In the generation where kids are lazy and have everything handed to them online and by overprotective parents, I wasn't expecting to see an episode of The Haunting Hour where it would be in a rural farm country, with kids working the fields and herding the cattle... nor was I expecting a kid's show to be so profound and serious. 'Scarecrow' was definitely one of this anthology's better episodes, with a story that's downright eerie and sad and superb acting skills on all accounts (this is the first Haunting Hour role Bailee Madison was in where she wasn't acting like a spoiled brat) and the soundtrack was amazingly creepy.
Jenny and Bobby are your typical American (Canadian?) farm kids; sure they're tainted by cellular phones and such but they're hardworking, fun-loving - and poor Jenny's corn is being eaten by crows every day. One day their mom and dad send them on a run to the local feed store, where their friend 'emo Amy' works (as the kids so lovingly call her, she's a goth girl who often reads somber poetry and listens to brooding teenage metal music). While Amy's reading her friends 'The Hollow Man' (a poem by T.S. Elliot), the kids are interrupted by a mysterious stranger dressed all in black who tells them that the poem is about the end of the world. And he takes some beef jerky from the store with him, spooky, eh? Jenny secretly buys a scarecrow from the stranger, whose motives are less than friendly. The stranger is like a Pied Piper of sorts, who has come to take away all life from the world "so that it can be forever silent" (apparently he failed to remember that weather makes noise). As all life is extinguished, only Bobby is left alive, and this is where the episode gets a little more interactive than the typical Haunting Hour: the episode was filmed with two endings (I have copies of both endings). The first ending, which was replaced, shows Bobby burning the stranger's body in scarecrow form and walking off into a desolate world. This ending is harder to find and requires some internet browsing. The second ending, more commonly seen and the ending used on the DVD version of the episode, has Bobby being turned into a scarecrow by the stranger, so that they can stand together in eternal silence.
My god, this episode certainly takes "creepy kids' shows" to a whole new level! Though it isn't scary so much as depressing. There are also several questions left unanswered. For example, what were the stranger's motives for taking all life from the planet? Why did he start in a small town? Why does he have such an obsession with silence? I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate the world of today as much as anyone who can see how much it's degrading, but killing off a whole planet? It makes for a disturbing plot but what was his purpose? And why did he want to have Bobby join him in eternity? So they could travel to other planets and bring silence to aliens? Well, anyway, this episode was really cool, it's one of those few moments in the sea of bad reality shows and nasty crude humor cartoons that a family-friendly, intelligent and inspiring show comes along, one that makes you think. Scarecrow is one of the best episodes of the series and hopefully more episodes are made to follow!
Jenny and Bobby are your typical American (Canadian?) farm kids; sure they're tainted by cellular phones and such but they're hardworking, fun-loving - and poor Jenny's corn is being eaten by crows every day. One day their mom and dad send them on a run to the local feed store, where their friend 'emo Amy' works (as the kids so lovingly call her, she's a goth girl who often reads somber poetry and listens to brooding teenage metal music). While Amy's reading her friends 'The Hollow Man' (a poem by T.S. Elliot), the kids are interrupted by a mysterious stranger dressed all in black who tells them that the poem is about the end of the world. And he takes some beef jerky from the store with him, spooky, eh? Jenny secretly buys a scarecrow from the stranger, whose motives are less than friendly. The stranger is like a Pied Piper of sorts, who has come to take away all life from the world "so that it can be forever silent" (apparently he failed to remember that weather makes noise). As all life is extinguished, only Bobby is left alive, and this is where the episode gets a little more interactive than the typical Haunting Hour: the episode was filmed with two endings (I have copies of both endings). The first ending, which was replaced, shows Bobby burning the stranger's body in scarecrow form and walking off into a desolate world. This ending is harder to find and requires some internet browsing. The second ending, more commonly seen and the ending used on the DVD version of the episode, has Bobby being turned into a scarecrow by the stranger, so that they can stand together in eternal silence.
My god, this episode certainly takes "creepy kids' shows" to a whole new level! Though it isn't scary so much as depressing. There are also several questions left unanswered. For example, what were the stranger's motives for taking all life from the planet? Why did he start in a small town? Why does he have such an obsession with silence? I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate the world of today as much as anyone who can see how much it's degrading, but killing off a whole planet? It makes for a disturbing plot but what was his purpose? And why did he want to have Bobby join him in eternity? So they could travel to other planets and bring silence to aliens? Well, anyway, this episode was really cool, it's one of those few moments in the sea of bad reality shows and nasty crude humor cartoons that a family-friendly, intelligent and inspiring show comes along, one that makes you think. Scarecrow is one of the best episodes of the series and hopefully more episodes are made to follow!
