"Slash" is one of the better scarecrow-slashers around.
**SPOILERS**
As a young kid, Mac (James O'Shea) watched as his uncle burned in a fire. As an adult, he's the lead singer/guitarist in a band with a bunch of his friends. After a gig one day, the band is approached and told that his aunt has died. The next day, he and the rest of the band, Keith (Craig Kirkwood) Carl, (Brett Goldin) Susie, (Zuleikha Robinson) Rod, (David Dukas) and his girlfriend Candy, (Nina Wassung) travel to the farm where he grew up for the funeral. As he attempts to reconcile with his father, Jeremiah, (Steve Railsback) being back on the farm stirs up memories of his youth. As they settle down for the night, Mac is still upset by the memories of the past, which makes matters worse when a neighbor pops up dead around the farm. They start to leave, but their bus breaks down a little way down the road. Traveling back to the farm, they stay to help out. Being stuck on the farm takes its toll on the rest of the band, and Keith bails on them. When he pops up dead, the rest starts to fall prey to a murderous scarecrow hell-bent on getting them away from the farm.
The Good News: The scarecrow-slasher film is a new sub-genre that has really gotten some popularity of late. This could be one of the better ones, mainly because it is one of the first, and better, ones. It was a great idea to strand a bunch of city people on a rural farm, as it allows for some brief comedic moments with some great "fish-out-of-water" gags and a couple really cool smart comments. It also opens great, with a guy and a girl on their way to a concert arguing on the way about their sex life, when they suddenly veer off the road to avoid hitting a cow. When they finally stop in the middle of a giant corn field, the man goes off to go to the bathroom, leaving her in the car. When he returns to scare her with a mask, she freaks out and calls him on it. Then, he is pierced through the stomach with a giant knife from behind. The blood flies into the car before she has a chance to scream, but can't find the killer anywhere. He suddenly appears on the room, prying open the top of the car with his scythe. It's a great, but very bloodless way of opening the film. The whole back-story of the band is very smartly played out, and does seem like a believable thing to happen. The killer scarecrow is also very creepy, and the rotting face and hat make him look very intimidating. He is the creepiest scarecrow I've seen.
The Bad News: This is one of the most bloodless horror films I've ever seen. Apart from the cool kill in the opening, this really needed some blood. Seeing a scarecrow slash away at people with a giant scythe demands a lot of blood shed, and this one provided very little. Other than this, I really don't see the harm in this one.
The Final Verdict: With some gore, this would've been a sure fire must-see. However, it isn't, but that doesn't mean it isn't a bad movie. I still think it's a good movie, but some blood-flow and some more nudity and this could be a small little cult film. See this only if you hate scarecrows or seeing a fresh twist on a well-worn idea.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene
**SPOILERS**
As a young kid, Mac (James O'Shea) watched as his uncle burned in a fire. As an adult, he's the lead singer/guitarist in a band with a bunch of his friends. After a gig one day, the band is approached and told that his aunt has died. The next day, he and the rest of the band, Keith (Craig Kirkwood) Carl, (Brett Goldin) Susie, (Zuleikha Robinson) Rod, (David Dukas) and his girlfriend Candy, (Nina Wassung) travel to the farm where he grew up for the funeral. As he attempts to reconcile with his father, Jeremiah, (Steve Railsback) being back on the farm stirs up memories of his youth. As they settle down for the night, Mac is still upset by the memories of the past, which makes matters worse when a neighbor pops up dead around the farm. They start to leave, but their bus breaks down a little way down the road. Traveling back to the farm, they stay to help out. Being stuck on the farm takes its toll on the rest of the band, and Keith bails on them. When he pops up dead, the rest starts to fall prey to a murderous scarecrow hell-bent on getting them away from the farm.
The Good News: The scarecrow-slasher film is a new sub-genre that has really gotten some popularity of late. This could be one of the better ones, mainly because it is one of the first, and better, ones. It was a great idea to strand a bunch of city people on a rural farm, as it allows for some brief comedic moments with some great "fish-out-of-water" gags and a couple really cool smart comments. It also opens great, with a guy and a girl on their way to a concert arguing on the way about their sex life, when they suddenly veer off the road to avoid hitting a cow. When they finally stop in the middle of a giant corn field, the man goes off to go to the bathroom, leaving her in the car. When he returns to scare her with a mask, she freaks out and calls him on it. Then, he is pierced through the stomach with a giant knife from behind. The blood flies into the car before she has a chance to scream, but can't find the killer anywhere. He suddenly appears on the room, prying open the top of the car with his scythe. It's a great, but very bloodless way of opening the film. The whole back-story of the band is very smartly played out, and does seem like a believable thing to happen. The killer scarecrow is also very creepy, and the rotting face and hat make him look very intimidating. He is the creepiest scarecrow I've seen.
The Bad News: This is one of the most bloodless horror films I've ever seen. Apart from the cool kill in the opening, this really needed some blood. Seeing a scarecrow slash away at people with a giant scythe demands a lot of blood shed, and this one provided very little. Other than this, I really don't see the harm in this one.
The Final Verdict: With some gore, this would've been a sure fire must-see. However, it isn't, but that doesn't mean it isn't a bad movie. I still think it's a good movie, but some blood-flow and some more nudity and this could be a small little cult film. See this only if you hate scarecrows or seeing a fresh twist on a well-worn idea.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene