"Scarecrow" delivers
Released to Syfy during Halloween, 2013, "Scarecrow" chronicles events at a supposedly haunted farm where a school detention group goes to do some work. A scary-looking creature appears and starts picking them off one-by-one.
There are some similarities to the hallowed "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) in that the group takes refuge in a farm house but, unlike that film, they don't spend the entire story there. The creature pursues them to other environments.
Why do I rate "Scarecrow" as high as I do? For one, the filmmakers and actors take the material seriously and so the film never devolves into parody or camp. As such, the viewer is able to take it seriously. Secondly, the CGI monster is excellent. It's scary-looking and changes shape constantly while remaining the same basic appearance.
Thirdly, the film features a quality cast of women. There are no less than FIVE, all stunning or near-stunning in their own unique way, starting with the blonde (Lanie McAuley) in the teaser. From there we get four petite brunettes, beginning with the curvaceous delinquent played by Julia Maxwell, whose role is way too brief, followed by Nicole Muñoz, Lacey Chabert and Brittney Wilson. Lacey emerges as the film's protagonist while Brittney becomes the quasi-antagonist. Lastly, the Vancouver-area locations are effective for this type of film, particularly the superlative "ship graveyard" in the final act.
The film runs 86 minutes.
GRADE: B+/A-
CRITICS' QUESTIONS ANSWERED (SPOILER ALERT
If the farm is abandoned who planted all the corn? Kristen obviously rented out the land to the neighboring farmer in order to pay the property taxes. Why is the nerd in detention to start with? Because nerdy misfits sometimes get detention too. Why does the creature show five claws/fingers? Because it has five claws/fingers. Why does the scarecrow monster look more like a burnt-to-crisp spider than a scarecrow? Because it's not a scarecrow, but rather some kind of demonic creature; the locals simply dubbed it the "Scarecrow" a hundred years earlier and the name stuck.
Why are the bales of hay conveniently placed like steps? Obviously to make it convenient to climb to the second story door of the barn. Why does the cop car start and not the truck? Because there was nothing wrong with it; the owner of the old truck, however, said that it had a problem overheating. Why did the driver of the cop car swerve when the thing appeared on the road and not run it over? It was a split second decision and the sudden appearance of the creature shocked him; besides, it's clear that running the monster over wouldn't have harmed it.
Why does the ex-boyfriend bravely roll under the vehicle and set it on fire with the creature there with him? He was already mortally wounded and, since he was going to die anyway, he wanted to (try to) take the monster out with his brave final act. Why is the girl ground-up by the farm machine and not the scarecrow? It was repeatedly stated throughout the movie that the creature couldn't die; or, at least, people didn't THINK it could die. Besides, the creature obviously doesn't have a concrete physical form and is probably more spiritual than physical in nature; thus the machine couldn't harm it.
What are the limitations of the creature, as far as time of day when it appears or how far it can travel from the farm? It's obviously some kind of territorial demon attached to the farm & the town and seeks out the Miller family as prey, plus anyone that gets in the way; it's never disclosed how far it can travel from the farm or town, but the ship graveyard didn't seem too distant, maybe 5-7 miles. How did the ship explode without a spark? She broke the line by the tank and then made sparks with the ax, which caught the gasoline (or whatever) on the floor on fire, which spread to the tank within a minute or so and thus the ship blew.
