Horrorfest 2026: Dark Night of the Scarecrow

DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW
Written by J.D. Feigelson

Story by J.D. Feigelson and Butler Handcock

Directed by Frank De Felitta

Starring Charles Durning, Larry Drake, Tonya Crowe, Robert F. Lyons and Lane Smith

USA, 1981

DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW is a made-for-TV horror movie from 1981, back when the networks occasionally turned out some pretty effective scary stuff. This one's a solid little revenge story with a supernatural twist, and it features a villainous turn by Charles Durning.

Larry Drake plays an intellectually disabled man who lives with his mother and spends much of his time hanging around with a little girl named Marylee (Tonya Crowe). When Marylee is attacked by a dog, Bubba saves her life, but the local postman (Durning) assumes he's responsible for hurting her and rounds up some of his buddies to hunt him down. They find Bubba hiding in a field disguised as a scarecrow and shoot him dead, only to discover that the girl is alive and Bubba was innocent.

Oops.

The men manage to escape punishment, but before long they start seeing a mysterious scarecrow appearing in places where it shouldn't be, and then members of their little lynch mob begin dying under suspicious circumstances. Could it be that Bubba has returned from the grave to get revenge? Or is somebody else taking matters into their own hands?

I have to say, Durning makes a surprisingly effective villain. He's one of those actors I tend to associate with likable, blustery authority figures, but here he's a thoroughly unpleasant guy whose self-righteousness barely conceals some pretty ugly prejudices. He's the kind of person who thinks he's protecting his community when he's actually one of the worst things in it.

What I liked about DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW is that it doesn't need much in the way of elaborate effects or gore to get the job done. The scarecrow itself is a pretty effective image, and it’s satisfying to see these horrible people gradually realize that they might not have gotten away with what they did after all.

It's a good little revenge movie, with some suspense, a strong villain and a cool ending. Not bad for a made-for-TV movie!