Review of Scarecrows (1988) by Bo K — 14 Mar 2008
Cult movie is an ambiguous and dangerous term. It can sometimes mean 'has a cultish, enthusiastic following' (see The Big Lebowski, Evil Dead, Life of Brian, or The Rocky Horror Picture Show), and at other times, it can suggest a movie like Scarecrows (or Silent Night Deadly Night 2, Troll 2, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, or Shrek the Third), AKA god awful blasphemes against the art form. Like a three car pile-up pulled off to the side of the highway, medical staff on site, they're hard to turn your eyes away from. The train wrecks, smashes to bits, and keeps burning. Be wary when this label is self applied - it can spell your doom.
Scarecrows feels like a movie where the lion's share of effort came in the editing room. No time to spare on script, acting, or re-shoots. Night sequence filmed during the day? Pretend it's night vision with a green filter. Seems off putting to have shots of an uninteresting, silent character driving alone? Slow them down and dub over 'radio link taunting' from pursuers, and mysterious 'thought dialog.' Not enough shots of the monster? Who says you can't repeat them? It's not like Scarecrows move all too often.
Only for half-wits, sadists, and those wishing to die slowly.
This review of Scarecrows (1988) was written by Bo K on 14 Mar 2008.
Scarecrows has generally received mixed reviews.
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