Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981) Review

DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW (1981)

Directed by Frank De Felitta
Screenplay by J.D. Feigelson

It all begins with a setting of innocence within a small town, with mentally challenged Bubba Ritter, played by Larry Drake (DARKMAN, L.A. LAW, DR. GIGGLES), and young little Marylee (Tonya Crowe) playing in a field of flowers. This scene is slightly reminiscent of a scene in FRANKENSTEIN, where an innocent, grown, simple-minded creature spending time with a little child begins lovely (well, for a minute) and ends so terribly. Only in Bubba’s situation, he did not inflict any harm upon the child, leaving his tale one of equal tragedy.

The pretty intro setting is immediately framed inside the view of a pair of binoculars, belonging to the evil mailman, brilliantly played by Charles Durning (MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE, SOLARBABIES, iMURDERS, and the voice of Francis Griffin – one of Peter’s two dads on Family Guy!). Durning’s character, Otis P. Hazelrigg, is an interesting one with many latent, horrible aspects to his personality. This man is an awful human being. He has his own posse of redneck thugs who follow his every word as if he’s the mayor. Maybe they fear not getting their mail, who knows. Otis urges Harliss, played by Lane Smith (THE OUTER LIMITS, V, RED DAWN), to get crackin’ on removing Bubba from the picture. It is not explained just what their problem is with Bubba, other than small town bigotry and Otis’ jealousy of his close relationship with the pretty little girl.

Unfortunately, Marylee decides to trespass into an old, grungy backyard where a dog soon mauls her. Bubba, too scared to do anything bad, was watching in horror through the fence the whole time. He carries her back to her mother, but his explanations don’t come off well amidst his high state of panic. The local thugs hear about this and inform the postman, who jumps on this perfect chance to bring Bubba down. They form their own half-assed lynch mob and chase him down with dogs. Bubba’s mother, wonderfully performed by the late Jocelyn Brando (MOMMIE DEAREST, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Marlon Brando’s older sister), had sent him off into the cornfields to play the “Hiding Game.” He cleverly disguises himself as a scarecrow, with a creepy sack mask on his head, the three large holes daring anyone to look inside. Sadly, Otis realizes it is him, and unbeknownst to his posse, his intent was not to capture Bubba, but to kill him. Out of shock, they all join in the shootout, unaware that Otis never had official confirmation of Marylee’s death. The startled, guilt-ridden men make a lame attempt of a cover-up by arranging a pitchfork in his hand, as if Bubba had any sort of malicious bone in his body to cause their ruthless reaction.

The lynch mob’s actions were unfounded after all. Marylee was alive, and her savior was dead. The guys got off scot-free in the trial, with Mama Ritter warning them that there are other justices in the world than the law. Many crafty hints like this and warnings of what is to come seep throughout the film. Since Marylee wasn’t originally told of Bubba’s death, nor did she really believe it, she continued to look for him and hint to Otis that she had been playing with him.

Soon, the killers notice a scarecrow suddenly appearing on their lot, as if a sign of their impending doom. Viewers are rewarded with a few wonderful, memorable death scenes – ever notice the best kill scenes in horror movies always occur in a barn? Wood chipper, of course! The one in the grain silo is dandy, as we get his POV with the grain rapidly falling down onto him, giving the viewer a very claustrophobic feeling of what he’s experiencing. Since the scarecrow apparition is clearly straw-filled, Otis and Skeeter decide to dig up Bubba’s grave to prove his body is still in his coffin, comforting their fears that he was still alive and enacting revenge.

Getting back to studying Durning’s character, Otis P. Hazelrigg, there are several subtle hints throughout the film that he’s a pedophile. It is never directly addressed, but Mama Ritter knows it and even little Marylee has gotten the hint of what’s behind his concern for her. Otis is now an even scarier enemy; even your local friendly postman can be a sick freak. Clearly lying to the community about his character, there is a party scene where he was offered nonalcoholic punch because he doesn’t drink, yet when no one’s looking, scoops himself some booze. He is a lie of a man. Soon enough, Otis has made so many mistakes that he can no longer escape them. He loses it when he finds Marylee standing along the road in the dark, as if beckoning him to follow her. He relishes the chance to attack her with all the angst pent up from the fact that she was the reason any of these events occurred in the first place. Bubba comes to the rescue (in death, making up for not being able to save her when alive) and this finally proves the notion that supernatural forces were indeed at work. Brilliant comeuppance for Otis! The movie started out with Bubba giving Marylee a pretty flower, and ends just the same, singing the same song as if nothing bad had ever happened. True friendship standing the test of time.

While made for television, DNotS was always intended to be a feature-length film. However, CBS snatched it up but luckily made very few changes, so we get one hell of a TV movie!  One would not have known the difference! The script was incredibly well-written. Such a shame writers don’t take this much care with simple stories like this, with plenty of undertones lying within. The film’s quality is definitely above the average TV movie. The spooky atmosphere and small-town Halloween feel enforces the ’80’s slasher type of horror film that fans adore so dearly. The characters were portrayed realistically (though Harliss driving like a swerving maniac whenever upset brought out some chuckles) and the score had a gratifying feel to it. With more viewings, along with listening to the commentary between director Frank De Felitta and scriptwriter J.D. Feigelson, the more I end up loving this simple little classic.