One of the all-time creepiest TV movies of my childhood is about to make it on to DVD (and Blu-Ray) for the first time ever. I know there must be others out there like me who remember this one: Dark Night of the Scarecrow.Larry "Dr. Giggles" Drake goes full retard as Bubba, a mentally handicapped fellow falsely accused of raping a little girl. When the town goons--led by the always-dependable Charles Durning--get together to put a hurt on him, he disguises himself as a scarecrow. But the thugs aren't fooled, and they gun him down in cold blood. Needlessly to say, ol' Bubba (still in his scarecrow getup) then exacts a bloody vengeance from beyond the grave.
It aired on CBS in October 1981, just in time for Halloween, and even though I was only six, I remember it well. It was pretty intense stuff for early '80s television, and it scared me right out of my elastic disco belt (despite the magnetic buckle). Then again, in those days anything more intense than Mork & Mindy or The Greatest American Hero would've freaked me out. Still, some of the images from that movie remain in my head to this day.
The movie itself was directed by Frank De Felitta, author of the horror novel The Entity, which was adapted into a film two years after Scarecrow was made.
Dark Night of the Scarecrow hits DVD and Blu-Ray next year through Image Entertainment.
* * * * * * * * * *
In the interest of self-promotion, I also wanted to point out, for those who haven't already checked them out, that I've started up two other blogs. The first is Following the Equator, which is the only blog on the internet covering Mark Twain-related news and info on a regular basis. Then there's Standard of the Day, where I spotlight a different selection from the Great American Songbook each and every day (Frankensteinia's Pierre Fournier is already a regular reader). Not sure if there's much crossover between horror fans and fans of either Twain or pop standards, but hey, I'm interested in all three, and I can't be the only one. Can I?
7 comments:
Hey, I just posted a couple of comments at your American Songbook blog. I don't know how much crossover there is either, but at least there's you and me. It's going in my RSS feed as well.
I am also pretty hip to chord changes, so let me know if you want or could use any transcriptions.
I would have been 7 when this came on TV. I am surprised I have never heard of it. I am going to have to check it out on DVD. Thanks for the recommendation. It is not often some one pulls one out that I have not seen or at least heard of. Good job.
My pleasure. Let me know what you think!
Awesome, awesome news. Can't *wait* to pick this up. I remember DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW was one of the first horror flicks I ever saw when I was a kid, and it gave me nightmares. Oddly enough, I *loved* it (and I'm talking about the nightmare itself!). Between this one, and seeing THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN and HALLOWEEN at the drive-in when I was all of 4 and 5 years old (respectively), I've never been the same since. :)
J.N.
http://www.james-newman.com
RayRay - Hey, I remember this one. This was one of those movies where a sensitive child [like myself] was hit with a double whammy: first, the loveable and innocent simple minded man is lynched in a terrible fashion; then he returns in full on, scary burlap bag mask horror for his revenge. I don't think I made it through the first time I saw it.
Definitely some childhood scarring, no doubt about it.
Well, I'm still waiting for the DVD release of this movie... or did I blink and miss it?
I have it on VHS tape where I taped it from a TV showing years ago, but would love to have it on DVD... any word on this now?
Post a Comment