Movies For Metalheads: Messengers 2: The Scarecrow, The Mighty Boosh Vol, 1, 2 and 3 and More

We've been freaked out by cornfields ever since we saw the first 'Children of the Corn.' And when a horror movie has a cornfield and a butt-ugly scarecrow, you know some bad things are gonna be happening real soon. 'Messengers 2: The Scarecrow' delivers bad things a-plenty. The film is the prequel to the 2007 Pang Brothers movie 'Messengers,' but you don't have to see the original to understand this flick.

In 'Messengers 2: The Scarecrow' (Ghost House) John Rollins (Norman Reedus) is a failed farmer, husband and father whose harvest is in shambles, and who's being badgered by the bank to sell his land. All seems lost until he finds a hideous scarecrow on his property. Against the wishes of his terrified son, he puts up the scarecrow in his field and suddenly his luck begins to change. The crows plaguing his corn die at his feet, the real estate agent urging him to sell his property dies on his street and his cornfield blossoms like wild dandelions.

But along with the good fortune comes some pretty creepy stuff, including voices in the corn rows, apparitions of past ill-fated tenants and a neighborly couple in a tailor park who clearly know more about the evil place than they let on. When Rollins finally comes to his senses and realizes there's a price for his good luck, it may be too late. He tries to burn the scarecrow, but the damned thing comes back. Pretty soon the poor guy is under suspicion for murder, child endangerment and probably defaulting on his student loans.

'Messengers 2: The Scarecrow' – This is pretty typical of any horror film involving a backwoods family, a farm and a curse. That means the surprises are few and far between and even the suspense isn't that suspenseful. It's not terribly gory either. Even so, the movie is fun and fast-paced and the whacked out neighbors – especially the totally hot wife who dances naked through the corn – are entertaining enough to roll with the swinging scythes and dismiss the movie's predictability.

'The Mighty Boosh' Vol. 1, 2 and 3 (BBC) – We were late to the feast on this British hit series, which started airing on Adult Swim at the end of March. The channel started its broadcast with season three, which is hysterical, surreal and twisted – but so are the other two seasons of the show. And all three are now available as double-disc sets. Each wigged-out episode features best friends Vince Noir (Noel Barratt) – a shallow, narcissistic hipster – and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) – an uptight, neurotic loser – getting into one psychedelic misadventure after another. Along the way, they interact with a stoner Shaman named Naboo (Michael Fielding), Bollo the talking ape (Dave Brown) and various other nonsensical characters. Each episode features asymmetrical humor redolent of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,' but there are also heavy whiffs of 'The Young Ones' and even 'South Park.' Free your mind and get ready to take a journey through time and space.

'Echelon Conspiracy' (Paramount) – If you find it too tempting to resist downloading metal records for free, imagine this: you receive a cell phone in the mail, and all of a sudden someone's text messaging you information that leads you to beat the stock market, score jackpots on one arm bandits and win big money at blackjack tables. Would you take advantage of this gift from the technology gods? Of course you would. And so does Shane West (Max Peterson) in 'Echelon Conspiracy,' a thriller about the power of greed and the danger of artificial intelligence. What West doesn't know is that several other folks before him were sent similar messages, reaped similar rewards, then died when they were no longer useful for whoever (or whatever) was texting them. 'Echelon Conspiracy' shares similar elements with 'Enemy of the State,' 'Eagle Eye' and even 'WarGames,' but it moves with a pace and logic of its own.

Actually, the film's premise – about a master computer seeking an upgrade that would free it from its masters – is pretty ridiculous. The same can be said for the stereotypical supporting characters, which include casino security officer/ex-FBI agent John Reed (Edward Burns), his nemesis at the Bureau, Agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames) and a beautiful girl (Sandra De Sousa), who alternately seems interested in saving West and getting him killed. And what would a movie like this be without a corrupt politician like Raymond Burke (Charlie Sheen), who's intent on obliterating the Constitution in the name of military dominance? Next time you log on to Rapidshare to provide more food to your iPod, think twice. If you believe in 'conspiracy' theories, your next step could jeopardize the fate of the free world.

'Door Into Silence' (Severin) – Italian director Lucio Fulci, who created legendary '80s splatterfests like 'Zombie,' 'The Beyond' and 'Gates of Hell' seemed to have lost his appetite for blood by the time he died in 1996. His last film, 1991's 'Door into Silence,' featured neither the unflinching acts of violence his most famous films contained, nor the serial killer detective exploits of his early giallos. Instead, the movie is a lightweight psychological thriller that stars John Savage as Melvin Devereux, a man who drives through the streets of Louisiana after the death of his father. Until, that is, he encounters a mysterious woman (Sandi Schultz) and a hearse that seems to be following him. From there, events become increasingly strange, but not necessarily more exciting and in the end it may seem like both Devereux and Fulci have taken a long, misty drive into nowhere. Atmospheric, nightmarish and more than a bit confusing, 'Door Into Silence' is recommended for Fulci completists, but is hardly essential viewing. Those who want a taste of the late auteur at his absolute best (within several genres) would be better off checking out the bawdy 1972 comedy 'The Eroticist,' the chilling giallo from the same year, 'Don't Torture a Duckling,' 1977's supernatural mystery 'The Psychic,' 1980's gritty crime drama 'Contraband,' and the nauseating 1980 gorefest 'Gates of Hell' (a.k.a. 'City of the Living Dead').