Ernest Scared Stupid : looking back on this film now as an adult

I haven't seen this film since I was a kid, but I remember being really scared at certain scenes, so much so that I had to look away, even on my second or third viewing. I am 26 now, and I'm guessing the first time I saw this movie was when I was around 7 or 8 years old. Anyone else in the 24-30 range remember seeing this movie when it first came out and being scared? What about kids these days? Do they have a similar reaction? I wonder what I would think of the movie if I saw it again now

> Melancholia, Kokurikozaka kara, L'Illusionniste

I'm 25 and saw this movie on VHS when it first came out with a couple of friends. I remember it well, we had Pizza Hut pizza while watching the movie (they were doing a Universal Studios Monsters tie-in), and everything seemed monstery and halloweeny that day.

I definitely remember being creeped out by "boogerlips," and also the foggy woods and that great theme music. The whole idea of being turned into a wooden doll and used to impregnate some gnarly troll tree was also very unsettling to me. But of course Jim Varney kept me laughing too, so I never got too scared.

Rewatching the film, it definitely is not as powerful as it used to be. Neither as creepy, as dramatic, nor as funny. But I still really enjoy it, and I think it works. Jim Varney will always be brilliant and entertaining, but the amazing special effects and slapstick humour really blend well with the Ernest character, and for that I think it will remain a standout (B) movie. And again, I can't say enough about that wonderfully catchy, underrated music.

I guess if I was seeing this for the first time as a 25 yr old, I probably wouldn't be too enthralled, given the bad acting and bad writing. But fortunately I'm able to view the film through the awe-struck eyes of a 5-6 year old from 1991

We must've seen it around the same time, since we're so close in age. I really have to look at this movie again. From what you said there's still something to take from it now as an adult. My taste in movies has definitely changed, but I still have fond memories of this one.

> Hanna, Melancholia, Kokurikozaka kara, L'Illusionniste, Source Code

Definitely watch it again. I bought it on DVD as part of an Ernest triple feature (with "Camp" & "Jail"). It's pretty obvious that the film is targeted toward children, and there isn't any "hidden" adult humor but if you really appreciate great (comedic) performances, slapstick/gross-out comedy, practical horror-movie effects, and the (classical) horror genre in general; then you should totally get some enjoyment out of the film.

Thats how I bought it, the wal-mart $5 bin is the best! I wasn't going to let my son watch it until he was a little older (didn't think 2 was the right age for this movie) because I also remember it being a little too scary. But he knows how to work the DVD player & put it on himself one day. I left it on and told him many times throughout the movie that if it gets too scary for him just tell me & I'll turn it off. He watched the whole movie & loved it, and has seen it many times since. A few weeks later, I put on Matilda because I thought he'd enjoy it but he was terrified of Mrs Trunchbull. When I asked him why she scares him but he's not scared of Ernest Scared Stupid, he cut his eyes up at me and said "Mamathats just trolls."


How can you tell that someone's a compulsive liar? I mean assuming that their pants aren't on fire.

I was I think 8, when I first saw this on TV, and I didn't even get to see the whole movie the first time, my genius father cut off the tape in the middle of recording. But I watched it from my room that night right before going to bed, and I think I stopped watching after the troll got Elizabeththat scared the HELL out of me, him on the other side of the bed. I never believed in trolls but I was scared to go to sleep that night. But I LOVED this movie, it was so funny, and I still watch it every year.

The reason it was scary then and it's not scary now is because the troll went after children, when we were children. You watched the movie thinking he was coming for you next.

Yea I remember watching this movie as a kid (early to mid 90's I'm 28 now) and I remember the troll being really freaky and well done. I also remember some of the scenes being pretty intense like this one kid in a dark forest screaming and running from the troll and he fell in the mud and couldn't get out and the troll got him. I don't remember being really scared, but I remember the scenes were pretty intense for a kid's movie.