By Kevin Nickelson
Those maestros of the micro-budget nightmare at Raven Hill Pictures are at it again. This time, director Michael Smith is transporting us back to 1936 small town America for what starts out to be an homage to the gangster pics of Hollywood’s Golden Age, where the bad guys sported Fedoras and well-worn pinstripe suits, referring to women as dames and prison was known as the big house. Yet, after the opening bank robbery (replete with some cool, old-style cash registers and check-printing machines for just the right flavor of the period) and a shoot-out with a plainclothes cop, the short feature veers right into Stephen King rural horror as the fleeing crooks make an ill-fated turn onto a country road and end up running afoul of a demon-possessed scarecrow that protects the owner family of a large local farm.
Once again, like the other RHP effort House of the Vampire, every dollar on budget (an estimated $3200 per Internet Movie Database) is put into all that lends to the atmosphere of the film (props, costumes and locations), altering the perception of the moviegoer into seeing the story for what it isn’t, a much bigger budgeted affair. A form of smokescreen that works nicely. There are the 1930s style automobiles, the clothing (I tend to especially note little items such as ladies and mens hats and accessories, looking for the odd modern wristwatch or something. No luck here as Smith and Raven Hill’s attention to detail rivals my own) and even the prop Tommy Guns to really put a stamp on the era the characters are in. Further, the special effects budget allows for a truly creepy, largely practical effect-generated titular creature to take center stage.
Smith, himself, handles the creation of Mister Stitches and offers a construct that has a true old world, of the land creepiness to it. A mix of twisted tree branches, wicked skull and a hint of folk horror imbuing it all. This kind of rural revenge by summoned demon chiller has long been popular with fans, going back to Stan Winston and Mark Carducci’s 1988 gem Pumpkinhead.
One minor flaw in the film is really relegated to the early gun battle scene between the cop and the robber gang. The bloodied corpse of the cop looks very much an obvious made-up dummy that deterred from the seriousness of the moment. Gore scenes later in the picture rise right back up to the Raven Hill standard. Particularly gruesome is one kill made up to look like a scarecrow-esque crucifixion. There are also some unnerving moments involving dismemberment that will have afficionados of blood grinning a bit.
Kudos to composer Todd Kirby for bringing yet another unique mix of classical and contemporary music to back the story just as he did for House of the Vampire. Midnight Ball has a lovely piano and drum section to it that gives a pulse behind the action. One can hear the Mahler and Hans Zimmer influences he draws from. Using the tiny town of Cairo, West Virginia for the opening bank scene was a nice touch and effuses a 1936 charm to a T. Similarly, the expansive beauty of the farm location in Vincent, Ohio gives a rustic edge to the terror going on. Cast-wise, Cosette Payne stands out amidst a fine roster as the young farmer’s daughter. There’s a precious innocence about her and she is forced to find courage as she deals with the robbers and killings going on around her. Ralph Scott evokes past classic gangster picture acting tough guys like Marc Lawrence in his role as the leader of the group, Hank Smith. Two-fisted and quick to rage all in one. Nathan Austin has a real nice guy charm as the farmer Roy Boley.
If you are looking for something different in the realm of horror, check out this one from those folks who dare to offer the unusual with each new project they take on. They enjoy challenging perceptions in the minds of horror fans everywhere.