Bride of the Scarecrow

Legends say victims have been taken when they walk his lands. Those that are lucky to escape will be haunted for the rest of your life.

Some aren’t so lucky.

A scarecrow walks the field searching for his bride, who died at the same time he did, in the wilds of the welsh farms.

A group of women, alone at the farm, are  just waiting for what’s happening… the time the scarecrow will rise. When he does, he’ll have 48 hours to kill anyone who runs his land., And it’s time for the youngest daughter to learn to be a protector as well.

Nevertheless, that night, they all disappear… And the property moves into the possession of the next of kin. A woman who is disillusioned with her job in life, but didn’t even know she’s a part of this family. She her friends go up to sign the papers and visit the property. In the distance, the scarecrow watches.

There’s blood in the stalls, and a creepy YouTuber up on the computer describing the legend of the scarecrow. In the barn, black crows caw ominously, and the owner gets her first glimpse of the scarecrow stored in that building. It’s playing possum for now, but slowly springs to life to watch her leave, and dispatch the local drifter who is acting as doomsayer for the film.

That evening, we hear a little bit more about the family curse, and one of the friends wants to do a séance to try and some of the scarecrow. This seems like a remarkably bad idea to me, but that’s kind of how these movies go. Outside, scarecrow is ready for action. Inside, he’s already set the scene yes he’s searching for his bride…

Rose petals on the bed boyfriend. Scarecrow is none too pleased to see the boyfriend kissing up on his woman, and goes to stalk some other areas of the house. Dissonant organ music plays in the back ground, and all the friends decide to go out and search for a missing person.

There’s a trail of flower petals in the stable in the area lights emanating. A note that the friends are invited to a wedding peers, and in a stall, they find girlfriend dressed as a bride and Shackled. 
It’s time for the killing to start.

The scarecrow is ever present, everywhere and unbound and unstoppable and the killing spree goes actually surprisingly quickly.

Finally, the girl comes searching for her friend. She looks enough like her ancestor that he’s mistaking her for incarnation. And they walk down the aisle, the hallway at the stables, lined with candles and the dead bodies of her friends. It’s beautifully framed and a great slasher look. Even the horse that they couldn’t hide in the background stall seems to be quite impressed. He keeps nodding his head all through the wedding ceremony. 

She manages to break free and escape, but will it be enough, and can she stop the curse in time?

I actually came into this in the wrong order.I watched the Tooth Fairy films first, even  though those don’t start until after the first two Scarecrow movies. That’s interesting, because we have this entire cast returning for the first installment of the tooth fairy series. Several of the film beats replicated, including the climax. Also, get used to this Farm and stables. You’re going to be seeing a lot of it in the next few films.

It’s not a perfect film. It’s clumsy in some ways, but you can see some real skill in lighting and cinematography here. It’s a simple story… Much simpler than some of the Warren’s world building that she’d dabble in later, but ultimately the film is satisfactory as a one-off.
Of course, it wasn’t a one-off… And I’m genuinely curious to see where we go now in the sequels.

February 9, 2023 | Categories: Director Retrospective, Horror Movies, Louisa Warren, movies | Tags: Bride of the Scarecrow, Louisa Warren, Scarecrow | Leave a comment