williams living at an isolated location in the Deep South. After happening an unfortunate distress , four nasty friends : postman Otis (Charñes Durning) , gas station attendant Skeeter Norris (Robert F. Lyons) and farmer-cousins Philby (Claude Earl Jones) and Harliss Hocker (Lane Smith) form a lynch mob. As Bubba is mercillesly pursued and then is disguised as a scarecrow, and , after that , he hides in. It results in a deadly revenge , causing creepy goings-on the murderers . The Original Classic . What has this girl done that is driving the town mad? . What is the terrible act people are about to commit? And who is the only person who can save her?. An All-New Chiller for Halloween! . There IS other justice besides the law!

An intriguing tale of suspense , horror and survival , as the film contains restless terror and great loads of screams , blood and usual weird phenomena caused by the creepy appearance of a surprising scarecrow at a cornfield and ordinary ghastly shenanigans with weird threats that manifest themselves with violent attacks , grisly murders and anything else . It deals with the typical plot of a supernatural revenge when prejudiced townspeople attack a retarded man who was innocently befriended by a young girl . It is produced in limited budget but well recreated with special effects enough and eerie deeds that are frightening and horrifying to spectator . It packs lots of screams and strange events with the allegedly death of a little girl unusual things start to happen and in which some ominous vigilantes fall into a supernatural terror . The story starts little by little , but when there takes place a merciless vendetta , the nasty killers find only devilish horror , carrying out an implacable vengeance on each person one by one with full of nightmarish scenes and extreme terror . Moderated budget makes for big scary scream-feast . Main and support cast are pretty good. . Charles Durning gives a nice acting as the brooding, mean-spirited postman Otis , Robert F. Lyons as a gas attendant Skeeter Norris , Claude Earl Jones as the fatty Philby , Lane Smith as farmer Harliss, and special mention for Larry Drake as an intellectually-disabled man who is unjustly accused of attacking a young girl and Jocelyn Brando as his mother Mrs. Ritter.

This thriller with a moral was professionality directed by Frank De Felitta with intensity , tension and suspenseful . Frank De Felitta was a good a craftsman who wrote/produced /directed various films in all kind of genres with penchant for the supernatural and terror . He wrote or shot as Cinema as telefims or TV episodes , such as : Scissors , Two worlds of Jennie Logan , Clan of the doberman , The Stately Ghosts of England , The DuPont Show of the Week , Z. P. G. , Assignment: Underwater and many others . Rating : 6.5/10 . Better than average horror movie .

"Dark Night of the Scarecrow" is an effective TV horror film. A Halloween viewing would be totally appropriate. Charles Durning plays a bigoted, evil character, who happens to be the local mailman. Obviously he loves his postal job, as he never seems to take off his uniform. Along with three local rednecks they set the story in motion by hunting and killing a mentally challenged man. After the lynch mob mentality has prevailed, they learn they have killed an innocent man, who happened to be hiding inside a scarecrow. The movie is extremely atmospheric, has good acting, and has become somewhat of a cult item. Recommended. - MERK

It's probably for the best that this was originally made for TV. That way, "Dark Night of the Scarecrow" doesn't have to rely on blood, disembowelings and gratuitous special FX for its shock value.

All you old-school horror fans check this out: here's a relatively recent movie that earns every shock and scare it gets with its eerie atmosphere, earnest performances and an especially villainous turn by Durning as tyrannical postman.

Everything is sweaty, nail-biting and almost unbearably tense from first frame to last. If you can bear the fright, watch very carefully at the end. I won't tell what happened, but it's intriguing how they combined such emotions as shock, fear and love in only two shots. Just watch it and see what I mean.

Ten stars. No wonder Larry Drake gets these kind of parts.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981) is a very good entry into the horror genre from the 1980's particularly given it is made for television - so many entries that made it to screen were outperformed by this film. It is also an example of horror that is not reliant on overdoing violence and gore while still making it a good thrill.

The movie is greatly supported by uniformly strong performances with Charles Durning displaying his talent well (as usual) and Larry Drake (Benny Stulwicz from L.A. Law) providing a believable and sympathetic character in the same vein as the one that would made him famous 6 years later. Jocelyn Brando and young Tonya Crowe round out the main characters and both were well done.

This is a movie which is clearly a bit derivative and follows a slightly standard path, particularly for the era, but is done well enough that you really don't care. It is engaging, entertaining and thrilling if not al that horrifying. The short and sweet twist at the end is an added bonus which adds to the thrill as well.

I remember watching this when it first aired, as well as having trouble sleeping many nights afterward. This was particularly effective for me, since I grew up in a setting much like the one depicted in the film.

The sense of dread and terror is very heavy throughout the movie. What would normally be a typical idyllic rural setting is transformed into a place where fears are realized. The wind is always blowing leaves across a lonely road, the shadows seem especially deep, and as the title states, the night seems especially dark.

There is minimal blood and special effects - the film relies on the setting and the performances of the actors to deliver the goods. If you can find it at the video store, then you are certainly in luck. Highly recommended.

This is not quite what I expected. This was much better.

When a young girl is attacked by a dog and believed to be dead, four men take the law into their own hands, suspecting a gentle mentally challenged man, Bubba, of killing the girl. When you've done something bad, your past will somehow come back to haunt you - I believe this to be the message the film is trying to convey.

The film features good performances from a very good cast. 'Dark night of the Scarecrow' has a good script that doesn't rely on guts, gore and blood to keep the viewer engaged. Some horror buffs might be disappointed by the lack of appearance by the Scarecrow (or Bubba), but I actually enjoyed the fact they didn't show everything. At times it made me wonder whether he was actually back from the dead haunting the men, or whether he was a manifestation of their fear and guilt. The film is very subtle for an 80s horror film, especially in a time when slasher movies were at the forefront of the horror genre.

'Dark night of the Scarecrow' was a pleasant surprise and an enjoyable watch. In fact, this might just rate among my top 80s horror movies...

Would I watch it again? Yes.

Everybody seems to generally love this film and I am no exception. I have not viewed it since it aired in 1981 but, like everyone else who is leaving comments here, it creeped me out. It is a pretty heavy-handed movie for being made for television. The themes are intense, as is the violence, although I don't remember much gore. What does stick in my mind is the slow crawl camera shot when Bubba is hiding in the Scarecrow, up to the eye hole in the scarecrow. We see a single, trembling eye before Charles Durning and co take justice into their own hands. Very creepy! The other thing that I remember is Larry Drake's brief performance. He was so convincing as a semi-retarded man that it wasn't until I saw him in Darkman years later, that I discovered that he wasn't retarded. I had only seen him in this movie and on LA Law where he played mentally challenged characters. Great film. Hopefully, it will be released on DVD one of these days.

You can tell this one is a TV movie in that you don't see a whole lot of blood or anything. The story is pretty sad as a mentally retarded man is accused of hurting a little girl...which turns out not to be the case and this idiots who are not police go looking for him. The police could have prevented what happened next by locking the mentally retarded person up till they questioned the girl, but that wouldn't have made for much of a movie. The rednecks go to where he lives and find him hiding in the fields dressed as a scarecrow and they proceed to kill him even though he didn't make a move. They get over in the trial cause they have connections and then they proceed to be killed one by one. Predictable and a bit to slow paced, but watchable.

First off I have to say this is one of the best scary movies ever made for television, hands down. This movie truly scared me the first time I saw it. In October of 1981 when this movie first aired I was staying with some second cousins on there ranch and we all stayed up to watch it. After it was over we watched the local news and went to bed, and boy I hardly got a wink of sleep the entire night. I can remember laying in the bed just staring around the room all thru the night thinking of the ending to this movie. I just kept thinking that scarecrow was coming into the room at any moment. Keep in mind that I said early I was on a ranch were there might actually be a scarecrow.

This movie stayed with me for a long time and I only saw it once more in the early 90's and even then much older I still got the creeps from it. About 6 years ago I was going thru the TV guide and saw that it was going to be on TBS and I took the time to record it. This movie still gets me every time that I see it. There is a great mood that is set right from the start with the opening credits and the music that is playing, and that mood never goes away thru out the movie. It is so surprising that this was a made for television movie. The performances that the actors convey, especially Charles Durning and Larry Drake are great. I mean you truly hate Charles Durning character so much that you want him to die. It shows how great of an actor he is. I wont give away the ending but I just love it, there is a great justice and truth that the guilty parties didn't get away with murder.

This is one of my favorite television movies of all time simply because I will never forget that first time I saw it. I have grown to love horror movies over the years and wish I would have of watched more of them when I was a kid in the 70's. I've noticed that a lot of the television horror movies out of the 70's and early 80's have quite a following.

There are a couple of people who have left reviews who say this movie is terrible and I completely disagree with them. I guess it goes to show that not everyone will love the same movie you love.

It boggles my mind the glowing reviews for this TV movie. Unless you saw this when it aired originally and you were about 10 years old, I cannot imagine anyone thinking this is anything but a pile of poop.

Preposterous is probably the most accurate descriptor, with silly being a close second. So very little happens that it could have easily been condensed into a thirty minute episode of the Twilight Zone.

Now here's a movie that is ripe for a remake. But to be honest, the time for slasher films is probably over and not even a good script could make this very interesting. I feel bad for the actor who played Bubba, though. I thought he was going to have a juicy part to play. Alas, he was in there for about 12 minutes. Probably for the best, in the end.

Rather likable piece of campy horror, more macabre than legitimately scary but it has a pleasant tone and its theme of an innocent man coming back for vengeance is very satisfying in how it develops.

The antagonist (?) looks really fun and the child character is delightful.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs and liked it then.

Revisited it recently.

The movie is pale by today's standards as there is lil gore n the scarecrow in this one aint that scary.

A mentally challenged fella named Bubba invites the wrath of a group of men when he befriends a small girl. This group is always ready to beat or harass Bubba but one very mean man from the group named Otis wants to kill Bubba due to his hidden perversion towards the small girl. Otis gets his chance when the young girl is attacked by a dog and the townspeople assume it to be the work of Bubba.

The locations are splendid but the kills ain't innovative.

Larry Drake who played Bubba in this one is a harmless retard who befriends a small girl.

He also played the psycho dressed as Santa from Tales from the Crypt episode "And All Through the House" and in that too he befriends a small girl.

i just saw it 2 days ago on TBS with my girlfriend and it's still spooky!!!I cant believe this was a made for t.v movie!!!!SCARY AS HELL!!!Ten time scary than Friday the thirteenth, Halloween, or Nightmare on elm street...This movie, along with "The Shining",prove you don't need lots of pointless blood and guts to give you the creeps...The first time i saw this movie i was around 7/8 in my mom's bed one night and two scenes were forever stuck in my mind...(1)Otis' hate-filled look at Bubba while he hides in the Scarecrow get up (2) the scream that poor Mrs. Ritter yelled when alone with Hazelrig...In fact, I could not finish watching the movie when i was a kid because of Jocelyn Brando's scream scene so i told mom to shut it off...it wasnt till i was 24 i would learn who the scarecrow was - at least i think, i know...

great acting by Charles Durning as Otis Hazelrig...an old mailman so cheap he lives in an old folks home and practically lives in his mailman fatigues...He who seems too interested in young Maylee...

Awesome scenes...when Hazelrig and Skeeter go the graveyard and dig up Bubba's casket,open it and find what their looking for or what their NOT looking for?...the climactic scene where Hazelrig confronts Maylee for the truth...Is it indeed the girl?...is is the D.A?...or as Mrs. Ritter said "some other justice in the world"...I'm not telling

the music just adds to the whole creepyness...that violin gets me spooked everytime...

WATCH THIS FLICK NEXT TIME IT'S ON TBS OR TNT!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

This film begins with a mentally challenged 36-year-old man by the name of "Bubba Ritter" (Larry Drake) innocently playing with a young girl named "Marylee Williams" (Tonya Crowe) in a field. The local postman, "Otis P. Hazelrigg" (Charles Durning) sees them together and immediately relays his concerns about her safety to several of his friends. Not long afterward the girl is presumed dead and everyone wrongly accuses Otis of her murder. Unfortunately, rather than allowing the sheriff to arrest Bubba, Otis organizes a small group of vigilantes intent upon taking matters into their own hands. Sure enough, they find him in a field disguised as a scarecrow and kill him right there and then. Although they are later acquitted of murder due to lack of evidence Otis' mother "Mrs. Ritter" (Jocelyn Brando) promises them that justice will eventually be served. It's then that one of the vigilantes named "Harless Hocker" (Lane Smith) finds a scarecrow in the middle of his field and various mysterious events soon occur afterward which turn quite deadly. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be a surprisingly good horror film all things considered with a rather nice twist at the end. Admittedly, it could have used a bit more gore and suspense but given the made-for-television format it was understandably limited in that regard. Be that as it may, I enjoyed the film and have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

I was completely impressed with this early 80s TV movie. It features an outstanding script that echoes the later "Pumpkinhead" in its revenge/mysticism thematics. High production values, strong performances (especially by Charles Durning, who plays the creepiest postal worker you'll ever meet), subtle writing, and grisly (by TV standards) murders all give this pluses in my book. Plus it's got authentic location shooting and early 80s ambiance, and a murder scene that was ripped off four years later (in Witness.) Highly recommended and much better than I expected. 8/10. P.S. It's true, Durning never changes his clothes!

Little seen but well remembered by those lucky enough to catch it, DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW is a great example of the TV horror film that America did so well during the '70s and '80s. Larry Drake (the villain from Darkman) stars as a man with the mind of a boy who finds himself harassed by a bunch of bigoted rednecks for a crime he didn't commit. There are shades of STRAW DOGS (with Drake in the David Warner role) as the tensions escalate, but then the movies becomes something else entirely: a subtle and sinister ghost story.

Let's get it straight: DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW doesn't really bring anything new to the table. The idea of a vengeful ghost has been a long time staple of the horror film, and there isn't much in this story that we haven't witnessed time and again. Where the film does excel, though, is in a kind of creepy, slow-burning atmosphere as the townsfolk gradually realise they're in the grip of sinister forces. Simple shots of a scarecrow standing in a lonely field are eerie in the extreme, and far more frightening to this viewer than the usual machete-wielding psychopath.

Charles Durning bags the lead role as one of the most infuriating bad guys you'll see, and you'll be howling for him to get his just desserts. By the time this subdued tale of supernatural revenge comes to its fitting closure, you won't have been disappointed!

They had a great plot idea, and they dropped the ball. There were several things that could have been improved. The music is just plain awful. The special effects are not very special. I realize it was made for TV, but they used to show more violence on the evening news, even in the early '80s. Right now, some of you are saying "no violence is a good thing!" Not in a "horror" movie, folks. If you're looking for something to scare the kiddies on Halloween, this could fit the bill. But if you're a fan of good, gory slasher movies, try something else.