Directed by Frank De Felitta
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.
La oscura noche del espantapájaros, Die Nacht der Vogelscheuche, A Noite do Espantalho, Η Νύχτα με τα Σκιάχτρα, La Nuit de L'épouvantail, Scarecrow: Ein Toter Schlägt Zurück!, Die Rache des Gelynchten, Nacht für Nacht, La Nuit de l'épouvantail, ダークナイト, Тъмната нощ на Плашилото, Lo spaventapasseri, La oscura noche del espantapajaros, Les Fleurs de sang, Noite do Espantalho, Темная ночь пугала, 稻草人的黑夜, Terror na Escuridão, Кървавата нощ на Плашилото
Netherlands18 
UK15 
Germany16 
Romania18+ 
USANR Germany Netherlands Romania UK USA 
A scary story to tell in the dark.
My girlfriend and I just watched a Creepshow episode involving a killer scarecrow... Despite some great effects/visuals, we didn’t love that segment and yet again another killer scarecrow piece felt squandered... so I turned to my hopefully future wife (no joke guys I’m proposing next week!) and asked her if she’s seen Dark Night of the Scarecrow. She said, “no”, I said “YES!!!”, and we immediately popped it in. It played like gangbusters tonight—The perfect late night jam filled with well deserved vengeance, dark humor/moments, psychological terror, and a terrific finale in a cornfield/pumpkin patch.
I watch every scarecrow movie that comes out because it’s the best idea that’s never pulled off well... hoping…
very negative portrayal of our boys in blue (postal workers)
Been meaning to watch this for years and years and hey I finally got around to it tonight for some reason! And it was just as impressive as I had heard! Great atmosphere and lots of creepy scenes is really all I ask for in a movie, but this one also had some great acting and characters you cared about. Charles Durning was absolutely despicable and I just wanted to slap him right across the face the entire movie but that’s what a good actor does! Makes you wanna slap ‘me!
This is a terrific movie for this time of year due to the pumpkin patch finale even though there is some horrific pumpkin violence so if that’s something that might bother you, you’ve been warned.
Put this on randomly, and so glad I did. For a CBS made for tv horror movie, this was awesome!! Originally it aired the week of Halloween 1981. A haunted vengeful scarecrow, its perfect for spooky season. Super creepy and atmospheric without the need of relying on gore or cheap jump scares. Check this out! You will never trust your mailman again...
The sympathy this shows for Bubba is far more than many films show neurodivergent people, and the agency it gives him as he gets his revenge more, too, than you usually see. I'm not saying this somewhat grim rednexploitation-slasher film is enlightened exactly, but it avoids pitfalls you would expect and has a sense of... justice. That's the difference from a mean-spirited horror movie: it sacrifices that sense of terror you would get from sympathizing with the victims of the killer by making them horrible people, targets of justified vengeance. It's possible (very possible) to tap into that kind of fear for sympathetic victims, but it's also very easy to fall into the trap of just making something nihilistic and…
The first scarecrow horror movie, Dark Night Of The Scarecrow is made for TV. It is a too dark and twisted tale to put on the small screen. If you can surf on the wave of slasher movies, anything is possible. It premiered on CBS on October 24, 1981.
Bubba (Larry Drake) is a gentle mentally disabled man of 36. His best friend, Marylee (Tonya Crowe) is a little girl, about 10 or 11. Bubba is Marylee's perfect play date. She dominates him with ease. Their relationship is a thorn in the side of the local mail man, Otis P. Hazelrigg (Charles Durning). This is rural America. They like to keep things normal. Are his worries completely unjust? Bubba is…
What’s creepier, scarecrows or small children? I’m not an evil mailman murderer, so I have no real reason to fear either. But luckily, for my viewing experience, both can fill me with some sort of disquiet.
This hicksploitation ghost-revenge was a pleasant surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was definitely something schlockier than this. Instead, I got excellent performances, some creepy images, an explosion and a fair amount of hell-yeah supernatural retribution. For a film made in the eighties, it’s got much more of that seventies slow-burn feel, where nothing is too explicit, and instead a lot of it runs on atmosphere and aftermaths. Just my kind of vibe.
Could not recommend this highly underrated made for tv movie enough for October
Full movie on YouTube
youtu.be/2rMGrk5OY5c
“There is other justice in this world. Besides the law”
You know it.... 🎃
A hillbilly farmer getting buried alive in a grain silo is just about as poetic as you can get
Definitely a hidden gem
One of, if not THE first movie to feature a killer scarecrow, and it's absolutely spectacular! It's got an excellent small country town aesthetic, as well as an awesome fall look and feel to it. It's atmospheric and very eerie, lots of fun rural locations, and great performances! And the ending fucking SLAPS! Definitely one of the best horror movie endings for sure! Only issue I really had is that the scarecrow isn't really onscreen a whole lot. I get that was on purpose to add to the creepiness, but since this is called "Dark Night of the Scarecrow," I feel like we should've seen him more. But other than that, this movie was great! I one hundred percent recommend you all to watch this underrated gem!
Nice flick from the blessed 80s. It's not a standard slasher, it's more of a revenge thriller with a strong mystery component and horror elements. Apart from one little scene, there is actually nothing to look at in terms of effects. The actors are surprisingly good and the atmosphere and music fit perfectly. However, the movie is extremely predictable and the story very generic, which I personally had no problem with, cuz the plot itself was nicely reduced to the essentials, which made the movie very straightforward and therefore entertaining. Prejudice, peer pressure and bigotry are also denounced in the subtext here.
