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Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 19, 2018 12:45:33 GMT
"You may think you're getting off free, but there's other justice in this world besides the law!"A seemingly innocent friendship between a young girl and her much older and mentally challenged pal Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake) have already caused some stir with the locals, but when a grisly dicovery of the remains of a little child is found, it ends up as exactly the kind of excuse the local vigilantes had hoped for and pretty soon they use it for all its worth in a ruthless and ignorant witch hunt, where a small town hell bent on revenge decides to pay their attention on the poor and helpless Bubba.I got this one on pure impulse back in 2011, I think it was first released on DVD a year earlier and thought it looked like an interesting little slasher/b-movie, or least from the DVD artwork. Turned out that it was a great movie and one which I have become very fond of. It comes with a very chilling atmosphere and is backed up by some very solid acting performances, specially by Charles Durning. I was surprised to learn later on that it was in fact a TV-made horror film, while for me, I think it is a much better written and acted movie than many of the bigger budget horror films of that time. The theme is of course when revenge goes all too wrong and people end up taking justice in their own hands, which then leads to even more tragedy. All in all, if you have not seen this one, I strongly recommend it as it really is a fine piece of early 80s horror film.
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Post by lostinlimbo on Jan 19, 2018 14:59:01 GMT
Easily one of the best made for tv horror films and it truly does creep up on you. Durning is excellent as the main antagonist, keeping you gripped to the very end.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2018 18:06:08 GMT
love this movie. truly creepy beyond belief and as 'lostinlimbo' stated one of the best made for TV horrors out there. enjoyed Trilogy of Terror, Stepford Wives and Dark Harvest of Harvest Home (or something along that name??) used to be on Youtube for free. in fact - this is on my watch list again over the next couple of days - seen of Bubba handing the girl the flower at the end is pretty haunting and eerie
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2018 20:59:13 GMT
Yeah, good movie. 7/10
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Jan 20, 2018 6:45:56 GMT
"Bubba didnt do it."
Saw this back in 81. Good one for Halloween.
There's one super brief moment you see the shape in the office before the guy is killed in the grain silo.
I feel sorry for Durning that his big breakfast got disturbed. He sure had good eats in the boarding house.
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Post by OffTheBoatPsycho on Jan 23, 2018 3:21:59 GMT
"You may think you're getting off free, but there's other justice in this world besides the law!"A seemingly innocent friendship between a young girl and her much older and mentally challenged pal Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake) have already caused some stir with the locals, but when a grisly dicovery of the remains of a little child is found, it ends up as exactly the kind of excuse the local vigilantes had hoped for and pretty soon they use it for all its worth in a ruthless and ignorant witch hunt, where a small town hell bent on revenge decides to pay their attention on the poor and helpless Bubba.I got this one on pure impulse back in 2011, I think it was first released on DVD a year earlier and thought it looked like an interesting little slasher/b-movie, or least from the DVD artwork. Turned out that it was a great movie and one which I have become very fond of. It comes with a very chilling atmosphere and is backed up by some very solid acting performances, specially by Charles Durning. I was surprised to learn later on that it was in fact a TV-made horror film, while for me, I think it is a much better written and acted movie than many of the bigger budget horror films of that time. The theme is of course when revenge goes all too wrong and people end up taking justice in their own hands, which then leads to even more tragedy. All in all, if you have not seen this one, I strongly recommend it as it really is a fine piece of early 80s horror film. Another great movie poster. I have to watch this again. It is very good.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Oct 27, 2018 13:29:40 GMT
Charles Durning steals the whole movie, easily.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Oct 28, 2018 18:33:31 GMT
I agree with all these positive comments. Just caught this on YouTube, and holy moly! What a neat little horror thriller this turned out to be. So suspenseful and creepy, keeps you guessing right to the very end. Novelist Frank De Felitta did a fine job with the direction, and provides some stylish camera work and a chilling atmosphere. Some nice twists as well.
This proves that made-for-TV horror movies can be just as effective as theatrical ones.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Oct 29, 2018 2:23:26 GMT
Add me to the list of positive fans as well >
Bubba Didn't Do it
Dark Night of the Scarecrow is directed by Frank De Felitta and written by J.D. Feigelson and Butler Handcock. It stars Charles Durning, Larry Drake, Tonya Crowe, Jocelyn Brando, Lane Smith and Claude Earl Jones. Music is by Glenn Paxton and cinematography by Vincent Martinelli.
Small town Americana and Bubba Ritter (Drake), a friendly but mentally challenged man, is falsely accused of attacking and severely injuring young Marylee Williams (Crowe). Four of the town residents, with hate and ignorance driving them on, hunt down Bubba and find him hiding as a scarecrow in a field. Murdering him, they claim self defence and walk free from court. It's not long afterwards, though, that the men start to see a scarecrow in their midst
Some things from movies just stay with you from when you were a wee youngster, I still remember the first time I heard the anguished cry of Bubba Ritter stating that he didn't do the crime he was being hunted for. Dark Night of the Scarecrow stood out by some considerable mile as one of the best TV horror movies I saw as a youth, not for things that I would later appreciate in film making as I got older, but just for sheer terror of a scarecrow stalking his prey for divine retribution. How wonderful to revisit the movie three decades later and find that it is still one of the best TV horror movies out there.
Oh it doesn't terrify now, though it still packs a sense of unease and keeps scarecrows firmly in the realm of creepyville, but it has a style so sorely lacking in many of today's horrors. There is no need to bludgeon us with slash and stalk, showing us gore front and centre, the makers here are subtle, refusing even to put the scarecrow in the limelight like Michael or Jason. There's a smart ambiguity about the supernatural elements, keeping the mystery element strong as the guilty men begin to crack and head towards their real judgement.
Simmering away nicely in the narrative is of course the vile stench of bigotry, and the pain inflicted by such narrow minds. There is also a dark thread left dangling that suggests one of the guilty men is impure of thoughts towards little Marylee, one of the very things he whipped up as reason to hound Bubba for. Some thought went into the screenplay, and it's credit to the writers that it never becomes a moral crusade, while the crafting of the lovely innocent friendship between Bubba and Marylee is beautifully born out by actors and technicians alike.
Durning and Drake dominate the movie with classy shows, impressive in Drake's case as he is only in it for a short amount of time, but the work of young Tonya Crowe puts her in the club that houses best child performances of the 80s. Her reactions to Bubba and Otis (Durning) naturally call for different human emotions, and she in turn nails the aspects of youthful innocence and mature awareness of who the monster actually is. The photography is textured, the music equally so, and there's even some shards of humour and irony along the way.
I can imagine many of today's horror fans going into Dark Night of the Scarecrow and being very disappointed not to get a Voorhees type movie, while some more sensitive viewers may find the portrayals of backwater folk as being ignorantly stereotyped by the makers. It isn't for every horror fan, without a doubt, and clearly it's not perfect, but to those who loved it back when it first showed, those who are jaded by how this type of sub-genre of horror has evolved into bloody overkill and remake/sequel hell, then Dark Night of the Scarecrow is in fact a minor classic. 8/10
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Oct 30, 2018 0:59:24 GMT
The scene where the hog farmer guy looks towards the office and the light comes on for a second is very creepy. There IS something standing there before the light goes out.
The 80s were the dying period for good tv movies so its a particular exception.
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