Seldom Seen review | SCARECROWS

So many genre filmmakers today are bent on recapturing what they remember having worked on-screen in their youth. The Rob Zombies and Eli Roths and Alexandre Ajas of the world have made minor mints harkening back to bygone times with their self-proclaimed approximations of '70s- and ‘80s-styled films, but have they ever really managed to ping that special vibe? Regardless of whether they or their contemporaries have produced respectable work (in some instances I, and many others, believe they have), hitting and sustaining those vintage horror notes so far hasn't really been done, talent be damned. What's happened has happened -- so isn't it better to preserve and celebrate then strip mine?

An oft-referenced ‘80s offering stamped OOP for far too long, William Wesley's Scarecrows is just the sort of horror story many would love to see remade with a glossy new sheen. I'd just like to see it again via something other than my 20-year-old VHS copy. Imaginative, mean-spirited, and goofy in perfect proportions, Scarecrows reps an intense and technically astute action / horror hybrid deserving of a full-on special edition re-release (are you reading, Don May or Bill Lustig???).

A quintet of highly trained, heavily armed robbers have ripped off a multi-million dollar payroll from a military base and hijacked a private plane en route out of town. Double-crossed by one of their own who parachutes from the plane with all their loot, an emergency landing places them smack in the middle of a sprawling, ancient farm. Once there and on the hunt, the robbers and their hostage father / daughter pilot team are stalked by a gang of scarecrows brought to murderous life, capable of preying on both the physical and mental and seemingly impervious to harm.

More than anything, Scarecrows benefits from an enveloping atmosphere of dread, amped by a robust moody score and outstanding make-up effects. The cohesion between the film's various design elements (sound, set, effects) is one of its greatest strengths, helping to elevate it above many of its more readily recalled peers. Off-the-wall touches, like a stiff breeze breathing life into a lost harmonica or phantom messages via phone and headset from dead colleagues and the vicious ‘crows themselves, propel the ambience via simple technical imagination. Gore is plentiful and the scarecrows are small marvels to behold, grotesque menageries of rustic life gone to horrifying seed.

The film's script works creatively in proportion to deferring to genre expectations, injecting original touches throughout while relying on familiar stalk-and-slash mechanics when appropriate instances arise. Suspense is built and played upon to great effect, and the eventual bursts of violence are shocking.

Scarecrows isn't big on explanations, offering up thematic crumbs likening the cursed farm to a sort of purgatory but little else in the way of exposition; it's more concerned with forward motion and keeps things running at a steady clip throughout. Another component in the film's overall success, its ambiguous attitude toward the horrors it foists on its characters allows them little time to ask “why” or “how”. After all, clawed scarecrows are trying to replace their bowels with fresh straw.

If the film has a weak link, one could cite the occasionally wobbly performances -- but honestly, so much of the dialog from principal writer Richard Jefferies (especially the banter between the robbers) is of the “all in good fun” variety, it's hard to find fault. Some of the macho one-liners generate genuine fits of laughter.

Scarecrows' spotty release history saw “R” and “unrated” VHS dips from Forum in 1988, as well as a laserdisc release from Image. It has surfaced on DVD from Germany's Red Dragon label in a reportedly abhorrent full-frame transfer (retitled Paratrooper), while the UK's Jef Films have issued a similarly bemoaned full-frame disc. Both are PAL region-free releases, and thought to be uncut. MGM, who've done a consistently solid job with their back-catalog titles in recent years, sits on the film's rights for the US.

A cursory search for the film and its participants online will reveal a strong fan base with genuine respect for Wesley's low-budget wonder. One would think someone -- anyone -- will someday come to their senses and give Scarecrows the quality re-issue it deserves. Let's hope it doesn't take a “re-imagining” of the film for modern audiences to have a chance to see the sort of genre picture many filmmakers still aspire to create today.