Scarecrows (1988) [Blu-Ray]

Director: William Wesley

Cast: Ted Vernon, Michael David Simms, Richard Vidan

Release Date: Now Available on Blu-Ray

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

 

Synopsis:

After a band of ex-military criminals pulls off a multi-million dollar heist, they hop aboard a plane headed for Mexico. But when one of their own betrays them, they suddenly find themselves on the ground and on the run through a field of scarecrows near an abandoned farmhouse. And as night sets in, the real nightmare begins. The men discover that there’s a reason the farmhouse is empty… and now those who thought they were the hunters are being hunted by an unimaginable and malevolent force!

 

For those who may not be familiar with this bloody little action-horror hybrid from the late 80’s, ‘Scarecrows’ follows a group of thieves who after robbing Camp Pendleton and taking a pilot and his daughter hostage attempt to fly their way to safety when the tables turn and a traitor in their midst previously unbeknownst to them ends up parachuting from the plane along with their loot into a vast and unpopulated area. Now the remainder of the crew puts feet on the ground in an attempt to recover the money, but before long something begins taking them out one by one and as their numbers continue to dwindle, they will soon have to decide whether finding their stolen money is really worth sacrificing their lives.

‘Scarecrows’ is a fun little film that wonderfully intertwines the genres of action and horror in a blood soaked good time that pits a group of baddies against something far worse and the result is action-packed carnage and a highly entertaining nonstop fight for survival. Fans of this little gem from the late 80’s will surely want to make sure to pick up a copy of Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release; it delivers impressive high definition video and audio presentations in addition to some great extras including multiple Audio Commentary tracks and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) making it a definite must own.

VIDEO:

Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release of ‘Scarecrows’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty great as a whole, delivering a sharp and detailed presentation throughout. Some mild grain and other minimal artifacts are present on occasion, surely a result of the source, but they are never excessive or negatively affect the viewing experience in any way. Even the numerous dark and action oriented sequences so frequent in the movie hold up impressively and are always clear and discernible. Overall, this is a pretty solid high definition video presentation that should easily please the fans.

AUDIO:

While the rear of the Blu-Ray case lists solely the inclusion of a Stereo soundtrack, the Blu-Ray release in fact includes both a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack and a 2.0 stereo DTS-HD MA Soundtrack. As usual I opted to view the film with the 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack utilized and it sounds pretty great, especially when also taking into consideration the age and surely smaller budget of the film. All five available channels are utilized to surround the viewer with the films score along with any number of action and nature related auditory elements, while never causing any dialogue that might be occurring simultaneously to become negatively affected or distorted in any way. Overall, this is a more than capable and pretty solid 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release of ‘Scarecrows’ includes a few notable bonus goodies. Included on the release are 2 Audio Commentary tracks: the first is a New Audio Commentary with Co-Screenwriter Richard Jefferies, Director of Photography Peter Deming and Composer Terry Plumeri; the second Audio Commentary features Director William Wesley and Producer Cami Winikoff. Also included on the release are a couple of Interviews; ‘The Last Straw: An Interview with Special Make-up Effects Creator Norman Cabrera’ (approximately 17 minutes in length) and ‘Cornfield Commando: An interview with actor Ted Vernon’ (9 minutes), and lastly we are treated to Original Storyboards, a Still Gallery and the Theatrical Trailer.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Film Rating: 7/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

‘Scarecrows’ is now available to own on Blu-Ray from Scream Factory

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