Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2 (2022)


Dark Night of the Scarecrow came out just as slashers were becoming popular.  It was one of those rare television movies that stuck with the generation that saw it.  It remained rather elusive for a long while, living in Generation X's memories, but it got restored and resurfaced a few years ago thanks to popular demand.  It's in no way a perfect horror film but, watching it again, I understand why it stuck in my memory.  It was a bit bloodier than most movies on television at the time (even with the parental advisory at the beginning) and the story was different enough from the average horror fare to make it memorable.

With the movie finally able to be rediscovered writer J.D. Feigelson decided that it was time for a sequel.  The problem is he was about the only one.  Most fans were happy to have the original film, with its story and atmosphere, stand on its own.  However, Feigelson was able to crowdsource enough money, allowing him to produce and direct Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2.

40 years after the events in the first film the town that Bubba haunted has pretty much moved on.  Chris Rymer (Amber Wedding) and her son Jeremy (Aiden Shurr) are newcomers, with Jeremy not appreciating his new home and Rymer keeping a secret which lazy and corrupt deputy Layton Turney (Jimmy James Hamblin) is determined to discover.  Another deputy, Scott Terre (Adam Snyder), is content to let things be, especially when a new series of accidental deaths begin to occur.

At first it is thought to be the doing of local miscreant Shrevie Nickson (Mike VanZant), but it soon becomes clear that whatever happened before has returned.  The one person who seems to know what is going on is Hildie Corvis (Carol Dines), an older lady who takes care of Jeremy and to whom he has become attached.  He also has found a special friend to help him with his loneliness, as well as to take care of those who may harm Hildie or himself.

The end of Dark Night of the Scarecrow features the little girl Bubba is accused of killing - Marylee - alive and well and going off to play with him in his new scarecrow form.  It's a rather sweet ending and, in truth, Bubba never outright murders anyone in the first movie.  He just sets events in motion that end up serving justice to those who murdered him.  The second time around it's a bit murkier, with him being involved directly in some of the killings.  It is also a bit of a question of who Hildie is supposed to be, as she is too young to have been Bubba's mother.  It is mentioned in passing that Marylee is still alive, so it would also make no sense if she had changed her identity if everyone knows who she is anyway. 

What Feigelson does right is still keep the scarecrow (Terry Rankhorn) in the background like he did in the original, and there are a few good shots and ideas.  It's not a necessary sequel, but Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2 could have been much better than it is, and it could have had more continuity with the original.  A major problem is that a good portion, despite the passing of the years, still feels like a script that was in development when the movie went to film.

The miniscule budget often shows.  One example is sound effects of a crowded diner when it is obvious that Amber Wedding and Adam Snyder are the only two people on the set.  The exterior of the building where she works is used, but only about three or four scenes take place inside, and I swear it looks like a Cracker Barrel or similar themed restaurant that they rented for a day after hours.  There was not much money for effects, so few of the deaths are shown and, sometimes, done in extreme close-up.  Still, the original was a television movie, so going all out on the gore wasn't going to help the sequel at all. 

The acting is on the level of community theater.  Carol Dines and Jimmy James Hamblin aren't too bad, and Tim Gooch is decent as the shady Harold Vance, but Amber Wedding is a horrible lead.  The dialog isn't great to begin with, but she does it no favors with her wooden line reading, the same going for Adam Snyder.  I don't know if there was supposed to be something more than friendship in the original script but, if there was, I'm sure Feigelson nixed that once he noticed the two had the emotional range of an actual scarecrow.

While the original will always be an entertaining and atmospheric piece of nostalgia, like most movies of its type it should have been left that way.  The desire to cash in on belated fame or renewed interest has been the bane of many classic horror films, and this particular sequel is no different. 

Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2 (2022)
Time: 85 minutes
Starring: Amber Wedding, Carol Dines, Adam Snyder, Aiden Shurr
Director: J.D. Feigelson


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