Husk

Plot synopsis:
Five friends are traveling through rural Nebraska on a weekend getaway when their SUV is suddenly attacked and forced off the road by a flock of wild crows. Upon waking up, they discover that one of their party, Johnny, is missing. Seeking help, Brian and Scott head through a cornfield to a nearby house, hoping to find Johnny there while leaving Brian's girlfriend Natalie with Chris at the car. As they near the house, they encounter a clearing with a scarecrow hanging on a scaffold in the center before finally leaving the field.
On entering the house, they find it seemingly abandoned and in a state of decay. Back at the road Nicole sees a young boy who disappears into the cornfield and immediately afterwards encounters another scarecrow lying beside the road. On further inspection she discovers to her horror that the scarecrow has teeth and when Chris doesn't believe her she runs into the field to find Brian. As Scott and Brian explore the house further, they find a horribly multilated Johnny on the second floor working at a sewing machine and he ignores their terrified attempts to gain his attention. He suddenly stops working just as Natalie is attacked and killed by an extremely fast assailant and her body dragged away in front of a frightened Chris. Hearing her screams, Brian runs into the field only for him and Chris to find her now lifeless body strung up in the clearing. In anger, Brian chases after her killer, leaving behind Chris, who flees in terror on seeing a strange force entering Natalie's eyes. Brian tackles the murderer only for it to be revealed as a scarecrow as a second one attacks and forces him to run towards the house.
After regrouping, they discover that Johnny has disappeared and the shaken trio are forced to come to terms with their friends deaths. They then begin looking around for a means of escape through use of one of the abandoned cars littering the yard. In their search, Brian and Scott enter a barn where Scott hallucinates seeing a farmer and his two sons named Corey and Alex, the former of whom is physically abused by his father as his brother looks sheepishly on. After regaining his senses, the baffled Scott attempts to convince Brian of what he had seen. At the house, Chris sees the young boy as well and follows him towards the room that Johnny was found in and is thrown into a state of panic when the clearly dead Natalie walks into the room and sits down at the sewing machine. As she begins to make a scarecrow mask, the door slams shut, trapping the frantic Chris inside. Hearing his cries for help, Scott and Brian attempt to open the door to no avail and Chris finally manages to escape through the window but not before the panel slams shut on his hand, causing him to fall. Brian tries to stop Natalie before she disappears but is too late as she is already gone.
Later Scott suffers yet another vision and this time witnesses Corey kill his older brother with a pitchfork out of jealousy and anger of Alex's better treatment. He then dresses him as a scarecrow and leaves him in the cornfield, thus revealing that it is Alex's vengeful spirit inhabiting the scarecrows. On returning to the present, Scott realizes he has wandered into the clearing and is attacked by a scarecrow before being saved by Brian. The scarecrow chases them until they reach the edge of the cornfield and discover that it cannot leave the field and merely stares at them before leaving. Afterwards Chris attempts to convince Scott that Brian has become unstable in his attempts to find Natalie and to leave with him in the truck discovered in the barn. Scott refuses and leaves to find Brian in the house.
In the cellar, Scott witnesses Corey's spirit and he and Brian find his body, revealing he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Outside, Chris hot-wires the truck and tries to escape through the cornfield only to be assaulted by Alex switching between numerous scarecrows at will. Chris rips the mask off of one and breaks the ghost's hold on the body, discovering that it is Johnny's corpse. Brian then saves him only to be killed by the scarecrow form of Natalie when he can't bring himself to shoot her. Chris and Scott then return to the house despondently and ponder their fate. Scott eventually figures out that the only time they are safe to enter the field is when Alex is busy possessing the body of a victim and sewing together a new mask as he can only occupy one body at a time. As he is busy possessing the newly deceased Brian, Chris and Scott put together a plan to burn down the corn field with gasoline. However Alex realizes that they are about to escape and finishes before they are ready. Immediately they are attacked by numerous scarecrows but they are all killed by Chris and they agree to split up to have better chances of survival. As Chris makes his way to the road, he is jumped by the undead Brian and is impaled on a fence. He then desperately tears off Brian's mask as he gets back up only to hear yet another scarecrow closing in on him. Hearing Chris's screams, Scott tries to set fire to the field only for Alex's original scarecrow body to suddenly appear and knock him unconscious.
On waking up, Scott finds himself in the clearing with Alex who has strung up Chris on the scaffold. Remembering his vision, Scott finds the pitchfork dropped nearby and stabs Alex repeatedly with it only for him to get back up and attempt to kill him. Chris grabs Alex and holds him in place to give Scott enough time to escape. Alex then kills Chris and gives chase after Scott, who frantically runs towards the road. Scott finally manages to make it out of the field and collapses in exhaustion as he sees a couple drive up and begin searching for the occupants. Due to his injuries, he is unable to speak and looks on in horror as he sees the scarecrow, who gives him a sinister glance before lying back down on the side of the road. The couple then see Scott as he looks at them in shock and the film cuts to black.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
When I marked this movie to record, the 1988 Scarecrows came to mind, and made me come up with a small checklist of things which I would like to see: the scarecrow would have to have a good design (they have to look pretty decent, or no one would take this movie seriously), and a decent plot and back-story.
The trailer gave the impression that it could go either way so I decided to give it a shot.I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a nice little Horror movie.
Even though at times It felt like I was watching a TV movie it still held my attention throughout the film.
Generally a good flick for a rainy Sunday afternoon or a late-night movie.Probably only deserves a 6, but since I love Horror flicks and this movie had about 20 "1" ratings before it was even released I gave it a 7.IBMD really shouldn't allow people to vote on movies before they're released because all the people with grudges against the writers/directors come along and vote 1.
I think it's actually a pretty good horror movie.
So while they're busy spending hours on end watching brain-eating zombies and giant insects, good ones like 'Husk' are often neglected.
Overall, it was a good flick, especially if you're someone who misses old school horror and good old scary scarecrows and mass murderer ghosts!.
I didn't have any expectations going in to this flick and have never really been interested in scarecrow horror but thought I'd give it a try.
Husk's sack-headed monstrosities sure are unsettling to look at, but they are made even more scary by the fact that they can move like the clappers and have very sharp nails in their fingers (metal nails—the type you hit with a hammer!).Attacking with lightning speed and remarkable ferocity, these fleet-footed frights whittle down an unfortunate group of friends who crash their car by the side of a cornfield after ploughing headlong into a flock of crows.
Seeking refuge in a dilapidated farmhouse, the pals try to figure out how to get back to the road without being killed and turned into scarecrows themselves.Killer scarecrows are nothing new in the world of horror (see Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Scarecrows, Messengers 2: The Scarecrow, Scarecrow Gone Wild, Dark Harvest), Husk's characters are two dimensional, and much of its action can easily be labelled as predictable, but writer/director Brett Simmons more than compensates for his familiar foes, cookie-cutter victims and expected developments with a rollicking pace and several genuinely clever touches.Simmons kicks the action off almost immediately and kills off the only female early in his film, putting paid to the tired 'final girl' trope that plagues many a modern horror movie; he also introduces an ingenious plot device that ensures that only one scarecrow can attack at any given time, which gives the remaining characters a faint glimmer of hope.
good movie come halloween i am definitely going to be renting it and having my friends over to watch this.
I think it takes approximately, what, two or three minutes before the action and horror aspects kick in and the film remains eventful until the very last moments.
I was misled by the good reviews promoting this flick and I found what a garbage it is, I have researched the authors of the foregoing reviews and I have found that most of them belong to people that has only one (fake) review in IMDb, Don't spend your time and money watching this unoriginal boring movie.
Just how many truly ***GOOD*** Scarecrow Horror films are there...???
This one did indeed remind me of 'SCARECROWS' (1988 - UNCUT) which is one of my very favourites and probably THE best Scarecrow Horror out there (not counting of course the Iconic 'DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW' telefilm [1981] which takes THE prize as just about one of the very best Horror telefilms made) It is NOT any where NEAR as heavy and creepy as 'SCARECROWS' (that li'l B@stard lays out some SERIOUS and unrelenting mood - and it gives NO explanation either, except some old photographs of the family that had lived in the house long before) But, in a lighter, simpler way this film is very similar.Yes, the movie is very simple; YES it is extremely low-budget, NO there is not a whole lot to the plot.
But, if you enjoy just a good Old School, fun Horror film, then you should like it.BTW, I really dug the 'sewing room'!
There is no cheesy buildup the moment you think this movie is going to be the same as all horror films it changes.
Look "Husk" isn't going to be nominated but if you are looking for a good scary movie than you are out of your mind if you do not like Husk.
"Husk" held my attention, sending chills up and down my spine, and making the hair on my arms "crawl" (I'm glad it was daylight when I viewed it!) It was quite entertaining, one that I would recommend to anyone who likes horror films.
So on finding the DVD at my local rental I jumped at the chance of renting it.Plot: A group of friends look for shelter in an old farmhouse after becoming stranded after a bizarre car crash near a vast cornfield.
The film looked decent and is shot reasonably well and there are creepy moments, however I feel it lacked any originality, which isn't always a problem if their is a strong script however a strong script is what this film lacked.Another problem for me was that the farmhouse just seemed to be just picked up straight from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, and many of the scenes also seemed borrowed especially when walking around the house walking around in the house.I think the killer in the film although looked great, but wasn't menacing, he seemed to have a comic aspect even though that wasn't the intention.
There was far too much quick editing in the corn scenes, this meant the film couldn't create the right mood and in places it was liked they were being stalked by roadrunner.Bird and the Bees:Nothing here, in a film that could of maybe done with some.Acting:Scott (Devon Graye) I hated, he was annoying and stuck up for the very annoying Brian (Wes Chatam) who played the annoying brainless meat head!
The best actor and the best developed character was Chris (C.J.Thomason) I also like Natalie (Tammin Sursok) Shame her role wasn't bigger.Overall: This film is less than memorable and I'm yet to see a decent scarecrow film.
After watching the movie I realised why I had never heard of it.It is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it is painfully average.The acting is good, as is the script and camera work and the premise is good also.
The corn field has been used in horror movies of the past to great effect.
Scary stuff.This film doesn't really attempt to capitalise on this, it uses the corn field as a simple barrier to hem the characters in.Some of the scenes in the farm are spooky, which is the high point in this middle-flat-line film.One of the reasons I am writing this review is to remind me I have seen this movie as I am sure by tomorrow I would have forgotten it almost entirely..
But all in all this movie did more right then wrong and if you like intense horrors style flicks i think you will enjoy as well..
The movie "Husk" is somewhat of a mediocre experience.As for the setting of the movie, then it has been used way too many times before; a cornfield and a scarecrow?
The acting in the movie was good and the performances were alright.One that that I liked in the movie was the concept with the scarecrow using the slain bodies to host its spirit or whatever you will decide to call it.
Very nice touch on the make-up on the faces during this time.If you are looking for a good scare, then "Husk" is perhaps not the best of choices.
but I did hate the no ending in the movie.Also They could of made the Scarecrow look a least a bit more scary .however it was kinda scary when it was attacking the victims.I liked this movie much better Messengers 2: The Scarecrow (2009) Don't remember much about that movie.The acting was really good in this movie, I don't think I would have even watch this movie, if wasn't for Tammin Sursok, I was big fan of her in Home and Away!, she really good actress.
They're soon being menaced by a supernatural scarecrow that has the power to recruit others to its cause.HUSK isn't a particularly gruesome film but the monsters are well achieved and rather effective, especially with those sewing machine scenes.
Also of merit is the fact that the film was shot in central, Iowa, the perfect location for a horror flick about cornfields, scarecrows and farmhouses.On the downside, the plot is very thin and the location is confined.
You have the few main characters, the cornfield, the house, the crows and the scarecrows, and that's it.
Otherwise you have an exercise in camera set up and lighting.The horror/scary wasn't near equal to other films like Wrong Turn, Saw, Evil Dead and a slew of others.
I love horror films that break the mould, even if just a little, and Husk did that.
Much like Feast, it actually generates originality by taking what you expect and then providing what you're not waiting for, such as original characters (if somewhat predictable dialogue) and a unique creature (yes, there was corn, and a scarecrow, but that doesn't mean its a fascinating story).
At no point did I feel like the creators were assuming their audience was stupid - the back story is sketched in, not expositioned by the character that was there the first time, and now its happening again, and oh no!
As you will read no doubt on all my reviews of recent films in the series, the 'After Dark' label is renowned for offering solid, traditional horror; and by that I mean that if you are looking for innovation, you won't find it here.
Ironically, so does the movie 'HUSK', an enjoyable supernatural slasher, which, for every fresh idea it presented seemed to open up another plot continuity or bad horror cliché; a movie which critically comes across a lot worse off than the overall viewing experience actually proved to be!
I just watch HUSK and i give it a 7 out of 10 it was a nice little survival horror with a nice story and some blood and gore.
I wish it went for longer so it could tell more of the story but the ending was good but not that best i have seen, but at the end it was a good movie with some blood and gore and just a good film to watch with some friends.
If you like Horror or just a nice teen survival movie you should watch this.
its cliché right off the bat but around 1/3 in it starts to get rather interesting with this whole supernatural side of things going on and not just some dude in a mask with a taste for murder.the acting, direction, script and dialogue is all at times questionable such as characters doing the things you know you'd just not do in such a situation.
Here is yet another horror slash-like movie that doesn't need any introduction - cornfields and teenagers are just enough for you to know what is going on.
But thing that made no sense was when there was two of them left and the chess guy explained that when the spirit was busy he couldn't be in the field......so instead of seeing their on chance to run to freedom when the jock was making the mask, the went ahead and tried some retarded plan that pretty much got them both killed story sucked characters sucked ending really sucked movie sucked.....
Once a movie starts disregarding simple concepts, it is very hard to believe any message or story it has to tell.With Husk, teenagers get 'stuck' on the side of a dirt road, when their SUV is in an accident.
It starts out great a group of teens in a SUV going to wherever most horror movies go.
'Husk' brought to mind films such as 'Hell Night' and 'Scarecrows' - that is a good thing.
To sum up, if you're a fan of movies like 'Mama' or pretty much any of the PG-13 horror flicks of late, you might not like 'Husk'.
Outside this one, I can think of maaaaybe Jeepers Creepers (and its sequel(s)) and maybe you could roll in the Children of the Corn and its seventeen-hundred sequels and remakesand even those did not involve a scarecrow that comes "alive" and attacks corn-wandering-victims.Let's get away from thatthis movie was fantastic.
Hell, they even "took from" one of my all-time favorite slashers, Freddy, but with such a different "edge"so to speak.The entire movie feels small budget and indie horror, but surprises me with craftsmanship and great filmmaking.
And NOOOOO – 1½ hours of NOTHING happening at a house with cameras everywhere and then BAM, 4 seconds of someone dragged from one side of the room to another, i.e. the Paranormal Crap, does NOT do the trick any day of the week or year.I thoroughly enjoyed this "After Dark Films" horror flick.
It's a thrill ride that surprised me from beginning to end and if you, too, enjoy a good-old-fashioned NON-paranormal, NON-hand-held camera, NON-found footage, horror film, you'll like this scary Scarecrow killer driller..
by the way ,I thought was excellent; there hasn't been a whole lot of good SCare Crow themed movies.
This movie , however , again puts my faith in the comeback of the old school horror formula.First off; let me explain, that were I live this film was promoted as being Jeepers Creepers 3.
Upon seeing the scarecrow on the cover I was septic as to it actually being a continuation of the "Jeepers Creepers" series, but it still looked interesting and I knew it had to be better than "Scare Crow" The setting of the movie; which is a farm house, actually had me thinking that this could indeed be Jeepers Creepers 3.
Not willing to give off too many spoilers, but there is even a scene were the scare crow sniffs one of the victims and lets him live.What I like about the movie is that it's quite original.
In fact, early on, one of the most played out Rules of the horror genre concerning female actors is broken, so this one is full of surprises.You do get cool deja vous feeling of movies from directors like Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven, and that all just lets you know you are in familiar territory and not with a bunch of amateurs who do not know about making horror films.As for the movie itself ;funny enough, starts off with the same car wreck scene as the movie I just yesterday.
That last line I just wrote has a lot more to do with the movie than just their acting abilities and what makes up the interesting and original plot line.My one small beef is that the gore factor is pretty low, but I really didn't even notice this until the end of the film, so it really shines in other factors.
Nothing like a good Scare Crow movie to get you in the mood for the ghouls and ghosts who will be visiting you all night..
Well let me tell you i am not very good in reviewing the title but after watching this movie what i can say this is one of the most brilliantly made horror movie at such a low budget.
Much like the claims surrounding the first "Hatchet" film, people are already talking about "Husk" as if it's the second coming of "old-school American horror".
Replace the psychotic family with what seems like a gang of ninja scarecrows, that are apparently good at everything but scaring crows, and you have "Husk".
They do give the scarecrow a sad back-story, and a seemingly supernatural explanation for his existence, but the dots are never fully connected, and aside from a few unexplained ghostly visions one of our main characters experiences, it's not paramount to the film as a whole.The one thing I will give "Husk" is that the "possession" angle was a bit unique.
A Cain and Abel type of incident perhaps has cursed the cornfields of a rural area surrounding a decrepit farmhouse, where a group of young adults, Scott (Devon Graye), Brian (Wes Chatham), Chris (CJ Thomason), Natalie (Tammin Sursok), and Johnny (Ben Easter), find themselves hunted by killer scarecrows motivated by the vengeful spirit.
A little while later Johnny is found, but something has happened to him and when Scott starts to have visions of the horror that unfolded at the farm house it's here the group realises something is very, very wrong.Upon quick reading about it, Husk seems like a cheesy horror flick i.e. killer scarecrows, but in actual fact it's not altogether that bad, and some of it is quite creepy.
How many times does that happen when watching a horror movie?
Sick and tired of horror films taking their sweet time in getting off to a start?
When the outcome is a foregone conclusion, the movie loses a lot of its potential.I guess at some point someone decided to break the predictable mold of good winning out at the end, but unfortunately nearly EVERYONE jumped on the bandwagon, and now we have yet again a predictable dis-balance when it comes to the outcome.The other flaw is that we started out with four guys and only one girl – a no-no as far as I'm concerned.