Husk is a 2011 American horror film. It stars Devon Graye, CJ Thomason, Tammin Sursok and Ben Easter. It was directed by Brett Simmons and was released as part of the After Dark Films series.
When a murder of crows smash into their car windshield, a group of young friends are forced to abandon the vehicle, leaving them stranded beside a desolate cornfield. Hidden deep within the cornfield they find a crumbling farmhouse – but they soon discover that instead of a sanctuary, the house is actually the center of a terrifying supernatural ritual that they are about to become a part of.
Tropes used in Husk include:
- Almost Dead Guy: The Scary Scarecrow has murdered Chris and is hoisting his body onto the scarecrow frame in preparation for turning him into a scarecrow. Scott stumble on to the scene and the scarecrow attempts to kill him to. However, Chris proves to be clinging to life and manages to grab the scarecrow and pull him off long enough for Scott to escape. The scarecrow then finishes Chris off for good.
- Artistic License – Chess: Scott is the resident nerd and is identified as a member of the chess team to establish him as the smart member of the group. He uses a chess board he finds in the Old, Dark House to make a chess analogy to explain how the Scary Scarecrow operates. Unfortunately, the move he describes is not part of the rules of chess.
- As the Good Book Says...: A rather obscure one. Natalie finds a sign with "GEN 4:11" written on it on the outside of the cornfield. This is never brought up again, but Genesis 4:11 describes the curse God laid on the field after Abel's murder by Cain: the same way that Corey murdered Alex in a field.
- Ate His Gun: Brian and Scott find Corey's body in the cellar with his shotgun propped up under his jaw.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Scott, the last survivor of the friends trapped in the cornfield, is fleeing from the Scary Scarecrow; trying to find his way back to the road. Badly wounded and having lost a lot of blood, he collapses at the edge of the field, in sight of the wrecked car. A pair of good Samaritans who have stopped to investigate spot him and come to help. Scott then sees the scarcrow hiding in the corn. It raises a finger to its lips and lies in wait. Scott, his throat slashed, is unable to shout a warning to his rescuers as the advance towards the ambush...
- Body Surf: Combined with Possessing a Dead Body. Alex turns the bodies of his victims in Scary Scarecrows and can shift his spirit between them at will. However, he is only able to animate one scarecrow at a time
- Cain and Abel: The Un-Favourite Corey was so incensed by his father's favoritism towards his brother Alex that he murdered Alex and turned his corpse into a scarecrow before shooting himself. Alex eventually returns as a Scary Scarecrow. The movie makes a lot of references to the Biblical story.
- Cell Phones Are Useless: After their car crashes into the cornfield, none of the protagonists can get a signal on their cell phones. (Only Scott is shown trying, but it can be assumed the others did as well.) Undoubtedly a property of the curse that lies upon the field.
- Chekhov's Gun: After murdering Alex, Corey tosses the pitchfork aside and walks back to the house. During the final fight, Scott realizes the pitchfork must still be lying where Corey dropped it.
- Chekhov's Skill: While trying to fix his SUV after the crash, Chris demonstrates that he knows how to hot-wire a car. He later uses this talent to start the truck at the farm.
- Creepy Crows: A murder of crows smashes into the windscreen of Chris's SUV, causing him to crash into the cornfield. Afterwards more crows hang around the protagonists; watching them and cawing creepily.
- Driven to Suicide: Corey Comstock Ate His Gun after murdering his brother Alex and turning his body into a Scary Scarecrow.
- Extremely Short Timespan: The events of the film encompass about 12 hours, starting in the early afternoon and ending in the early hours of the following morning.
- Fingore: The revenant Natalie hammers nails through each of her five fingers as she transforms herself into a Scary Scarecrow.
- Gardening-Variety Weapon: Corey murders his brother Alex by stabbing him repeatedly with a pitchfork. Scott later uses the same pitchfork to stab the Scary Scarecrow. The scarecrow then uses the fork to finish off Chris.
- Hard-to-Light Fire: When Scott attempts to ignite the gasoline soaked cornfield, Chris's lighter—which has been working perfectly up till now—suddenly refuses to light.
- I See Dead People: Scott experiences visions that allow him to see aspects of the farm's past. These visions allow him to piece together what happened and identify the cause of their current predicament. The actors in these visions apparently cannot see him, and do not acknowledge his presence at all.
- Lost in the Maize: The protagonists spend much of the film walking, running or driving through the seemingly endless cornfield that surrounds the house; usually with no idea of what direction they are going.
- My Car Hates Me: Chris steals the only working vehicle on the farm and attempts to escape. However, when he crashes into one of the scarecrow poles, the truck stalls and refuses to start again.
- Old, Dark House: A car crash leaves the protagonists stranded in a cornfield. After discovering their cell phones don't work, they decided to make their way to a creepy, seemingly abandoned farmhouse located in the centre of the cornfield to see if they can phone for help. What could possibly go wrong?
- One-Word Title
- Overalls and Gingham: In the flashbacks, Farmer Comstock and his sons Corey and Alex are dressed in bibbed overalls and check shirts. Looking closely, Alex is still dressed like that under the burlap sack over his head in the present day.
- Possessing a Dead Body: Alex turns the bodies of his victims into Scary Scarecrows and shift his spirit between them. However, he can only animate one scarecrow at a time.
- Random Smoking Scene: Chris and Natalie share a cigarette when they are left alone at the wrecked van. Natalie is apparently a secret smoker and asks Chris not to tell her boyfriend Brian that she is a smoker. Neither lights up again over the course of the film, and Natalie hiding her smoking from Brian never becomes plot relevant. The main purpose of the scene is to establish that Chris carries a lighter.
- Sackhead Slasher: The murderous scarecrow wears a burlap sack with a very disturbing smiley face stitched on it over his head. By placing bags over the heads of his victims, he is able to turn them into scarecrows that he is able to animate.
- Scary Scarecrows: The monster is the spirit of a murdered farm boy whose body was strung up as a scarecrow. He know murders travellers and turns their bodies into scarecrows, and can leap between the scarecrows.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Brian refuses to leave without Natalie, Chris hot-wires the one working vehicle and drives off through the cornfield.
- Smart People Play Chess: Scott is the resident nerd and is identified as a member of the chess team to establish him as the smart member of the group. He uses a chess board he finds in the Old, Dark House to make a chess analogy to explain how the Scary Scarecrow operates. Unfortunately, the move he describes is not part of the rules of chess.
- The Un-Favourite: In keeping with the Cain and Abel theme, Farmer Comstock definitely favours his son Alex over his other son Corey: in part due to Alex's willingness and talent in slaughtering animals, to drive the analogy home further. This favoritism eventually drives Corey into a jealous rage where he murders his brother and turns him into a scarecrow.
