Dark Night of the Scarecrow1981
“The Original Classic”
Directed by Frank De Felitta
On the charts
🏆 1 nomination total
The premise
Bubba, an intellectually disabled man, is falsely accused of attacking a young girl. Disguised as a scarecrow, he hides in a cornfield, only to be hunted down and shot by four vigilante men. After they are acquitted due to lack of evidence, the men find themselves being stalked one by one.
Horror Vault's take
In a small rural community, an innocent man becomes the target of a self-appointed mob who refuse to wait for the truth. After the four vigilantes escape legal consequences, something begins to close in on them — one by one — in the fields they thought they owned. Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a quietly menacing made-for-TV chiller that trades gore for creeping dread, letting guilt and atmosphere do the heavy lifting. The iconic scarecrow imagery and Charles Durning's chilling performance as the ringleader make this a standout of early-80s horror.
Content: Depiction Of Vigilante Violence Against A Disabled Person, Execution-Style Killing, Themes Of Ableism And Mob Violence
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Cast
Charles Durning
Otis P. Hazelrigg
Larry Drake
Bubba Ritter
Robert F. Lyons
Skeeter Norris
Claude Earl Jones
Philby
Lane Smith
Harless Hocker
Tonya Crowe
Marylee Williams
Jocelyn Brando
Mrs. Ritter
Tom Taylor
D.A. Sam Willock
Richard McKenzie
Judge Henry
Ivy Jones
Mrs. Willams
James Tartan
Mr. Williams
Ed Call
Defense Attorney
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