Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
Starring Jim Varney, Eartha Kitt & Austin Nagler
Directed by John R. Cherry III
Written by John R. Cherry III & Coke Sams

 

So how does a film series like this make it onto a site like this? Well, eventually, they wanted to follow the success of their first holiday film, Ernest Saves Christmas and decided to do the next biggest holiday, Halloween. With this, they explained Ernest's family history, and revealed that they were fearful... and stupid. They would also have him do battle with a rather ugly and scary looking troll. This film came out in 1991 and was called Ernest Scared Stupid.

Ernest Scared Stupid

The movie begins showing Ernest acting scared in green and red lights while the credits show scenes from classic black and white monster films. The film then shifts to an unknown time with a young girl running for her life from some creature in the woods. She is nearly grabbed by it, but it's caught by villagers. As the town leader, Worrell, buries it under an oak tree, the troll, Trantor, vows that Worrell will be cursed and he will be freed by his heirs.

We're then taken to a class where Elizabeth is telling the story we just saw. Kenny likes the story (partly due to his crush on her), although the jerk Murdock brothers make fun of them (being the mayor's kids they get away with it). When asked what the curse was laid on, she mentions that the curse was that his children would grow dumber by the generation.

The film shifts to Ernest, who has invented a clever means to clean the garbage cans while he stands on top of the his garbage truck (being the city garbage official). Things go wrong though and he's knocked into the back with the garbage. As his dog Rimshot tries to help, he accidentally starts the compactor. Despite trying to jam it, Ernest gets packed into a square of garbage.

Walking by, Kenny along with Elizabeth hears his crys for help. Trying to impress her, Kenny frees Ernest and helps him out.

Meanwhile, Mayor Murdock meets Kenny's father, the town Sheriff, about Ernest not going to Old Lady Hackmore's place to clean it up. As they talk, Ernest drives by in the wrong direction. The Sheriff then follows and berates him for not getting the job done. He also has the kids get out.

At Hackmore's house, Ernest makes his way through her scrap metal garden and knocks on her door. He tries to leave, but Hackmore rushes out and demands he leave. He then tries to plead his case, but she replies that he's Worrell's heir and demands he never show up again.

Meanwhile, Kenny, Elizabeth and their friend Joey build a Haunted house for Halloween. Sadly, as they inspect it, the Murdock brothers break it down.

At Ernest's place, Kenny asks what to do. Ernest then acts out several characters and offers a suggestion, get the high ground and build a Treefort.

Ernest then takes the kids on a trip through the woods to find the perfect tree. After several failures, they find a creepy place with a huge old tree. Bringing his extra stuff, they then begin to construct the house. However, Worrell's ancestor's words are heard as Trantor starts to awaken in his tomb below, both Rimshot and Hackmore sensing something isn't right.

After a lot of hard work, they finally complete the house. Their celebration is cut short though as Hackmore arrives and condemns Ernest for even setting foot in this area. Ernest then goes after her to try and negotiate, thinking it's really her property. While he's gone, the Murdock brothers arrive and decide to throw rocks. The kids, prepared this time, fire old pizzas and dog food at them, making them flee.

When Ernest returns, the kids tell him about how they won against the bullies and how he was right. They then ask about Hackmore and he mentions her fear of the old legend of Trantor. Elizabeth takes it serious while the rest of them think its lame. Ernest even goes as far as to put his hand on the tree and summons forth Trantor and knocks on it.

In doing so, Trantor is awakened below and the area suddenly becomes darker. The kids, sensing something isn't right, flee and leave Ernest behind. Alone with Rimshot, he gets fearful out in the dark. When he and Rimshot try and leave, he sees Trantor in the shadows who tries to get him, but flees suddenly after spilling some food.

As the kids split up, Joey gets spooked by himself. After slipping in a mud puddle he struggles to get out. Something then takes his hand and he hears Ernest's voice, relaxing. But when he looks up, he sees Trantor, who has a huge head, 2 noses and rotted teeth. He's then turned into a small wooden doll.

Ernest in a panic runs to Kenny's house and warns his dad about the troll, but despite his and Kenny's warning, the Sheriff just sees it as a nightmare they both had. Meanwhile, Trantor takes the doll of Joey and puts it in the tree, which causes green egg-like plants to sprout out of the branches, his children.

Ernest then flees to Hackmore who reveals that he let the Troll out. Hackmore brings him in (much to his fear of her household) and pulls out a book she hoped would never open. Inside, she reads about the troll and a poem of a child's heart and reveals that Ernest is the one hope they have, the Redneck Hero. Hearing it, he decides his must save them.

The next day, his grand plan is to run around town with a megaphone warning about the troll, but people just laugh him off.

Ernest then interrupts the Tulip brothers as they record a commercial for there mega-store. At first, they take him as a joke, but when they see they can make money off of him, they exploit his fears and use it sell some worthless items.

Meanwhile, Kenny and Elizabeth go back to the fort to look for Joey. When they arrive, they notice a new alcove and find the Joey doll inside. As they inspect it, Trantor sneaks in and scares them away. He then follows them to Hackmore's place, but he sees another kid skateboarding and grabs him instead.

Inside, Kenny and Joey warn Ernest and Hackmore about the doll to which Hackmore insists Ernest work faster, as well as scare the kids for fun. Ernest then sets up a trap with a Garbage unit and takes the kids home (Elizabeth giving Kenny a kiss on the cheek).

When Kenny gets home, he's jumped by the Murdocks who mock him, but leave when his mother arrives. As Kenny goes off searching for his dad, Elizabeth is reluctant to get ready in her room. After her mother insists she get ready for the costume dance, she summons up the courage to look under her bed and only finds a stuffed animal. When some comes back up, she finds Trantor in her bed next to her.

Meanwhile, Ernest has Rimshot dressed up like a child and prepares a huge bear trap. He finally gets it set up, only to have it close on him.

As Kenny continues to search for his dad, Ernest talks with the Tulips over the radio (still playing along with him), and then heads into the local market to stock up. Trantor sees him and follows him in. At the check out, the clerk sees Trantor and can't speak out of fright, so uses big actions to tell what he sees (Ernest thinking its Charades). When he pulls out a shotgun, Ernest throws back his milk, which makes Trantor flee.

Kenny, still looking for his dad, finds another kid from school and asks for help, until both start to hear Elizabeth's voice. He goes to inspect a large metal pipe, but when he turns around, he sees Trantor turning his friend into a doll. Trantor then chases him through the backyards and streets of town, taunting him with Elizabeth's voice. Kenny barely escapes when a milk truck comes between the two and Trantor disappears.

As Ernest drives around, his warning system for his trap goes off. He, along with Kenny, goes to the Sheriff with the Mayor (after being scolded by parents about missing kids and Ernest not doing his job). When he opens the back of the dump truck, the Murlock boys come out, Ernest having screwed up. The Mayor then fires Ernest and the Sheriff tells him to grow up. After they leave, Ernest gets depressed about what happened, but Rimshot bites him to get him to continue.

Back at the tree, Trantor sets up the dolls to make his seedpods grow stronger, needing just one more. Hackmore also collects some dolls from Trantor's first reign of terror. Before he can leave though Ernest arrives and checks up on the tree, deciding to warn Hackmore, when Trantor charges him, Ernest knocks him down when opening his door.

While driving back to Hackmore's, Ernest truck is suddenly attacked by Trantor. After failing to drive him off using the cleaning products and the Tulips not helping over the radio, Ernest and Trantor fight from inside, to the top, to the back of the truck, with Rimshot driving. After several failed attempts at beating him, Ernest finally knocks him off the truck with some rope, however, it gets caught on the truck and Trantor pulls it back. Ernest then has Rimshot put it reverse and runs him over.

As the drive on, they look but can't find him anywhere. Finally, Trantor drops onto the front of the truck and uses a powerful steam breath to break the window and knock Ernest into a spare barrel; he then knocks him off the truck. Ernest trapped in the barrel, along with Rimshot, go to Hackmore's place for her to help. As she tries to free him, he then finds that the book about trolls had 2 pages stuck together and discovers his weakness, milk, which Ernet mistakes for Miak.

At the school, Kenny's dropped off in time for the costume contest. Meanwhile, Ernest and Hackmore arrive. As Ernest rushes to warn them, Hackmore sees a mother and daughter fight but make up, and relizes what some of the poem might have meant.

Ernest then runs in and warns about the troll, but everyone still won't listen. Backstage, Trantor gets in line and is made fun by one of the Murdock kids. Angered, he attacks him and knocks down the curtain, scaring all the adults. Despite his father trying to save him, Murdock is turned into a doll before everyone.

After everyone flees, Ernest confronts Trantor and threatens him with actual Miak. Trantor is confused and annoyed, and uses his breath to knock him into a concession stand. Rimshot attacks Trantor, but something happens we don't see. When he then goes to finish Ernest, he sees that he's covered in Ice Cream.

After he flees, all the towns people come back to check on him. Ernest is fine, but is saddened to find Rimshot has been turned into wood by Trantor. After he leaves, the towns people decide they've had enough and follow Ernest out to the tree.

As Hackmore gets a bike and makes her way to the tree, the kids still at school decide to take action into there own hands as Kenny relizes that it's milk that kills trolls. They then go to the market on there bikes and snatches water pistols and milk products.

Back at the tree, Trantor puts in the final doll and completes the spell. But just as he does it, Ernest arrives and charges his truck into him, squashing him. When Ernest gets out, he can't find him anywhere, but he is shocked to see that the seedpods are about ready to drop.

As they begin drop, he tries to stop them from landing on the ground, but fails. As they sink into the ground, new troll warriors rise from below, and at Trantors orders, attack Ernest. The town's people then arrive, but are no match at all for the new army. As chaos begins, the Tulip brothers take photos of it as it'll be their ticket to fame.

When all seems lost, the children arrive armed with milk and guns and start to put an end to the trolls. Seeing it, Trantor flees below the tree. Meanwhile, Hackmore arrives and puts her dolls into the tree.

As Kenny and Ernest wipe out the trolls from the fort (Ernest popping out his multiple characters again), one of the Trolls eats the film from the Tulips camera, only to be milked and killed by a kid. Little do they all know, Trantor is below the tree, summoning spirits to increase his strength, which cause him to grow horns and bigger claws.

On top, Ernest and Kenny kill the last two trolls. The town's people cheer as they bask in the glory, but Hackmore warns that it isn't over just yet.

Suddenly, a roar is heard. Turning around, Trantor is seen at the top of the tree, now more powerful and even more wicked looking. To prevent the people from helping, he causes the ground to crack and fire to erupt to keep them back.

He then drops down and throws Ernest out of the fort. Now alone with him, Trantor mocks Kenny with Elizabeth's voice again. He tries milk, but sees that it doesn't work. After failing to flee, Trantor turns him into a doll and throws it down for all to see.

Dropping down, Trantor finally confronts Ernest and vows that it's his time to die. Armed with milk, the people urge him to kill him, but as he stands ready, Ernest recites the poem again knowing that it's what will really destroy him.

To everyone's shock, Ernest smiles, picks him up, then starts to dance with him. He then claims him cute and kisses him (much to his disgust). This works, as Trantor starts to shake and convulse, then explodes. The people then gather around Ernest and thank him, to which he brags about winning.

As he goes on, Kenny and all the other children suddenly return to normal. The parents then go and embrace there lost children, along with Hackmore who sees the dolls she put in are back to normal now.

Seeing Ernest alone, she goes to him to see what's wrong, and he mentions that everyone's got something back but him. But to his shock, Rimshot comes out of his truck and runs to him. Hackmore then watches as he sinks down and plays with his friend again.

Fun Facts

Jim Varney would play Ernest in 10 films, counting this one, along with a few commercials and failed a TV series. An 11th film was planned, Ernest the Pirate, but Varney died from lung cancer due to years of smoking and it was canceled.

This is the second film to revolve around a Holiday, the first being Ernest Saves Christmas. In it, he must help Santa convince a star of a children's TV series to accept the role of Santa, as well as help a runaway girl lighten up.

This film would be the last Ernest film that would be successful in theatres, the next film, Ernest Rides Again, would fail at the box office and every film after would be Direct to DVD.

This was also the last film to be produced by Disney, every other would be done independently.

The footage in the opening credits are: Nosferatu, White Zombie, Phantom from Space, The Brain from Planet Arous, The Screaming Skull, Missile to the Moon, The Hideous Sun Demon, The Giant Gila Monster, The Killer shrews, Battle Beyond the Sun and The Little Shop of Horrors. All the films used were used because they were not copyrighted and could be used for free.

My rating: G

For this film, I was kind of pushing for PG, but after some thinking, I wasn't sure. The film is very slapstick (it's Ernest after all) and very comedic. But also, Trantor himself can be scary at times, which would have made it PG. The question is simple, which did it have more of, scares or laughs? I'd say laughs so I'm going for a G rating here.

That's it for this issue. Next time, we look at the work…yes, once again, Tim Burton. This time though, we tackle Halloween and Christmas at the same time. Until then, Happy Halloween.