Brendon Jones
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
Frances Chung
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Kinley
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Shawn Watson
This umpteenth screen appearance for Ernest P. Worrell has the bumbling handyman accidentally awaken an imprisoned troll a day before Halloween, leading to the creature going on a rampage through a small town. It's probably the most imaginative Ernest adventure and features appropriately gruesome creature effects by the Chiodo Brothers (who also created the Critters and the Killer Klowns from Outer Space). The production values are also quite good, but the kids are a little grating.My only real complaint is the same thing that bugged with previous Ernest movies. Director John Cherry is so used to directing television and commercials that you can tell he's given every shot in the movie a maximum of two takes, giving everything a badly-rehearsed feel. Sounds like a petty grievance, but it would have made a difference to hone the acting a little more and tighten things up.Probably not a Halloween classic, but it's hardly a time of year for family movies.
bug76
"Boy, I sure hope you're from Keebler". That line had me cracking up every time. I have to say: Trantor was and still is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. I remember this movie fondly as a kid and as an adult I still appreciate Varney's clean brand of humor. The moral: "Unconditional love is the strongest weapon of them all." Phineas Worrell managed to bury Trantor, having the roots of a tree be its prison but before they bury him in dirt, he curses the Worrell blood line by having them get dumber and dumber. Enter Ernest P. Worrell, not very bright but full of heart. When the bullies tear down the kids' playhouse, Ernest helps them find a tree so they can have the 'high ground'. Unfortunately, he goes and picks the one tree that has the imprisoned troll, Trantor. Old Lady Hackmore(Kitt) finds out and flees from the place and Ernest goes after her. Having returned, Ernest explains to the children about what Lady Hackmore has told him about the curse. Being Ernest, he says the one thing he shouldn't have: "Yay, I call thee forth Trantor" and knocks on the tree 3 times, thus releasing the evil troll. After being released, he starts going after the children to turn them into wooden dolls to 'feed' his army of trolls that begin sprouting from the tree. But only a Worrell can stop him. Lady Hackmore shows Ernest a book that tells him how he can rid the town of this troll. "Thoust can destroyeth a troll with MI_K". The only thing Ernest can think of is MIAK, which we know doesn't work. Kenny finds out that it is actually milk that can destroy the trolls. And how clever, the brand of milk used is Purity, the brand Ernest hawked in his commercials. Ernest becomes angry after Trantor turns Rimshot into a wooden doll and vows to kill Trantor. After arriving, the pods started to drop and many more trolls started 'hatching'. When the kids arrive, they begin shooting these trolls with milk from toy guns. Eventually, Trantor is left but he managed to summon the demons to make him stronger and therefore, milk would not kill him. Thankfully, Ernest figures out that unconditional love would be the only thing to kill Trantor. He goes from angry to happy in the blink of an eye. He tells the troll, "Aw, you're so cute" and kisses old Booger Lips with all the love in the world, which makes Ernest pull an 'Ewwwww' and I had to pull an 'Ewww' myself. That loving little smooch ended up destroying the troll and all the kids and Rimshot turned back to normal. This is a great Halloween movie for the whole family to enjoy. It's good, wholesome fun. No foul language and no innuendos. The trolls are scary but not enough to scar a child for life. They'll have plenty of time for that if they watch the movies Hollywood is putting out today.
cnmirose
Ernest movies are in general pretty terrible, except for maybe 4 year olds. However, this one was surprisingly good. The horror portion was strangely frightening in places (well, not *really* frightening as compared to a *real* horror flick, but because it's an Ernest movie and the troll was pretty ugly and menacing, it was a bit of a shock -- so this movie is not for really young kids). The denouement where Ernest (of course) defeats the troll is also pure silly Ernest but also so sweet and perhaps gets right to the core of the Ernest character -- it could not have happened any other way.All that said, I have not seen "Ernest Goes to Jail" so rate this comment accordingly.
rebeljenn
'Ernest Scared Stupid' is a job well done for Ernest. This film combines the slapstick and subtle humor typical of any Ernest film, and it brings in the element of horror. The film is downright frightening for children, but it is not THAT frightening because of the reassurance that it is only a film. It's just made for children, after all.In this film, a troll breaks free from a curse and starts capturing children and turning them into dolls. It is up to Ernest to save the day and bring Halloween back -- without frightening trolls. I was amazed at how entertaining this film was; I saw it when I was about 11, and it was my first proper 'movie' I saw at the cinema, not counting classic Disney animated films.Halloween is mainly a children's affair anyway, and it is good to see that Ernest was able to bring it to the children: a little bit of laughter, a little bit of horror, and some child actors in important parts. It's what every child hopes for in a Halloween film.
