Editorials
“Scared Silly”: Ronald McDonald’s Forgotten Halloween Episode
If you grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, then you probably recall how much fast food giant McDonald’s got into the Halloween spirit. Remember the Halloween McNugget buddies, decked out in costumes? Who could forget the Halloween buckets and pails for trick or treating? Even the McDonaldland pals, like Grimace and Hamburglar, got into the spooky fun with Happy Meal toys featuring clip-on costumes. That doesn’t even touch upon the marketing, which included fun seasonal packaging and commercials.
But there’s one unique promotional collection that’s largely become forgotten over the years; the limited VHS animated series collection called The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald. A series that kicked off with a special Halloween episode, “Scared Silly”.
Released exclusively at McDonald’s restaurants from October 1998 to October 2003, The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald featured six 40-minute episodes featuring Ronald and friends. Since Halloween is the perfect time for creepy clowns, it was fitting that the first in this series was “Scared Silly.” Opening with a somewhat disturbing live-action segment that introduces Ronald and his weird pup Sundae, played by Verne Troyer, the duo rounds up their friends for a camping trip to get away from the scary movies playing on TV. They jump into a ball pit, the episode transitions into animation, and off they go to the Far Flung Forest.
A bout of ominous and stormy weather drives the campers toward an old decrepit house, where a sort of Scooby-Doo plot ensues. There are songs, floating heads, more songs, and a mad scientist that tasks the group with riddles and games. And more songs.
If the animation style looks familiar to you, it should. Produced by Nickelodeon affiliated animation studio Klaspy Csupo, the studio behind Aaahhh!!! Real Monsters, Rocket Power, and Rugrats, this limited series featured the same animation team, including director John Holmquist. This probably explains why Hamburglar looks an awful lot like Chuckie Finster. The actress behind the voice of Chuckie, Christine Cavanaugh, voiced Birdie in her final acting role ever. Even the background music seemed borrowed from Rugrats. The animated section of the episode was written by Andrew McElfresh and Michael Bloom (an executive producer behind Wrinkles the Clown documentary, bringing him full circle back to creepy clowns). Both were attached to late ‘90s cartoon Rocket Power.
Because this is a kids show, it should surprise no one that friendship prevails. The episode concludes with a return to live-action; Sundae and Ronald have faced their fears and are now ready to take on scary movies. Or dinosaur B-horror, in this case. While The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald and “Scared Silly” are pretty bizarre in general, it’s still heartwarming to see a spooky episode with an underlying message that horror is fun.
For just $3.49, purchased with a soft serve cone or soda, you could obtain the VHS at a participating restaurant. They became so popular the restaurants would often sell out. The sixth and final tape was sold exclusively on Klaspy Csupo’s site, therefore making it the rarest of the bunch. All six tapes were released far apart, making it even easier to slip through the cracks of memory. While only the inaugural ep centered around Halloween, it’s still a retro reminder of McDonald’s former holiday revelry. I miss it, and this type of bold promotional weirdness.
A new month means a new guide as titles are added (and dropped) from streaming services. Let’s unpack the most exciting titles that are available to watch on Tubi in July 2026.
New to Tubi July Horror Films
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Premise: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- Why Watch It? Let’s be frank: Director Renny Harlin has made some absolute dogs in the last few years (the less said about The Strangers trilogy the better, though this year’s Deep Water was actually ok). Deep Blue Sea remains one of the Finnish director’s best contemporary efforts, though. Between the great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, and Jane’s sleeveless wetsuit), the ridiculous premise, and that damn/dumb song (“My hat is like a shark’s fin”), you basically can’t go wrong with Deep Blue Sea. It’s one of two great shark films gliding onto Tubi this month, so why not stay out of the water and watch this instead?
- Streaming: July 1
Exorcist II: Heretic (1977)
- Premise: Reagan (Linda Blair), a girl once possessed by a demon, finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) investigates the death of the priest who performed her exorcism.
- Why Watch It? August sees the release of documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the troubled production of this sequel. The notoriety surrounding Heretic has undoubtedly kept plenty of horror fans away from the sequel, but this truly is a “seeing is believing” kind of film. Real talk: it’s undeniably a disaster, but the John Boorman film has also become a minor cult film. Don’t you want to see it to make up your own mind?
- Streaming: July 1
Hostel: Part III (2011)
- Premise: Four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas fall prey to the Elite Hunting Club, who are hosting a gruesome game show of torture.
- Why Watch It? What does Hostel look like without Eli Roth? Part III kinda answers the question. Technically Roth is still a writer, but he hands over the directorial reins to Scott Spiegel (best known for acting in Evil Dead films). The result is a film with a terrible pedigree; it’s also the first (and last) entry to skip theatres before the franchise was permanently shelved (until that TV show with Paul Giamatti shows up?). For some horror fans, however, there’s something exciting about a bad low-budget sequel. Just bear in mind that the Hostel: Part III‘s biggest star is Kip Pardue…so adjust your expectations accordingly before hitting play.
- Streaming: July 1
Insidious 1-3 (2010/2013/2015)
- Premise: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- Why Watch It? It’s hard to believe that the sixth (!) Insidious movie is coming out in a month and a half, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s other horror franchise has been steadily chugging along for sixteen years. It’s a shame that Tubi doesn’t have all five films available to watch, but in terms of quality, you can do far worse than the original trio. The first film is iconic, and the second is basically an extended coda (with some admittedly problematic stuff going on). I’ll go to bat for Whannell’s 2015 directorial debut, though: there’s a few banger sequences in that film that people slept on.
- Streaming: July 1
Man Finds Tape (2025)
- Premise: After finding mysterious video clips, siblings investigate the strange recordings and uncover a disturbing secret spreading through their Texas town.
- Why Watch It? Writer/directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall‘s well-received found footage film did an extensive tour of the festival circuit, so now is a great time to check out one of the most contemporary titles debuting on Tubi this month. Surely a title that hails from producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring and The Endless) is worth a free look?
- Streaming: July 2
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- Premise: A depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton). However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
- Why Watch It? This beautiful, melancholy vampire film is courtesy of writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who doesn’t often dabble in genre fare. As always, some will quibble if this artsy drama qualifies as horror, but the existential ennui of an eternal life certainly qualifies (bonus: there’s also something inherently sexy about watching Hiddleston and Swinton just lay about). Plus: if Leviticus has you hankering for more Wasikowska, this is an under the radar pick.
- Streaming: July 1
The Shallows (2016)
- Premise:A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
- Why Watch It? What better time to watch a shark movie than July? The temperatures are soaring and the idea of escaping into the water is so tantalizing. This tight, contained thriller features a great performance by Lively (and that damn seagull!), but it’s the direction from genre fave Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan; the House of Wax remake) that keeps the movie clicking along like clockwork. At 86 minutes, this is a perfect summer flick.
- Streaming: July 1
Vacancy (2007)
- Premise: Stranded in an isolated motel, a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) become the unsuspecting subjects of a snuff film.
- Why Watch It? I’m not going to pretend that this Nimród Antal-directed home invasion film is high art, but it is a good time. You’ll likely wish there were deeper characterizations for Wilson and Beckinsale’s David and Amy in Mark L. Smith‘s screenplay, but this mid-aughts thriller is tense, exciting, and just the right amount of grimy. Plus: another short runtime, clocking in at an expeditious 85 minutes!
- Streaming: July 1
July Tubi Originals
The One Next Door (2026)
- Premise: When a mysterious stranger moves in next door to Robert and Tabitha, boundaries are tested, loyalty is questioned, and danger comes for all.
- Streaming: July 10
I Know Where You Live (2026)
- Premise: Sarah thinks she’s found “the one” until his flaws emerge. When she pulls away, chilling threats suggest he’s watching her from inside her own home.
- Streaming: July 24
What’s your favorite from the list above? Will you check out the new Original? Sound off in the comments below
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