The ’80s Horror Cult Classic Scarier Than Dark Harvest, Stream Without Netflix
The scarecrow has long been the source of terror in horror lore, though it wasn’t until 40 years ago that this seemingly harmless farm instrument was made the main character in a scary movie. The 1981 CBS network movie Dark Night of the Scarecrow first aired in October 1981 and became a Halloween staple for a generation of 80s and 90s viewers. Though there have been several attempts to emulate this classic, there is nothing quite as horrifying as the original.
The Set Up
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is the story of four men in a farming community who decide to take the law into their own hands, only to have it backfire spectacularly. After a young girl named Marylee Williams (Tonya Crowe) is found mauled half to death, southern postal worker Otis (Charles Durning) is convinced that the culprit is a local mentally challenged man known as Bubba (Larry Drake).
Together with three other townsfolk, Otis forms a lynch mob and hunts Bubba down with bloodhounds.
Bubba Becomes The Victim
Otis, Skeeter (Robert F. Lyons), Philby (Claude Earl Jones), and Harliss (Lane Smith) track Bubba in the middle of a field where the man has been disguised as a scarecrow. Not fooled by his ruse, the four men take aim with their rifles and fire, killing him.
But Dark Night of the Scarecrow takes a twisted turn when it’s quickly revealed that Marylee was attacked by a dog and that Bubba was responsible for saving her life.
The Vengeance Begins
After having charges dropped against them for lack of evidence, Otis and his cronies are free men. But one evening, Harliss sees a scarecrow identical to the one Bubba was disguised as in his field. Not long after, Harliss is investigating a noise in his barn when the woodchipper fires up and the farmer is dropped into the machine.
The Human Monsters Are The Scariest
Over the course of the rest of Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Otis, Philby, and Skeeter are terrorized by the scarecrow as they are slowly picked off one by one. Each death is more terrifying than the last, with the final death scene one that brings a sense of justice with feelings of terror.
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is unique in that it is the first full length film where a scarecrow is the main antagonist. Other horror entries would follow over the decades (Dark Harvest being the most recent), but all the rest have relied on gratuitous violence to generate terror instead of solid storytelling.
In fact, it’s arguable that the most horrifying moment in Dark Night of the Scarecrow isn’t rooted in the supernatural but is instead perpetrated by the human monsters in the film.
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GFR SCORE
The scene where poor Bubba is located by Otis and the lynch mob is one that builds a high level of anxiety in audiences and has a brutal payoff. Dark Night of the Scarecrow manages to have viewers experience much of the horror that Bubba is facing through his own eyes as he’s looking out at his killers from inside the scarecrow mask. Larry Drake does an exceptional job playing Bubba, particularly in this moment when he realizes that he’s about to die.
Dark Night of the Scarecrow also has incredible performances from Charles Durning and from young Tonya Crowe. The made-for-TV movie was one of the most chilling horror films released in the early part of the decade and the acting was certainly a strong reason why it stands up well against other similar films in the genre.
You can stream Dark Night of the Scarecrow for free with Tubi, Roku, and Vudu or rent it On Demand through Prime, Google Play, and YouTube TV.
