By Brooke Kamishlian
The sequel to the Rise of the Scarecrows, this movie is far away from the first by number of years and skill level.
A young writer returns to his hometown and soon discovers the dark secret that has been hidden for years. The Scarecrows have risen and they are raising hell.
While I still would have liked a little more time learning the origins of the scarecrows, this film presents a quick review to catch us up and gives the monsters a new timeline; once a year they must feed and the townsfolk have made a deal with the eternal bastards to offer up a sacrifice in order to continue to live peacefully.
The characters in this movie are well developed and dimensional. The plot has multiple storylines so you never get bored and the pacing is kept tight. There’s even a love story in the midst of the slaughter.
Plot twist: the plot twist actually surprised me (damn dad, that’s ice cold!), though I should have seen it coming, LOL.
This film is heads and straw-stuffed shoulders above the original, it is clear how far the writer/director, Geno McGahee, and his team have come from the early days. While it is still a small budget production the locations are utilized to their greatest advantage and the cast throw themselves into their roles with gusto. The special effects are polished and the fight choreography is great! The jokes land and I laughed out loud quite a few times.
Further endearing this movie to me is what I can only assume is an homage to the delightful Crispin Glover dance scene in Friday the 13th: the Final Chapter as well as a banger of a theme song over the ending credits. Honestly I would have liked that over the opening because I am a sucker for that sort of thing (think Killer Klowns from Outer Space), but the soundtrack in general is pretty rockin’.
I had a great time with this movie, but I suspect it’s even better viewed with a group of like-minded horror hounds and a few adult beverages. I’m sure to put this one on at my next movie night.
