Husk (2011)

Simply Perfect

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A group of five friends - Johnny, Chris, Scott, Brian, & Natalie - are on a road trip together when suddenly on a remote road in farm country, a flock of crows hits their car causing them to run off road. Johnny wanders off through a cornfield to seek help but seems to just disappear. Brian & Scott decide to cross through the cornfield to see if they can find Johnny and it's here that they spot an old house so they decide to head towards that. After not hearing from them, Natalie decides to go look for her boyfriend, Brian, but is dragged off by someone...or something. 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. Plot wise, it's not too deep (obviously), but you do start to think that there's nothing much here...group crashes car, heads to find help, killings ensue. There's no real back story, until about just after halfway through the film the back story starts to unfold on what has happened and what IS happening, and it's here that it starts to pick up a bit.All the characters are pretty likable - apart from Natalie, really, as you get tired of her and her continual "baby" talk - that you actually wouldn't mind seeing them all survive. How many times does that happen when watching a horror movie? There are some of the usual horror clichés dotted about, but I guess it wouldn't be a horror film without them really. Although it would be good to watch a horror without them just for a change.Anyway, asides from that, Husk is a decent, watchable horror flick. Nothing amazing but it's not the worst hour and twenty five minutes you'll see.

I had never read anything about this movie and bought it cheaply thinking that at best I might get a laugh out of it, but this movie came as a pleasant surprise.The movie starts off typically, college students in a car, car runs off the road, no mobile phone reception, let's see if the rustic farmhouse has a phone and the ending writes itself, ho-hum it's been done to death right? But if you get through the first few minutes you'll notice that there are subtle differences with Husk.For starters, the group aren't the vapid, early twenty somethings that you normally get. The dialogue is remotely intelligent for a horror movie and the characters seem to have brains. Secondly there's only one girl in the group of five, so there's no catty backstabbing or obsession over appearance & shoes, and worthy of note, she gets dispatched early on, so there's no irrational screaming at every noise or shadow throughout the movie. Thirdly there are some genuinely tense moments that you no longer get with Scarecrow franchises. The claustrophobic feeling of the cornfield is well done, as is the idea that the recently killed are possessed & made to sew together their own scarecrow mask on a pedal powered sewing machine. Skewering their fingers with nails for an effective disabling weapon is a nice touch. Also this movie has a better explanation,(via flashbacks), on why things are happening. The movie doesn't really break any new ground and it's not without its clichés, but it's fresh enough to hold your interest throughout the movie. I gave this 6 because I enjoyed it up until the final scene. The ending just plain sucked, as it's not even an ending. It's as if the writers had a sudden craving for Chinese take-away & RedBull and took off before it was finished. Up until that moment it's a decent movie and one that is worth a look. Just pray they don't ruin it further with a haphazard sequel.

I once tried to convince a movie critic that I admire to see Husk by claiming it was a great killer Scarecrow movie. He said, in so many Facebook words that he was done with said "killer scarecrow" movies.How many of them are out there? 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. I had a lot of fun and admired it's originality EVEN within its typical stereotypes/clichés.Four guys and one girl travel along the cornfields and crash due to some misfortune, daredevil crows and upon consciousness, one of the guys is missing and the others are in disarray. What we're left with are: the pretty, but strong chick, the nerdy guy, the headstrong dude and the scaredy-cat of a boy. One-by-one they venture into the cornfield for assistance and are met with…yeah, I've already spoiled the killer.Oh, but there's so much more. Background, flashbacks, mystical occurrences and haunted grounds are just the beginning. Take in some VERY decent cinematography, hilarious dialogue, original and brutal/effective kills – and in an unpredictable order, depth and true fear that's usually left out of these kinds of films. 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 for such a short time frame, I was spellbound in the storytelling and frights. I rooted for our "heroes" and enjoyed being scared – FINALLY – as I'm usually bored when filmmakers pretend to know what will scare us these days. 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.

I always review my movies after the first time watch, because that's when they make the first honest impression on me. Usually after that they get better as I pick up on more plot lines and clues. I give this movie an eight, because it's original. Aside form the 1990's "Scarecrows" ;which . by the way ,I thought was excellent; there hasn't been a whole lot of good SCare Crow themed movies. Scare Crow 1 and 2 are totally done for fun. Tony Todd and Tiffany Shepis Star, but the Scarecrow flips and talks like Freddy Krueger, so I can't take them too seriously. 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. It has the title "El Demonio 3" which is what jeepers Creepers titles are given over here. Even on the menu page; the title "Demonio 3" appears, so I thought, what have I got to lose. 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. In fact; I was compelled to believe this until the first flash backs start. 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. Don't let those reviewers with grudges Against the directors and filmmakers steer you away with words like clichés and bad acting. Not true. 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. "Wrong Turn 5" That there blew my mind just a bit, but thinking about it; it's always the best way to get your would be victims to get out and look for help and that's were the fun begins. Actually one of there friends is already missing by the time the other wake up from the car wreck. That there already becomes a mystery to the rest of them as well as the viewer. What follows next is pure unpredictability. The viewer thinks this will happen but instead happens another way.I'd like to write more about the film, but I don't wanna spoil the fun. I will say that it's not Jeepers Creepers 3. It's not a slasher film either. Nor a ghost story. It's a little bit of all three and very enjoyable. the actors all play different roles with really different personalities and agenda for their actions. 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. particulalry the story; which I really enjoyed and honestly can say; have not seen it in any Horror movie yet... and I have many in my collection.My recommendation is; if you haven't already seen it, to view it this Halloween. 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.