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            We all know life isn’t fair, and sometimes it’s downright ugly. We also know that prejudices come in as many forms as there are people to think them up and that one person’s poison can spread to others just as fast and easily as passing along a cold.  We can see it every day in the world at large, in our communities, and, sometimes, in ourselves. “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” gives witness to the horrific consequences of bigotry and the dark secrets of small-town life.

 Bubba Ritter (Larry Drake) is a man with the mind of a child and he enjoys spending time with children. Some people in the small town he lives in mistrust him and despise him for his disability.  They would like a reason to be rid of him permanently. The leader of the hate brigade is the town’s mailman, Otis Hazelrigg (Charles Durning). Otis is loud, opinionated, and may have a special reason for hating Bubba.  When Otis hears that a girl has been killed while playing with Bubba, he wastes no fact-checking time in gathering a posse and hunting dogs to unearth the “weed” in their garden.  After a failed attempt to bully Bubba’s mother (Jocelyn Brando…yes, Marlon’s sister), the lynch mob tracks Bubba into a field where he is hiding, disguised as a scarecrow.

Poor Bubba never had a chance.  He is executed immediately by the vigilante firing squad.  Before the smoke has had time to clear, a call comes through that the girl is safe and Bubba was the hero who saved her life. Otis grabs a pitchfork from the truck and puts it Bubba’s hand, then returns to town to announce how Bubba attacked the group, forcing them to defend themselves. Mrs. Ritter then gets to see smug Otis and cronies lie their way into an acquittal. They don’t get much time to celebrate, though.  Someone knows about their sins and wants justice.  It begins shortly after the appearance in one of the killer’s fields of a familiar-looking scarecrow…

            This is far from a new movie (1981, to be precise), but is one that, if you missed it before, you should give some serious consideration to adding to your must-see list.  This film has a great cast and story mixed in with plenty of suspense and horror. Some of it is subtle or insinuated, often in scenes involving one Mr. Otis Hazelrigg, who is much shadier and sleazier than he appears to most of his neighbors, but there is no deprivation for those who want true lethal action.   At the moment, finding “Dark Night of the Scarecrow” may be slightly challenging, but, fortunately, it is getting the retro-fresh treatment sometime next year in a special edition DVD due to be released by Image Entertainment.   As soon as we can find a definite release date, this will be updated for you.