Today's Pick: Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
I was not a horror fan by birth. I used to get scared simply by the box art of horror films. I can't pinpoint exactly where my steady consumption of the genre began, but there are a few landmark films that I remember in particular. One of those was Ernest Scared Stupid.
My friend had a copy and I watched it at his house. I had never seen an Ernest movie, so this was my introduction to the living cartoon character played by Jim Varney. By having such a goofy character at the center of everything, it diffused a lot of the unease I thought I'd have. Jim Varney is a fantastic physical comedian, and even if the film doesn't hold up, he's still a riot.
The most memorable thing is the villainous troll. It's a great effect that manages to be kind of scary, even today. I remember jumping when the troll's face would fill the screen. By the time the film's climax was occurring, kids were shooting trolls with Super Soakers filled with milk, and I found myself laughing much more than I was yelping.
Kids subconsciously love horror, but if they aren't exposed to the right material at the right time, they may not find themselves fans of the genre. Ernest Scared Stupid is a really good spooky flick for kids to have fun with. It's not so great for the adults, but at the end of the day, Halloween shouldn't be about the adults. It's about cultivating a love for the macabre and enjoying the giddy parts of being scared. This is a movie that does exactly that for its intended audience.
Tomorrow's movie is one of the most authentic found footage films ever. See you then!
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