Return of the Scarecrow

Director - Walter Lodes III (Wishful Thinking, Some Might Say)

Starring - Jason Brenner, Scott Baisden (Accidental Exorcist, Buzzard), and Rebecca Bettig 

Release Date - 2017

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "When the sun sets, he rises"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     We are reaching the halfway point in October and with Halloween inching ever so closer I want to watch as many Halloween themed flicks as I could find.  Sadly, with Covid and the pandemic, I can't find that many I haven't seen before. Late last year and early this year Wild Eye released One Night in October and Return of the Scarecrow.  I wasn't sure if Return of the Scarecrow was a Halloween centered movie but it looked fun enough to spin this late in the month.  Thanks Wild Eye for sending it over.

     The film follows a small town that has a lasting legend of an evil scarecrow that awakens after so long.  Some of the locals turn the legend into a prank but when the real scarecrow awakens they find themselves stuck in the middle.

     I love indie horror and I know how much of a struggle it can be to make a film with no budget or experience.  However, not all stories can be feature length films.  Some just don't have enough meat on the bone so to speak.  They would be better effective as a short.  Return of the Scarecrow would have been far more entertaining as a short.  The acting in this one is solid.  Some of the characters fall into the background while some of them offer up some laughs that were not expected.  I love a good horror comedy but the cast in this one fit a typical horror comedy while the story doesn't really flow like a horror comedy.  There is definitely some disconnect between the cast and the story.  The story for this one is nothing we haven't seen before but could be fun.  However, the movie is just way too long for the story.  It would have been way more enjoyable as a short with some of the humor written into the tale but the way it is the movie is a rough one to finish.  Finally, those of you looking for plenty of gore will be very disappointed.  This is not a bloody mess of a film and the little bit of gags we do get are very unimaginative and forgettable.  Overall, Return of the Scarecrow is not the new addition to your Halloween movie marathon that you was looking for.  Some cuts and edit would make it more enjoyable but as is I wouldn't recommend it.