La Malédiction de L'Épouvantail

Scarecrow (2013)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Better than average SyFy flick about three adults and six teens who travel to an abandoned farmhouse to tear down a scarecrow so that it can be used in a town event. Before long there's a scarecrow killing them off one by one. You know, scarecrows can be rather creepy and we've gotten several horror films about them but most have been rather unsuccessful with the exception being DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW. I really wasn't expecting too much from this film but it actually delivered as long as you don't take it too serious and don't expect any scares. I thought the story itself from writer Rick Suvalle was pretty good as it seems he has a knowledge of the genre and knows how to milk certain scenes. One fine example of this is the opening sequence with a couple teens sneaking into a barn for some sex but you know what happens. I really liked how the story took place at this farmhouse and barn and I think the film only really started to suffer when they moved off these locations. The performances were actually better than you'd expect for this type of film with Lacey Chabert, Julia Maxwell, Nicole Munoz and Richard Harmon all doing fine work. The scarecrow itself is a CGI creation and it's certainly not as horrid as I was expecting. If you watch these SyFy movies then you know the monsters are usually horrid looking but I thought for the most part that this one looked okay. The scarecrow in the field that we see early on is much more effective though. The blood/violence level isn't all that high but we get a couple nice scenes. SCARECROW eventually runs out of gas around the hour mark and gets slowed down but fans of the sub-genre should find enough here to enjoy.

While Scarecrow is left wanting somewhat, for SyFy it really isn't so bad. There are some good things. Scarecrow is one of SyFy's better-looking recent movies, the scenery is good and atmosphere and it is slickly shot. The quality of the scarecrow design is not bad at all, in fact apart from some too-smooth movements, which for SyFy is saying a good deal. The score does have some eeriness, and the beginning sets things up nicely. The acting is better than average also, Lacey Chabert and Robin Dunne fare the best and they are good. The direction is of the kind is that is never inept or adept, competent is the best word though it could have been with more crispness and character in the latter part of the movie. There are failings in Scarecrow though. The biggest failing is that it doesn't convey its horror elements very well. There are some moments in the first half, but much of it suffers from being too been-there-done-that quality, from not knowing when to end, from having a lack of build-up or suspense and that the fear and danger levels are quite low. The story is refreshingly simple to begin with and starts promisingly, sadly it is also the kind of story that later on becomes too simple and runs out of ideas too early. There is also too much down-time and exposition, coupled with the lack of scares there are too many of tediousness. The dialogue could have done with being tighter, and with less of an over-serious and simplistic approach. The exposition scenes are particularly bad in this regard. And while the scarecrow is good in look, it also doesn't have much of a personality and is severely under-utilised. In conclusion, not bad, could have been worse but it's nothing particularly great either. 5/10 Bethany Cox

This was typical fare of something evil lurks and teenagers are on the menu. But with realistic gore and terror scenes, frightened actors and creepy settings, it's at least an enjoyable seasonal movie for Halloween, (it was aired on the Sy-Fy channel in October) and for TV movie horror fans alike. Mild enough to air on TV, it is fairly safe for younger teens and pre-teens, but engaging enough for the adults to watch, too. The monster was interesting yet vaguely familiar (think Jeepers Creepers) and yet kept me intrigued for the entirety of the story. Some twists and turns helped move the story along, despite the predictable characters and storyline. Overall, not bad. Not wonderful, but not bad.

This film begins with two teenagers by the names of "Chad" (Keenan Tracey) and "Marcy" (Lanie McAuley) walking through a cornfield with the idea of spending some time together in a nearby barn while they wait for some schoolmates to meet up with them within an hour or so. Unfortunately, they realize to their horror that there is a monster lurking nearby and it kills the two of them in a most gruesome manner. The scene then shifts to six high school students reporting to a teacher named "Aaron Harris" (Robin Dunne) to atone for earlier misbehavior. To that effect, they have all been tasked to set up a display for the 100th Scarecrow Festival being nearby and as part of their punishment they are required to dismantle-and then reassemble in town--the scarecrow hanging in that same exact cornfield. What none of them realize is the horror that is waiting for them when they finally arrive. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was one of those movies that had plenty of action and CGI to please audiences who enjoy things of that nature. It does not, however, have enough character development or background material and the absence of these two ingredients gives this film a rather shallow aspect overall. Additionally, the longer the film lasted the more the action scenes tended to resemble each other to the point that it became quite tedious after a while. In any case, although I didn't consider this film to be terribly bad necessarily, the faults just mentioned were still much too apparent for me to rate it any higher than I have. Slightly below average.

It might not be on the same level as bigger productions of the same genre. But thanks to it's consistent and equal quality in all aspects of the movie, it manages to not be as terrible as some other low budget movies. If you're having a day where you don't mind investing 90 minutes of your life and you're in the mood for a nice, easy, horror flick then I can recommend it. The VFX was actually much better than expected and elevated this movie visually which made every scene with the scarecrow in it quite enjoyable. The creature itself is quite scary and the way it manifest hasn't been done like that before so it felt fresh and interesting. 5 out of 10 for me.