I had a pretty good feeling Strawstalker was going to be my kind of movie the second a creepy scarecrow started silently lurking behind influencer content creators in a suspiciously perfect Los Angeles neighborhood. That’s the kind of premise that can either completely fall apart or become a wonderfully chaotic midnight horror movie. Thankfully, writer/director George Henry Horton understands exactly what kind of movie he’s making here, and instead of trying to ground everything in realism, he leans into the weirdness. Hard. The result is a scrappy, funny, occasionally creepy found footage horror film that feels like a cursed social media fever dream in the best possible way.
The movie follows Henry and Haley, a content creator couple who move into Oak Bridge, a neighborhood so polished and artificial that it immediately feels off. Everybody smiles too much. The lawns are too perfect. Even the silence feels staged. Horton plays Henry with this exhausting “look at me” energy that honestly feels painfully accurate for influencer culture. He’s constantly performing, constantly filming, constantly trying to turn every moment into content. Meanwhile, Branika Scott gives Haley a much more natural, relatable energy that keeps the movie grounded whenever things start getting especially ridiculous. Their relationship feels messy in a believable way too. You can tell Haley is tired of Henry’s nonsense long before the supernatural chaos fully kicks in.
And honestly, the scarecrow rules. It shouldn’t work as well as it does, but there’s something genuinely creepy about seeing this theatrical straw-covered figure just standing there in the background like it has all the time in the world. Horton wisely avoids explaining too much about it. The scarecrow simply exists, watching and waiting while the tension slowly builds. Sometimes the movie feels legitimately eerie. Other times it feels like a campfire story somebody is telling way too dramatically after midnight. Then suddenly it swings back into horror again. That unpredictability actually became part of the fun for me because the movie never settles into one comfortable tone.
I also appreciated how much the film pokes fun at influencer culture without becoming preachy about it. Henry and Haley don’t just record their lives — they filter every emotion through a camera. Arguments become performances. Fear becomes content. Even their reactions start feeling staged after a while, which makes the found footage format work surprisingly well here. The movie has fun with that idea without ever losing its pulpy horror energy.
Strawstalker definitely isn’t polished studio horror. But it has personality, and that goes a long way with me. If you like your found footage movies a little campy, a little chaotic, and fully aware of how ridiculous they are, this one’s probably worth checking out.
Audiences across North America can now rent or own Strawstalker on Digital HD, including Prime Video.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
Director: George Henry Horton
Writer: George Henry Horton
Cast: Branika Scott; George Henry Horton; Dallas Steinback
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Livestream Ending Soon
Memorable Movie Quote: "What a weirdo"
Distributor: Dark Atlantic
Official Site:
Release Date: May 4, 2026
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: When a fame hungry couple moves to an ideal LA home, their new dream life spirals into nightmare as an ancient scarecrow begins stalking them - feeding on their lies, testing truth, and turning their fandom into witnesses of its judgment.
