This year A Slice of Horror is celebrating by holding a marathon of ALL children's Halloween films. We've picked films that best reflect the fun and childlike side of Halloween. To get us started we are looking at R.L. Stine's Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It.
Mr. Stine's work in the world of children's horror has had a great impact on many generations at this point. From Fear Street, to Goosebumps, to The Haunting Hour, many of us can look back on Stine's stories with pleasant nostalgia.
Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It is a newer children's Halloween film that deals with some scarier imagery and darker elements than some of Stine's more well known stories. I obviously didn't see this film as a child myself but was impressed by what this film could possibly do for children today.
Cassie is also having troubles at school with a popular girl named Priscilla and her boyfriend Sean. To escape her troubles Cassie goes to the local library to unwind. However, when she sees a mysterioues Halloween shop she stops in to see what they have.
The strange shopkeeper (Played by Tobin Bell of the Saw franchise) sells her a book called The Evil Thing. The book has a warning on the inside that says "Do Not Read Aloud." Of course Cassie breaks this rule and reads the book to scare her brother. Little does she know that she has awakened an evil monster that she, Max, and Sean will need to fight before Halloween ends.
This first thing I noticed about this movie, and what drew me into watch it, was the great atmosphere. Immediately I felt saturated in the spirit of Halloween and into the lives of these small town people. The spooky wind, the crunch of leaves, festive decorations, it is all there.
The second thing that makes this movie great is Tobin Bell. I loved Bell as Jigsaw in all the Saw movies. In fact, he was probably the main reason I continued to watch the films. His acting is perfectly creepy and cheesy at the same time. The rest of the actors are very cheesy as well but it fits very well with the themes and styles of the movie. I never come into a kids/pre-teen film expecting award winning performances. I'm just looking to be entertained.
The best thing about this movie is the great balance of scares with fun. So many kids "horror" movies are just so goofy or off the wall that the movie feels hollow, and kids pick up on this. While we don't want our kids to be exposed to the gore, trauma, and adult content of R rated horror films kids still enjoy a good scare as much as we do. So by putting in some truly scary elements along with some real issues that kids deal with you get a balance that works well for most children. We need more kids horror like this.
Finally, I have to say I was impressed with all the great practical monster effects they used. Some of the special effects were reminiscent of movies like The Thing and The Fly. This all helps add to the reality of the scares and the credit of the movie.
Summing it Up
Deaths: 0
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 2
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 5
Halloween Factor: 4
Overall Rating: 4