| Author | Message | ||
     Niki Flynn (Niki) Username: Niki Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.32.69.29 |
This is an old favourite of mine - a made-for-TV (American) film from 1981. I decided to see if it was out on DVD and I found plenty of sites announcing that it was GOING to be released, but I can't actually find it for sale anywhere. I can find the odd VHS copy on Amazon and eBay, but no DVD anywhere. Does anyone have more information? Here's a link to the trailer for those who haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAZBPkam6vg  | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
This one and The Town That Dreaded Sundown are my two favourite horor titles form the VHS era. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.203.130.99 |
I've seen neither, but the TV trailer for Town That Dreaded Sundown is one of my memorably scary childhood memories. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.194.163 |
I saw these two ages ago - The Town That Dreaded Sundown in the cinema way back in the seventies, and Dark Night of the Scarecrow on VHS in the eighties. I have fond memories of them both... I wonder how they'd hold up today? | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.229.107 |
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is on YouTube, in ten instalments. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.203.130.99 |
Town That Dreaded Sundown gets shown on The Horror Channel but I never keep tabs on its schedule of shite | ||
| Richard_gavin (Richard_gavin) Username: Richard_gavin Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 69.157.32.253 |
Niki: I know I stated this in your My Bloody Valentine thread, but I must echo the words: it's too bad you don't live in the Toronto area. This Thursday a restored version of Dark Night of the Scarecrow is being screened at the Bloor Cinema. The film's screenwriter will be there and so will I. I'll be sure to ask him for an update on the DVD release. I know that Image was working on a special edition of Dark Night of the Scarecrow, but I haven't heard a firm release date. I'm guessing that if the film is being screened, a DVD can't be too far off. These kinds of events are usually done to rekindle interest in older films that are about to be re-released or remade. | ||
| Niki Flynn (Niki) Username: Niki Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.32.69.29 |
Damn! My timing is pretty uncanny, though, eh? Yes, please do ask him about the DVD release. And thanks, Hubert, for the YouTube tip. But I do want to own the DVD of this one. I loved it as a kid and watched it several Halloweens in a row. It seemed to be on every October. And Town That Dreaded Sundown was seriously creepy. That bag-head killer scared me a lot!} | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.229.107 |
It reminded me of THE ZODIAC, also based on true events and equally involving a hooded killer who was never caught. TOWN's beginning is promising enough, but the film is seriously marred by 'comical' elements. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.220.47 |
Is this scarecrow film the one with a character called Bubba? I have a vague recollection from when I was younger. | ||
| Niki Flynn (Niki) Username: Niki Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.32.69.29 |
Yes, Steve. Bubba's a harmless man with the mind of a child. He befriends a little girl and then saves her when she gets attacked by a dog. But all the rednecks think he's the one who attacked her, so they kill him while he's hiding and pretending to be a scarecrow. Naturally, he comes back AS the scarecrow to avenge his death. One guy gets drowned by grain in a silo and that scene really scared me as a child, even though I knew he was a bad guy who deserved to die. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.220.47 |
I remember now, Niki. Not long after I saw it I became fascinated with the idea of scarecrows. That evolved into other fears about dummies and mannequins, a track which eventually led to a love of all things uncanny. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
I remember DARK NIGT OF THE SCARECROW! Yeah, I really enjoyed that when it wa son. Top drawer for a telly movie. | ||
| Richard_gavin (Richard_gavin) Username: Richard_gavin Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 69.157.37.29 |
Niki, all: It was confirmed at last night's screening that Dark Night of the Scarecrow will be released on DVD in North America this coming autumn. Writer J.D. Feigelson said that he was hoping to have it out this spring, but Image pushed the date closer to Hallowe'en, which makes sense from a marketing point of view, seeing as horror DVDs (and books, though to a lesser extent) see a spike in sales around that time of year. The print's been very nicely restored. The plot dragged more than I'd remembered, but it still has some great rural eeriness to it. Feigelson also told some very interesting stories about how Ray Bradbury was an unofficial script supervisor on the film, advising all seven drafts before the film finally went before the cameras. | ||
| Niki Flynn (Niki) Username: Niki Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.32.69.29 |
Excellent! Thanks for that report, Richard - that's lovely news. And I certainly never knew Bradbury was involved in any way. | ||
| Niki Flynn (Niki) Username: Niki Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.32.69.29 |
Well, guess what the Scary Fairy sent me yesterday?  So I've spent a lazy morning in bed (with a cold, so don't envy me too much) watching it. And it was actually better than I remembered! And creepier. Granted, you WANT all those redneck assholes to get it in horrible ways (and oh yes, they do), but there's still plenty of spooky suspense and "rural eeriness" (great term, Richard!). Anyone considering a remake of Apaches will find plenty of inspiration here! The grain silo scene is particularly nasty. I also got a lovely little surprise at the end. There's a second film on this particular DVD - not mentioned anywhere in the packaging - and I can't decide if it's deliberate or if it's just one of those delicious coincidences. The second feature is She-Wolf of London! So thanks, Scary Fairy, whoever you are! You've made this little werewolf very happy today. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.199.0.51 |
I watched this today as part of a 'backwoods' double bill with 'Lemora' (see my other post). For a TV Movie it's not bad at all. As a child I was precocious enough to avoid TV horror movies unless they had the name Dan Curtis attached to them, having been stung by some real rubbish (Satan's School for Girls -oh God what a title! What a disappointment!) but that means I missed stuff like this. There's a very Stephen King-style atmosphere to this revenge tale. It's a shame we don't get to see the scarecrow shambling about more and being scary but US TV censorship always meant you ended up missing out on the best bits. Not bad as an afternoon timewaster though. |