Scarecrow Slayer

Director - David Michael Latt (Killers)
Starring - Tony Todd (Night of the Living Dead '90, Candyman), Nicole Kingston (Live Fast, Die Young), David Castro (The Source)
Release Date - 2004
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "He cuts to the chase"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Midnight Horror Collection: Deadly Harvest)

Rating (out of 5):

     After watching the film Scarecrow, it was only a matter of time before I popped in the obvious sequel, Scarecrow Slayer.  However, I was not expecting myself to watch it this quickly.  I was actually wanting to watch Fight Club again for the umpteenth time but something in the back of my mind kept gnawing at me.  I was curious as to how bad the sequel could be.  The first film suffered from what I like to call the "Troll 2 Effect."  That movie was so bad that it was good, but the sequel, more than likely, would not be the same way.  As I sat in my recliner debating if I wanted to watch an amazing film I have seen more times than I can count or a shitty sequel to a shitty film.  I'll leave it up to you to figure out which film I chose.  

     The film begins with a father and son duo out working on their farm late at night (I don't know if this is common practice on farms) when the father hits something with his tractor.  When the father climbs down from his tractor to see what he hit, he is tossed onto a pitchfork.  His son, a small boy, runs for his life.  The film then jumps 35 years and that young boy has grown up.  His name is Caleb (Todd) and he is, more or less, a scarecrow expert.  He has familiarized himself with scarecrow folklore and urban legends, as well as, written many books on the subject.  The local community thinks he is crazy and is often ridiculed for his beliefs.  One night two fraternity pledges trespass on to his property to steal his scarecrow as part of their pledge.  However, they did not know that Caleb had captured the scarecrow that killed his father and tied him to a cross to prevent him from murdering any one else.  When the two remove the scarecrow from the cross, Caleb arrives and shoots the scarecrow and one of the pledges in the process.  The spirit of the pledge passes over into the scarecrow.  The new scarecrow wants to turn his ex-girlfriend into another scarecrow so they can be together forever and will kill anyone that gets in his way.  There is only one problem, an entire ROTC unit stand between him and his scarecrow bride.  As the scarecrow makes his way through the ROTC to reach his lady he lets his anger get the best of him.   Hekills his former friend at the feet of the scarecrow he has prepared to carry the spirit of his ex in.  His spirit enters that scarecrow and it comes to life.  The two scarecrows are now pitted against each other and after the two scarecrows battle it out, in the poorest excuse of a fight scene ever filmed, the original scarecrow survives.  He starts to make his way to his lady before she shoves a bazooka down his throat.

     This movie is horrible in every aspect you look at.  The acting is, sad to say, worse than it's predecessor.  The film has Tony Todd billed as the starring role, however, he is only in the first 15 to 20 minutes.  This is common in horror films released in recent years.  Directors cast horror icons of yesteryear to appear in their films for a brief cameo and bill them as starring to cash in on their fan base.  I am surprised Todd even agreed to be in this film.  As for the special effects, they are the worst I have ever seen.  I am a lover of practical effects that were perfected in the 80s.  I don't mind CGI as long as it is used well with practical effects and done right.  This film is was not done right and made An American Werewolf in Paris look top notch in comparison.  Though the special effects were horrible, the scarecrow still looks as good as it did in the first film.  Unfortunately that can't save this horrible film.  The story is decent if you look at it from a different perspective.  From the movie's perspective, the story is horrible.  The film drags out in most scenes and then crams all the action the scene can handle in to others.  However, if you look at it as an overall story, then you will see that the story is actually decent for a horror flick.  The story completely ignores the previous installment and creates something new altogether.  Overall, this film is nothing like the previous film and offers no real entertainment.  Also, this film does not suffer from the Troll 2 Effect and I personally think this should be one that is avoided.