Plot: A meteor crashes near a remote farm, which prompts the owner to investigate the impact site. Tony (Fabrizio Occhipinti) searches his land for the meteor debris, but finds a lot more than he bargained for. The meteor was no mere space rock, instead it carried some kind of alien spores, which quickly begin to spread. Once he is close to the site, Tony is sprayed with some toxic acid and is soon in immense pain, as his flesh begins to melt. But he manages to steal the mask and clothes of a scarecrow, to mask his new unique look. As if his hideous appearance wasn’t bad enough, his aggression has skyrocketed and all he can think about is murder. So he carves a path of blood soaked violence, going after anyone he crosses paths with, unless they make him question his sexuality, then he moves along. The spores that infected Tony spread to his victims, turning them into a hive mind type alien vessel. Will these spores take over the world and will anyone stop Tony’s lethal rampage?

Entertainment Value: This is a creative, micro-budget horror movie, so it is rough around the edges, but the ambition is there. A strange hybrid of horror, comedy, sci/fi, and maybe hallucinations, Scarecrowd balances these unlikely elements well, at least in most instances. You’ll likely feel like you have ingested some of the alien spores, as the movie uses some odd, low tech visual tricks that replicate some kind of bizarre drug induced mania. As you know, I am not a fan of digital special effects, but given the alien spore narrative, the trippy visuals make sense here. The digital blood still irritates me of course, but the hallucination inspired visuals, I can deal with. The movie does have some pacing issues and goes on some odd tangents, but I feel the latter just adds to the weird vibe. At one point, I was certain I was now watching a documentary on the daily routine of a farmhand, as the movie spends a long while observing men sweep up hay and manage horses. But honestly, couldn’t all horror movies use a scene or two of random horse footage? I know some will take issue with the movie’s quirky choices, but I just embraced them and let it make things even more bizarre. While it does have some problems now and then, I found Scarecrowd to be an interesting, worthwhile movie with some bright spots. If you’re a fan of indie horror and can appreciate some strange choices, give it a chance.

This one has a couple nude scenes, with topless moments, some bare ass, and an ever so brief full frontal shot. That covers the female side of the nakedness, as we also have a scene with surprise penis. The scarecrow peeps in on a woman undressing before a shower, only to discover she has a penis. This causes him some unrest, so he leaves and slowly plods back into the forest. The bloodshed in this one is strange at times, like a jumble of various parts mashed together. A skull with dangling eyeballs and a bulbous tongue in one scene stands out as memorable. Some really bad CGI blood creeps in, but we also have some humorous blade kills and the aforementioned offbeat gore, so there’s some solid crimson here. The frequent digital effects and filters used to alter the visuals aren’t that well done, but as I said, it seems fitting given the spores and what not. The movie doesn’t have much dialogue, but I did award one point for the overly serious, pretentious voice over that pops in at times. In terms of craziness, this one has a good amount of unusual elements. The random farmhand scene that goes on forever, the slowest panty drop in cinema history, surprise penis, the least convincing chase scene in all of horror, and of course, the cruelty of dental judgment all chip in some wackiness, but there’s more as well.

Nudity: 2/10

Blood: 4/10

Dialogue: 1/10

Overall Insanity: 5/10

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