"Scarecrow" is now a forgotten film from the early 2000s with the most generic title. I suppose it's an accurate title at least. However, I usually think that a film called "Scarecrow" would take place in a rural setting. This film mostly takes place in a high school setting.
The film feels like two features edited into one. The first half is about a high school student named Lester who is mercilessly bullied by everyone in his life including his mother and her boyfriend. Lester seeks refuge in drawing images of birds, an oddly specific hobby that serves no purpose. His only comfort is that one of the popular girls (Tiffany Shepsis) occasionally sticks up for him. Of course, Lester observes her out of context making out with a jock. Lester is eventually killed by his mother's boyfriend and resurrected via a Faustian bargain as the titular character. The second half of the film is a slasher retread of a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel. I suppose this film most rip-offs the Crow more than any other. The scarecrow kills everyone and then some save the hot girl.
The film is unnecessarily cruel to Lester. It plays as if the director had some vendetta against the main character. The film successfully creates a lot of empathy for the main character then emotionally makes a 180 so now the puny Lester murders everyone. I think it would have been better had Lester summoned the scarecrow rather than become him. Perhaps he could have defeated it, shown his worth to the survivors and had an arc. Instead as the Scarecrow, Lester's personality changes into a snarky Freddie rip-off. At least he is more acrobatic than Freddie. The actor is a gymnast who does one impressive martial arts stunt. The actor actually designed the mask Scarecrow wears.
The director shot the entirety of this film in a few days. They obviously didn't have time to create a coherent story. It's too bad the entirety of the film wasn't about the Scarecrow. His dialogue is amusing enough to watch later at night and for an hour. Without any impressive kills either, this one is best left out in the field.
The film feels like two features edited into one. The first half is about a high school student named Lester who is mercilessly bullied by everyone in his life including his mother and her boyfriend. Lester seeks refuge in drawing images of birds, an oddly specific hobby that serves no purpose. His only comfort is that one of the popular girls (Tiffany Shepsis) occasionally sticks up for him. Of course, Lester observes her out of context making out with a jock. Lester is eventually killed by his mother's boyfriend and resurrected via a Faustian bargain as the titular character. The second half of the film is a slasher retread of a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel. I suppose this film most rip-offs the Crow more than any other. The scarecrow kills everyone and then some save the hot girl.
The film is unnecessarily cruel to Lester. It plays as if the director had some vendetta against the main character. The film successfully creates a lot of empathy for the main character then emotionally makes a 180 so now the puny Lester murders everyone. I think it would have been better had Lester summoned the scarecrow rather than become him. Perhaps he could have defeated it, shown his worth to the survivors and had an arc. Instead as the Scarecrow, Lester's personality changes into a snarky Freddie rip-off. At least he is more acrobatic than Freddie. The actor is a gymnast who does one impressive martial arts stunt. The actor actually designed the mask Scarecrow wears.
The director shot the entirety of this film in a few days. They obviously didn't have time to create a coherent story. It's too bad the entirety of the film wasn't about the Scarecrow. His dialogue is amusing enough to watch later at night and for an hour. Without any impressive kills either, this one is best left out in the field.