Ernest Scared Stupid

Director - John R. Cherry III (Ernest Goes to Jail, Slam Dunk Ernest)
Starring - Jim Varney (The Beverly Hillbillies, Treehouse Hostage), Eartha Kitt (Living Doll), and Austin Nagler
Release Date - 1991
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Ernest Triple Feature)

Rating (out of 5):

     Jim Varney, or Ernest P. Worrell as most of you know him as, was a man who created a comedy vehicle that would carry him through two decades and a wide range of media from commercials to feature films.  Love him or hate you, you have to give the man credit for bringing slapstick to a whole new generation.  The Ernest character has braved amusement park rides, went camping, did hard time, joined the army, played semi-pro basketball and countless other adventures but none come close in comparison to his 1991 Halloween flick Ernest Scared Stupid.  Not only is this film one of my favorite Ernest and Halloween flicks, but I can easily say this makes it to my top ten favorite movies of all time.  

     The film begins in the 19th century and an evil troll, named Trantor, has just been captured by the reverend Phineas Worrell (one of the multiple characters portrayed by Varney).  Trantor was trying to turn 6 children into wooden statues of their former selves in order to bring an army of trolls to Earth. Phineas buries Trantor under an oak tree but before he can finish Trantor places a curse on Phineas where each passing generation in his blood line will become dumber and dumber.  We then jump to present day (1991) and we meet our rubber-faced hero Ernest (Varney).  Ernest is a recycling enthusiast who has a knack with children.  He has befriended the sheriff's son and his friends.  After a run in with a group of bullies, Ernest sets out with the kids to build a treehouse.  Unfortunately, Ernest and the kids trespass on to Old Lady Hackmore's (Kitt) property where the oak tree that stands above Trantor is located.  To make the movie interesting Ernest and the kids choose that exact tree for their amazing treehouse.  Trantor awakens to start gathering his 6 children again and Ernest knows he is awake.  He tries to tell the adults in his small town but no one believes him until the troll makes an appearance at the costume competition.  The local townspeople run amuck as Trantor snags his sixth and final child.  His army starts to hatch from small pods growing on the tree where Ernest built the treehouse while Ernest tries to stop them.  Before long things get out of hands the locals arrive to help but it does no good.  The kids discover that the trolls can't handle their dairy and start killing them milk-filled water guns.  However, the milk does not work on Trantor and Ernest is the only one that can kill him...with love.

     Sometimes you will watch a movie and it will stick with you the rest of your life.  I have seen hundreds of films in my short life that I will continue to watch annually because I love them so much.  However, every once in awhile you will come across a flick that you will never part with and watch more times than you care to count.  For me that is Ernest Scared Stupid and that is for so many reasons.  The main reason is that it features one of my favorite characters in a film with monsters revolving around Halloween.  Just like Abbott and Costello met the classic Universal Monsters and The Monster Squad was original written to be a Little Rascals meets the Universal Monsters style film, this movie mashes a comical legend with an evil creature.  I also really liked this movie because it brought the viewer face to face with a creature that does not get a lot o camera time and that creature is the troll.  Sure, there is several troll films out there but nothing in comparison to the other creatures that go bump in the night.  The acting is what one would expect from an Ernest flick.  By this point Varney had perfected his Ernest character and the audience can really see that in this film.  Varney is able to portray such a wide range of emotions through Ernest's facial expressions making Ernest not only funny to watch but easy to read.  The rest of the cast did a good job in their roles and an exceptional performance can also be seen by Eartha Kitt.  She put everything she had into her character and it show.  The story is really nothing original but when combined with the accident prone Ernest it makes for one hell of a good time.  This film holds it's age very well and is fun as hell to watch regardless of your age.  Finally, this film has some of the best special effects I have seen and it is still unparalleled.  This children's Halloween comedy has the special effects that rivals the best creature features.  The trolls look amazing and scores a spot on my favorite monsters of all time.  Not only is there one troll, but by the end we have multiple trolls and they all look great.  Overall, this is one fun film that will leave you laughing your ass off while the fowl breathe of Trantor breathes down your neck!  I highly recommend this one!