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Rise of the Scarecrows: Hell on Earth
USA 2021
produced by Geno McGahee, Gregory Hatanaka, Pete Baez, Matthew Hebert, Jesse Waegelein-Hall for X Posse Productions, CineRidge Entertainment, Cinema Epoch
directed by Geno McGahee
starring Eric Michaelian, Lorrie Bacon, Brent Northup, Martin DuPlessis, Sharon Marr, Tom Hebert, Matthew Hebert, Jesse Waegelein-Hall, Brandon Macey, Nathaniel Cook, Phil Godeck, Frank Palangi, Bayindir Citak, Mike Provencal, Samantha Provencal, Aaron Schacte, Pawel Watracz, Madelynn Wells, and as scarecrows Martin DuPlessis, Justin Hortie, David Finkelstein, Mike Provencal, Tom Hebert
written by Geno McGahee, music by Frank Palangi, Joe Becker, Gary Steinour, special effects by Matthew Hebert, Jesse Waegelein-Hall, Rick Caride
Rise of the Scarecrows
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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After the death of his mother, Mitch (Erikc Michaelian) returns to his
hometown to reconnect with his father Ben (Brent Northup), and everything
goes fine initially, as not only are both men ready and willing to settle
their differences, Mitch also takes a liking in Stacy (Lorrie Bacon), the
girl who delivers Ben's groceries, and Ben is more than happy to help
young romance blossom. Still, there are a few things odd about Ben, like
why doesn't he tell Mitch how his mother died? Or why is he painting all
these scarecrows, but when asks makes silly excuses about them? In the
nearby woods, five youngsters - Jake (Tom Hebert), his girlfriend Steph
(Jesse Waeglein-Hall), his nerdy brother Randy (Brandon Macey), Dan
(Matthew Hebert), and his girlfriend Sharon (Sharon Marr) - have put up
their tents for some undisturbed partying - and they won't be deterred by
a crazy old man (Martin DuPlessis), who warns them about homicidal
scarecrows roaming the area. During a stroll through the woods, Mitch and
Stacy bump into them - and they get along very well, actually well enough
for the youngsters to invite Mitch and Stacy back that night for a party.
That afternoon, Randy confesses to Steph that he has visions of murderous
scarecrows - and is killed by one before he can warn the others. And the
others don't even notice as he hardly leaves his tent anyways, so they
party with Mitch and Stacy with his dead body nearby - but it's not long
before the scarecrows close in on them, starting to kill them left and
right, and only a few make it back to Ben's house, where Ben opens up
about the terrible secret of the town, and how it's linked to scarecrows
going on a rampage for a few nights every year - and there's no stopping
them ... A nice mix of slasher movie and folk horror that
focuses on its characters though rather than just letting its monsters
kill through scores of cannonfodder - which in turn means the film tells
more story than your usual slasher, and asks for a bit of patience before
the suitably gory slaughter that's the third act sets in in full force.
However, the story really fulfills its purpose to make us care for the
characters, and it actually fits into the greater context of events much
better than it originally seemed, making this pretty cool low budget genre
entertainment.
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