Editorials
[Exhumed & Exonerated] ‘Ernest Scared Stupid’ (1991)
Every decade has its ups and downs when it comes to cinema, no matter the genre. Horror fans love to loft on high the output of the ‘30s & ‘40s, the ‘70s & ‘80s, and the more recent decades. More often than not, however, the 1990s are labeled as the worst decade for the genre. Not only that, but ‘90s horror tends to be written off as a whole, beyond a handful of undisputed classics. The purpose of Exhumed & Exonerated: The ‘90s Horror Project, is to refute those accusations by highlighting numerous gems from the decade. Stone cold classics will be tackled in this column from time to time, but its main purpose will be to seek out lesser-known and/or less-loved titles that I think deserve more attention and respect from fans. Let the mayhem begin!
Ernest Scared Stupid
Directed by John R. Cherry III
Screenplay by John R. Cherry III, Charlie Gale, and Coke Sams
Produced by Stacy Williams, Martin Erlichman, and Coke Sams
Starring Jim Varney, Eartha Kitt, Austin Nagler, Shay Astar, Alec Klapper, John Cadenhead, and Bill Byrge
Released on October 11, 1991
Ernest P. Worrell, now the chief sanitation worker for Briarville, Missouri, finds himself up to his elbows in trolls when he accidentally unleashes an ancient curse upon the town. With only a few kids believing the insanity that stalks the streets, Ernest must discover his own connection to this curse and figure out a way to put a stop to it all as terror descends upon Briarville on Halloween night. What chance does the world have against evil when Ernest is its chosen savior?
Horror comedies are always a tricky thing, especially when they target general audiences. While the likes of the Evil Dead sequels (and current TV series) and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil are no small feats of perfection, they can often fall back on outrageous (and occasionally offensive) gore-filled sequences for laughs at times. No such luck when it comes to more family-friendly horror comedy fare. That’s not to say that Ernest Scared Stupid doesn’t have its fair share of goopy special effects work. It absolutely does, but their usage is somewhat different. More on that later.
Lately, I have found myself thinking about horror comedy sequels (or loose follow-ups) in regards to comedy troupes. In spite of the fact that this gem is celebrating its 25th year of cinematic existence, that’s actually what caused me to choose it right now. It’s a funny thing, horror and long-running comedy groups. They mix together often…
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein is often viewed as the pinnacle of such genre-mashing. Bud and Lou didn’t stop there, however, with the legendary comedic duo taking on spooks (Hold That Ghost), murderers (Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff), and even more monsters (Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy, Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man). They even did a TV appearance that made sure to work the Creature from the Black Lagoon into the proceedings.
Mel Brooks tackled such a mash-up a few times, most famously with Young Frankenstein, but also with the likes of High Anxiety and Dracula: Dead & Loving It. The Bowery Boys, another classic comedy troupe, did six such films (out of almost 90!) through their various incarnations from the late ‘30s up through the late ‘50s. The Three Stooges had We Want Our Mummy (among others) and Laurel & Hardy had A Haunting We Will Go. More recently, we’ve seen Broken Lizard (2004’s Club Dread) and Tyler Perry enter this realm, with the latter’s Boo! A Madea Halloween arriving in theaters this very week.
In light of all of this, I’m glad that Ernest P. Worrell managed to make his own entry into this would-be canon of horror comedy history. Lucky for him, it was a good one too! Jim Varney brand of comedy is a very specific one and I suspect that many have and/or will find it grating. Most comedy is a product of its time and the nine Ernest films are no exception, at least based upon the ones I have personally seen. Varney’s distinctive mannerisms and energy even take some getting used to from fans, if you haven’t viewed one of his films in a long time.
So how does Ernest Scared Stupid measure up? Very well. While my love has always skewed more towards Ernest Saves Christmas and (especially) Ernest Goes To Jail, there’s no denying how fun this fourth entry in the (once) popular franchise is. The film is far more kid-centric than both of those, positioning Ernest as someone who is more comfortable being friends with children, which actually works in its favor. A big kid at heart himself, Varney has a strong rapport with his child co-stars that helps smooth over their acting deficiencies.
The plot is an old school dark fairytale-esque one, something that is wholly backed up by the film’s look and tone. We even get the classical doomsayer in the form of a seemingly-crazed old woman living in the woods, played by the incomparable Eartha Kitt! You’ve gotta love it. Well, you don’t have to, but I certainly do. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t bring up the superb opening sequence, which sees footage from countless B-movie staples mixed up with footage of Varney mucking about and reacting to spooky sounds, Scooby-Doo-style.
Of course, beyond just the memorable gags and lines, the film also has some great FX to stand on. Courtesy of the Chiodo Brothers (Killer Klowns from Outer Space), Trantor and his troll offspring all look great. In fact, they look like they rolled off the set of an ‘80s Jim Henson dark fantasy production, further embracing those previously-mentioned fairytale overtones. A few of them also look more than a little familiar.
There’s no getting around the fact that I look upon this film with nostalgic eyes. As much as I can try to be objective, there will always be an element of that at play whenever I sit down with this film. To curb that, for this viewing I brought my own children along for the ride. They are always down to love a “new” movie, but also often quick to abandon one if it is not to their liking. For better or worse, children can often be brutally honest. Lucky for Ernest Scared Stupid, they fell head over heels for it. So much so, in fact, that they want to watch it again soon.
Is Ernest Scared Stupid a horror comedy masterpiece on the level of Young Frankenstein or Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein? No, but it also isn’t trying to be. It’s simply a wildly entertaining genre mash-up aimed at kids. On that front, it absolutely sings. The FX hold up and so do the laughs, providing that Jim Varney’s iconic comedy persona is up your alley. If you haven’t seen it in awhile, give it a whirl (Worrell?). Bring some kids along for the ride too, if you can. Don’t kidnap any, of course, but if you don’t have children of your own, nieces, nephews, younger cousins, or your babysitting subjects will work fine as well. It’s a great choice to help (further) introduce them to the genre, especially this time of year. Knowhutimean?
Up Next: Cape Fear (1991)
Previously On…
Species | Mute Witness | Popcorn | Wishmaster | Alien 3 | Cast A Deadly Spell
Disturbing Behavior | The Sect | The Addams Family | The Ugly
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer | Arachnophobia | Ernest Scared Stupid
Due to a complex series of anthropological mishaps, the Wayans Brothers are a huge deal in Brazil. Around these parts, White Chicks is considered a national treasure by a lot of people, so it stands to reason that Brazilian audiences would continue to accompany the Wayans’ comedic output long after North America had stopped taking them seriously as comedic titans.
This is the only reason why I originally watched Michael Tiddes and Marlon Wayans’ 2013 horror spoof A Haunted House – appropriately known as “Paranormal Inactivity” in South America – despite having abandoned this kind of movie shortly after the excellent Scary Movie 3. However, to my complete and utter amazement, I found myself mostly enjoying this unhinged parody of Found Footage films almost as much as the iconic spoofs that spear-headed the genre during the 2000s. And with Paramount having recently announced a reboot of the Scary Movie franchise, I think this is the perfect time to revisit the divisive humor of A Haunted House and maybe figure out why this kind of film hasn’t been popular in a long time.
Before we had memes and internet personalities to make fun of movie tropes for free on the internet, parody movies had been entertaining audiences with meta-humor since the very dawn of cinema. And since the genre attracted large audiences without the need for a serious budget, it made sense for studios to encourage parodies of their own productions – which is precisely what happened with Miramax when they commissioned a parody of the Scream franchise, the original Scary Movie.
The unprecedented success of the spoof (especially overseas) led to a series of sequels, spin-offs and rip-offs that came along throughout the 2000s. While some of these were still quite funny (I have a soft spot for 2008’s Superhero Movie), they ended up flooding the market much like the Guitar Hero games that plagued video game stores during that same timeframe.
You could really confuse someone by editing this scene into Paranormal Activity.
Of course, that didn’t stop Tiddes and Marlon Wayans from wanting to make another spoof meant to lampoon a sub-genre that had been mostly overlooked by the Scary Movie series – namely the second wave of Found Footage films inspired by Paranormal Activity. Wayans actually had an easier time than usual funding the picture due to the project’s Found Footage presentation, with the format allowing for a lower budget without compromising box office appeal.
In the finished film, we’re presented with supposedly real footage recovered from the home of Malcom Johnson (Wayans). The recordings themselves depict a series of unexplainable events that begin to plague his home when Kisha Davis (Essence Atkins) decides to move in, with the couple slowly realizing that the difficulties of a shared life are no match for demonic shenanigans.
In practice, this means that viewers are subjected to a series of familiar scares subverted by wacky hijinks, with the flick featuring everything from a humorous recreation of the iconic fan-camera from Paranormal Activity 3 to bizarre dance numbers replacing Katy’s late-night trances from Oren Peli’s original movie.
Your enjoyment of these antics will obviously depend on how accepting you are of Wayans’ patented brand of crass comedy. From advanced potty humor to some exaggerated racial commentary – including a clever moment where Malcom actually attempts to move out of the titular haunted house because he’s not white enough to deal with the haunting – it’s not all that surprising that the flick wound up with a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite making a killing at the box office.
However, while this isn’t my preferred kind of humor, I think the inherent limitations of Found Footage ended up curtailing the usual excesses present in this kind of parody, with the filmmakers being forced to focus on character-based comedy and a smaller scale story. This is why I mostly appreciate the love-hate rapport between Kisha and Malcom even if it wouldn’t translate to a healthy relationship in real life.
Of course, the jokes themselves can also be pretty entertaining on their own, with cartoony gags like the ghost getting high with the protagonists (complete with smoke-filled invisible lungs) and a series of silly The Exorcist homages towards the end of the movie. The major issue here is that these legitimately funny and genre-specific jokes are often accompanied by repetitive attempts at low-brow humor that you could find in any other cheap comedy.
Not a good idea.
Not only are some of these painfully drawn out “jokes” incredibly unfunny, but they can also be remarkably offensive in some cases. There are some pretty insensitive allusions to sexual assault here, as well as a collection of secondary characters defined by negative racial stereotypes (even though I chuckled heartily when the Latina maid was revealed to have been faking her poor English the entire time).
Cinephiles often claim that increasingly sloppy writing led to audiences giving up on spoof movies, but the fact is that many of the more beloved examples of the genre contain some of the same issues as later films like A Haunted House – it’s just that we as an audience have (mostly) grown up and are now demanding more from our comedy. However, this isn’t the case everywhere, as – much like the Elves from Lord of the Rings – spoof movies never really died, they simply diminished.
A Haunted House made so much money that they immediately started working on a second one that released the following year (to even worse reviews), and the same team would later collaborate once again on yet another spoof, 50 Shades of Black. This kind of film clearly still exists and still makes a lot of money (especially here in Brazil), they just don’t have the same cultural impact that they used to in a pre-social-media-humor world.
At the end of the day, A Haunted House is no comedic masterpiece, failing to live up to the laugh-out-loud thrills of films like Scary Movie 3, but it’s also not the trainwreck that most critics made it out to be back in 2013. Comedy is extremely subjective, and while the raunchy humor behind this flick definitely isn’t for everyone, I still think that this satirical romp is mostly harmless fun that might entertain Found Footage fans that don’t take themselves too seriously.
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