Unleashing the Lion: the Revenge of the Beta Male in Psycho Scarecrow

Psycho Scarecrow (1996)

Dir: Steve Galler 

Canada

90min

New York City, Halloween night: A young woman’s body is discovered on the pavement beneath the shattered window of her apartment several floors above, supposedly a tragic suicide. Two detectives are assigned to the case – cynical, jaded Hammond (Tim Vince), and his more open-minded, idealistic younger colleague Jones (Joe Parro). Hammond finds a tape recording in the woman, Sheila’s (Tracy Rankin) apartment. On the cassette, Sheila narrates the events of the previous few days leading to her demise. She, her best friend Karn (Leanne Simms), Karn’s boyfriend Eric (Douglas Kidd) and their friends Spider (Richard Lee) and Floyd (Mike Upmalis) had driven upstate for a wild weekend. Floyd, considered a weird nerd by the rest of the group, knew of a disused farmhouse they could crash at. Eric’s car breaks down a short distance from the house, so they walk the rest of the way, via a vast and isolated cornfield. Sheila senses a foreboding, almost evil, atmosphere as they cross the harvest, an impression that isn’t helped when Floyd mentions several centuries previously, settlers who were refugees from the New England witch hunts placed a satanic curse on the land to protect the cornfield. Nor does the sight of a particularly grotesque looking scarecrow they bypass in the centre of the field. Once at the farmhouse, the gang kick off with some customary beers and joints around the campfire. Things turn sour when Floyd snaps a picture of Sheila and Spider making out. Hyper-macho Eric takes particular offence to this, punching, kicking and taunting Floyd. The particularly savage beating turns out to be fatal. Sheila and Karn are upset, however a nonchalant Eric, who’d always seen Floyd as a loser, declares that his corpse will be stuffed inside the scarecrow: “The secret will die with us”. Spider adds “Floyd’s an orphan anyhow, we can just hide his body and no-one will care.” Unknown to Eric, something that will happen much sooner than later. In the dead of night, the satanic curse resurrects Floyd’s corpse. And Floyd, cocooned within the ghastly effigy of the scarecrow, is hellbent on revenge against years of being used and abused by his so-called ‘friends’. Brandishing an axe, he stalks and hunts his prey one by one, until only Sheila, his unrequited love who laughed when discovering his crush on her, remains...but was her death caused by suicide, as Hammond intently believes? Or was it the “Psycho Scarecrow”?

At face value, Psycho Scarecrow appears to be an overall simplistic and formulaic, extremely low budget horror effort, peppered with a number of tried and tested elements inspired from various genre titles. However, as a ‘Scarecrows in Cinema’ entry, the utilisation of classic scarecrow imagery and legends as the catalyst in a tormented young man’s brutal revenge against the perpetrators adds an intriguing dimension to the film. The classic trope of the bullied outcast (Floyd) gaining diabolical vengeance on his 'cool' friends by way of supernatural forces is notable. The screenwriters have done their homework in scarecrow lore – indeed some scholars believe that in ancient times, the scarecrow was used in some societies as an effigy for some deity or power, and that human sacrifices would be offered to the gods in return for protection of the harvest. (Canfield 2016). Obviously in this story, the scarecrow guarding the cornfield was the effigy for the black magic practicing settlers, and the spell cast to ensure a prosperous harvest unleashed something far more sinister than its initial purpose – whether this was deliberate or not is unknown. Floyd is the only one of the group who takes the story of the satanic curse seriously – the others all typically scoff at him. Even Shelia, despite feeling an uncanny presence in the field, pays little attention to its significance. Perhaps this is why Floyd was ‘rewarded’ with the gifts of resurrection and superhuman powers upon his death, rather than just simply being used by the demonic forces as a sacrifice. Then in turn, Floyd gives back to the forces by providing them with more sacrifices i.e. his former friends. Though, it could be suggested that the evil spirits are also using Floyd solely for their own purposes, as once he eventually satiates his lust for revenge, he’ll be forever stuck in purgatory. The reanimated anti-hero Floyd’s hideous appearance, dressed in the scarecrow apparel and Jack O’Lantern pumpkin head, menacingly brandishing a sharpened axe, is more than enough to shock the hell out of the usually too-cool-for-school alpha male, Eric. 

The trope of the stereotypical alpha male NOT being the hero of the day and in fact being the catalyst for disastrous consequences is utilised both with the contrasting characters of Eric and Floyd, as well as Hammond and Jones. Floyd, with his awkward manner, permanent goofy grin and overgrown boy appearance, is the obvious fifth wheel of the circle of friends. He’s merely tolerated as he’s used for various things such as the farmhouse, and as Sheila points out, “he always seemed harmless”. Floyd is seen as a nerdy beta male, a pushover who’s incapable of fighting back or standing up for himself.  He stays with the group despite this poor treatment because he’s so desperate to fit in somewhere. An orphan with no other family, Floyd internalises his rage and frustration. In contrast, Eric is the archetypal alpha male – dominant, confident, cocky, the ‘cool guy’ who’s extremely popular with women. To bolster his self-confidence, he bullies those he sees as weak and beneath him.  Because Floyd has been letting his anger bottle up for years without any outlet, the evil forces feed on this negative energy, encouraging him to take out his revenge to the ultimate extreme – murder.   Notably Psycho Scarecrow was released a few years previous to the Columbine High School massacre.  Bullying leading to violence in high schools became much more of a prominent topic in the international media following the tragedy and thus much more openly discussed. Of course bullying is something that’s always been of concern, but it was the Columbine mass murders that really propelled the toxic, sometimes fatal effects of prolonged harassment into the public conscience. Not just in high schools, but also in other environments such as college, the workplace and sporting clubs. This has also led to a growing acceptance of the beta male as a capable leader and possessing desirable traits, rather than having the alpha male as the default ideal of what a man should aspire to be like. Writer Harry Mason notes:  “Accepted wisdom states that nice guys always finish last. But as time goes by, that tide seems to be turning. Being beta has always been a quiet little act of rebellion, but lately it is speaking louder than ever. As gender assumptions are slowly dismantled, and society’s idea of the perfect man shifts from John Wayne to Benedict Cumberbatch, one thing seems certain – the future’s bright. The future’s beta. Now there’s more room for scrawny Edward Nortons amongst all the brawny Brad Pitts.” (Mason 2015).

This is also reflected in the alpha/beta pairing of the detectives. Hammond, with his alpha attitude, bulldozes Jones with his opinion that Shelia was a used-up junkie, that the recording was entirely based on drug-induced hallucinations and she suicided due to this. Every time the Jones expresses his doubts that it was suicide and in fact murder, and that he believes Sheila’s story (he being the more contemplative, sensitive Beta male), Hammond doesn’t want to know, because being an alpha he’s certain that he and he only is right, in control and in charge. Essentially Psycho Scarecrow does side with the beta males because in both cases the alpha males are made to look like boorish fools. Interestingly the film’s final shot features some classic alpha male imagery – Floyd roaring off into the night on a motorcycle, still in scarecrow garb but also clad in a leather biker jacket.  As it’s Halloween Night, he’ll have no problems blending in with the revellers on New York City’s bustling streets in his Alpha Scarecrow ‘costume’. 

Although Psycho Scarecrow doesn’t break new ground in originality, the use of the scarecrow as a plot driver adds an interesting dynamic to the film. It is through both the evil powers emanating from the cursed effigy and its alarming appearance that the downtrodden beta Floyd is able to frighten, intimidate (and later murder) the alpha male who had been long undermining him. Also by film’s end it is obvious that beta Jones assumptions about the case are correct, and alpha Hammond  is presented as being stubborn, closed minded and inept. Though the actions of Floyd in ‘Psycho Scarecrow’ mode are of course heinous, essentially the film is on the side of the underdog, the beta male. In both cases of beta triumph, the usually stereotypically revered and admired models of ‘manliness’, the alpha males have the tables turned on them. I’ll leave the final word with writer Lori Rotenberk: “No matter their cultural roots, scarecrows worldwide were conceived of to perform a specific task: to frighten.” (Rotenberk 2014).

References

Canfield, N. 2016, June 27, ‘Halloween Symbols and Their Origins’. Holidappy. Retrieved 27 June, 2017, from https://holidappy.com/holidays/Halloween-Symbolism-Where-Did-These-Things-Originate-Bats-Scarecrows-Skeletons-Etc

Mason, H. 2015, April 12, ‘The Rise of the Beta Male’. Cuff Magazine. Retrieved 28 June, 2017, from http://cuffmagazine.co.uk/2015/04/12/the-rise-of-the-beta-male

Rotenberk, L. 2014, May 28, ‘Hay, Man: The Curious Life and Times of Scarecrows’. Modern Farmer. Retrieved 28 june, 2017, from http://modernfarmer.com/2014/05/scarecrow-history-effigy

Introducing the Maestro of the Macabre, USA style: An overview of Mario Bava’s AIP distributed films

For most Chelle's Inferno readers, it is likely that Mario Bava needs no introduction. An
extraordinarily gifted director, screenwriter, cinematographer and special effects craftsman,
Bava pioneered the giallo genre and was also instrumental in launching the modern slasher
film. His inventive, darkly atmospheric, visually sumptuous works have influenced countless
filmmakers from Tim Burton to Joe Dante to Quentin Tarantino. North American directors
who have acknowledged Bava often first discovered the Italian master’s unique brand of
cinema thanks to American International Pictures. AIP, who quickly recognised Bava’s
talent, were the first distribution company to release his movies to English-speaking
audiences. Although Bava critics often deride the AIP versions of his works – which were
dubbed, re-edited, re-scored and mature content toned down for their younger patrons - the
AIP cuts always retained that distinct ‘Bava’ look and feel that left an undeniable impression.
AIP also deserves credit for granting Bava the opportunity to be recognised outside of Italy
and on an international scope – his films were soon being released in the UK, Western
Europe and Scandinavia, Asia and Australia, inspiring and igniting the creative fires of
cinephiles from all sides of the globe

In the wake of the remarkable success of the English dubbed release of Le fatiche di
Ercole (Hercules, 1958) and its sequel Ercole e la regina di Lidia (Hercules Unchained,
1959) – to date they are both the highest grossing features in the history of the Italian film
industry – American International Pictures founders Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H.
Nicholson headed to Rome in search of inexpensive, marketable product to distribute in the
U.S. One of the titles they screened was La maschera del demonio (1960), a gripping,
visually arresting opus which was also notably only the third horror release from Italy to date, due to Mussolini’s ban on their production – a prohibition which was not revoked until the mid-1950s. Sensing they were onto a winner, Arkoff and Nicholson purchased the U.S. rights for $100,000 – considerably more than the film’s entire budget.

La maschera del demonio begins with the execution of Asa (Barbara Steele), a 17^th
century princess accused of witchcraft. A gold mask with sharp spikes is hammered into her
face. 200 years later Asa’s mask is accidently removed, resurrecting the evil witch who seeks revenge on the descendents of those who put her to death, as well as attempt to possess the body of Katia, a beautiful lookalike relative (also played by Barbara Steele). Upon acquiring La maschera del demonio, AIP got to work reconstructing the movie to make it more suitable for American audiences. Three minutes of graphic violence was truncated, including an eyeball puncturing via a sharp stick, the burning and branding of human flesh and blood gushing from the mask which is driven into Steele’s face. All dialogue was redubbed into English – even that of non-Italian speakers Barbara Steele and John Richardson – and in some cases softened, such as this line: "You, too, can find the joy and happiness of Hades!" AIP changed it to "You, too, can find the joy and happiness of hating!" Roberto Nicolosi’s subtly atmospheric music soundtrack was also replaced by a considerably more melodramatic score by Les Baxter. Finally, a catchy title had to be thought up – after several alternatives including Witchcraft, The House of Fright, The Curse, Vengeance and Demoniaque were considered, Black Sunday was the decided on choice.

Released on a double bill with Roger Corman’s The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) in
North America during February 1961, Black Sunday proved to be box office gold for AIP,
outperforming its original premiere in Italy and raking in record profits for the distributor.
Black Sunday also elevated the formerly little-known Barbara Steele to cult stardom,
and subsequent leading roles in a string of genre movies led to her becoming a beloved icon of horror cinema. Most critical reviews of Black Sunday were positive; the stunning medieval Gothic sets Bava achieved on a shoestring budget were praised as well as for the most part, the (at the time) strong content of the film  - even in its diluted state, Black Sunday was considered audacious. Elated with the enthusiastic response to Bava’s masterpiece, AIP soon got in touch with the Italian director again to negotiate the U.S. release of what is generally considered to be the first giallo feature, La ragazza che sapeve troppo (The Evil Eye, 1963).

Soon after completing Gli invasori (Erik the Conqueror, 1961), Bava suffered a nervous
breakdown. He took a six month break, during which he seriously considered retiring from
directing and only working on special effects on films from thereon. However, Bava was
convinced – albeit reluctantly - to return to the director’s chair, by Arkoff and Nicholson,
who had begun co-producing Italian features for release in the United States. Bava was still in the recovery process from his illness and didn’t feel entirely ready to return to work, only
doing so for financial reasons.  La ragazza che sapeve troppo, a mystery involving a young
tourist (Leticia Roman) witnessing a brutal murder while on vacation in Rome, and is then
targeted by the killer herself when she reports the crime to the police. At the time, Italian
horror and thriller movies were generally adult-oriented, containing more violence, sexual
and mature themes and a much darker atmosphere than their American counterparts, which
catered to a youth audience. As AIP’s target viewers were young adults, they decided to
lighten the tone of the film for the American cut by requesting Bava film some comedic
scenes which were included in that version. They also eliminated all references to marijuana
(erasing a key plot point in the process) and modified the ending. AIP also found the original
movie title (The Girl Who Know Too Much) too imitative of Alfred Hitchcock – even though
the film itself was a parody of Hitchcock’s thrillers – retitling it The Evil Eye. Les Baxter was
called in to replace Roberto Nicolosi’s too ‘European’ sounding jazz soundtrack, providing a
more standard composition (cheerful music during the humorous moments, bombastic
‘shock’ cues to signal tense scenes, etc). In either version, Bava always considered La
ragazza che sapeve troppo – a brilliant forerunner of the entire giallo genre - to be one of his worst pictures, perhaps also due to unpleasant memories of the breakdown. His next feature and collaboration with AIP, I tre volti della paura (Black Sabbath, 1963), was in contrast always one of his personal favourites of his own works.

I tre volti della paura comprises of a trio of horror stories introduced by Boris Karloff. In
‘The Telephone’, an unstable prostitute (Michele Mercier) is stalked and terrorised by an
escaped prisoner (Milo Quesada) determined to wreak vengeance on her in relation to a past event. ‘The Wurdalak’ involves a family patriarch (Boris Karloff) transformed into a vampire and inflicted by a curse which drives him to kill only his loved ones, specifically his blood and extended relatives. ‘The Drop of Water’ is the tale of a nurse (Jacqueline Pierreux) who unwisely steals a valuable ring from a recently deceased medium when preparing her corpse. The enraged spirit of the medium is determined to retrieve her ring and embarks on a campaign of fear against the nurse. 

I tre volti della paura was filmed during an eight week period in early 1963. Bava was
able to secure Karloff to the production as he was under contract with AIP. The pair got along very well – Karloff later stated that his time working on I tre volti della paura was some of the most fun he’d ever had on a film set. AIP set about making their own tamer cut for U.S. moviegoers, renaming it Black Sabbath to link it to Bava’s previous Black Sunday. AIP
deleted all sexual references in ‘The Telephone’ segment and replaced these themes with a
supernatural angle. The order of the stories was switched around and Karloff’s introductions
altered via addition material shot by Bava to lighten the intensity of the film. Scenes of
violence were also muted by darkening offending frames or optically enlarging them to crop
out said gory moments. Therefore, the colour scheme of Italian print is much brighter and
vibrant in comparison. Roberto Nicolosi’s classy soundtrack was once again replaced with a
decidedly inferior and bland Les Baxter score. AIP released Black Sabbath in the States in
May 1964 on a double bill with The Evil Eye.

Next up Bava decided to try his hand at science fiction, directing his first and only title of
that genre, Terrore nello spazio (Planet of the Vampires, 1965). Two spaceships land on the
planet Aura. Unbeknown to both crews, a disembodied alien race resides on Aura. Wanting
to escape their derelict world, the aliens seek to possess the bodies of the human visitors.
Planet of the Vampires, as Terrore nello spazio was retitled by AIP, was paired with Die,
Monster, Die! (Monster of Terror, 1965) for its U.S. screenings. Planet of the Vampires
received the least modifications out of all of the AIP distributed Bava features. Two minutes
were trimmed from the original Italian cut, predominately of actors exploring the mist
enshrouded planet and some minimal character exposition. Bava’s sole sci-fi project has
received much critical praise for its innovate storyline and striking visual design. Critics have
also frequently noted the similarities between Planet of the Vampires and Ridley Scott’s
Alien (1979), however Scott and Alien’s screenwriter Dan O’Bannon both claim to have
never seen Bava’s picture.

Le spie vengono dal semifreddo (Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, 1966), Bava’s final
feature to be distributed by AIP, was unfortunately an unmitigated disaster. Producer Fulvio
Luscome of Italian International Pictures was planning a sequel to the successful comedy
spoof Due Mafiosi contro Goldginger (The Amazing Doctor G, 1965), starring popular Italian
comedy duo Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia. Upon consulting with co-financers Samuel Z. Arkoff and James Nicholson, it was agreed upon that the original Italian version would be filmed as the planned Franchi and Ingrassia vehicle; whilst the English dub would star Vincent Price and be converted to a follow up to the Price hit Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini
Machine (1965). The U.S. cut involves a scheming mad scientist, Dr. Goldfoot (Vincent
Price) planning world domination via his creation of an army of sexy female robots that
explode when embraced. Goldfoot programs his lethal robots to seduce generals of NATO
countries. Since Bava was contracted to both AIP and Lucisano for one more movie, it was
decided this would be it. However, the project was not Bava’s cup of tea and he tried to back out of the project, especially upon learning he would not be permitted to have any input on the finalised American cut. Bava had no choice in the matter though due to being
contractually obligated. An unenthusiastic Bava proceeded with the Italian version, which
was subsequently re-written during the dubbing process, as well as dramatically re-edited, to place emphasis on Price’s Dr. Goldfoot character. The ever dependable Les Baxter was hired for re-scoring duties, replacing Lallo Gori’s jazz soundtrack. Both interpretations are lame, rambling satires of Dr. No (1962) and Goldfinger (1964), with neither version drawing
crowds in upon their theatrical releases in late 1965. Generally viewed as Bava’s worst film,
even its star Vincent Price considered Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs "...the most dreadful
movie I've ever been in. Just about everything that could go wrong, did.”

Despite the unfortunate experience of Le spie vengono dal semifreddo, Mario Bava was
looked upon with great esteem by AIP, who actually asked Bava to continue on with the
company - on the condition that he relocate to the USA. However he preferred to stay in
Italy, despite being offered a sizable paycheck. Producer and distributor Lawrence Woolner
also invited Bava to work exclusively for Allied Artists after his AIP contract expired – again
he did not want to leave his homeland. Bava turned down such further offers, including
$100,000 from Dino De Laurentiis to complete the special effects for the 1976 remake of
King Kong. Although Bava would have undoubtedly received both much more prominence
and prosperity had he decided to move to the U.S., the man himself was notoriously private,
rarely granting interviews and only leaving Rome when necessary. Preferring to work with
smaller budgets and crews, it is likely that the much larger, mega-budgeted sets of Hollywood would have been overwhelming and daunting for the introverted, reclusive Bava. Keeping in mind the director’s tendency to both underplay and undermine his own work when questioned about it in interviews and reluctance to self-promote, AIP deserve due recognition and merit for being the first distribution company outside of Italy to recognise Bava’s phenomenal talent, broadening his audience to North America, then subsequently the world.