R.L. Stine's Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It - PG
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that while this movie is from the same people who created the creepy, crawly series Goosebumps, it's more of an ad for products like Papa John's Pizza than anything else. Parents should also know that Cassie does some pretty antisocial things, like terrorizing her little brother with ghost stories, hiding in his closet to scare him, and filling a piñata with roaches so Priscilla will be covered in them -- all because she's angry that she had to move and Priscilla humiliated her. Parents should also know that the movie gets pretty scary at different points, especially when the kids attempt to kill The Evil Thing.
Families can talk about why scaring siblings is fun and how to better express their feelings. How does Cassie get punished for terrorizing her brother? Do you think her punishment is fair?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Heather Boerner
All good scary movies depend on the active imagination of the viewer. Just consider the power of suggestion in The Blair Witch Project to terrorize people. R.L. STINE'S HAUNTING HOUR: DON'T THINK ABOUT IT makes good use of this technique. The whole story is based around one simple and irresistible order: If you don't want the boogeyman to get you, don't think about him.
Cassie (Hannah Montana's Emily Osment) is new to town and different from the other kids: She's fascinated by the occult and Halloween is her favorite holiday. Despite her mom's (Michelle Duffy) best efforts, all Cassie will wear is black. She's a goth tween. Cranky that the popular girl in school, Priscilla, (Brittany Curran, who's been on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) humiliated her in the lunchroom and hijacked her attempt to get close to dreamy Sean (Hannah Montana's Cody Linley), Cassie is lured into a mysterious Halloween store. There, a stranger (Saw's Tobin Bell) insists on selling her an old book called The Evil Thing.
The book's first page insists that she not read the book aloud, and the last line implores that she not think about the monster that she's just read about. But when she's stuck babysitting brother Max (Alex Winzenread) on Halloween night, she breaks the rules and reads it to him just before bed. Can she save her brother and defeat this other-worldly creature before Mom and Dad get back from their Halloween party?
What's great about Don't Think about It is that it's straightforward. The bickering between Cassie and Max is totally relatable to anyone with siblings, which makes the plot seem plausible and that much more scary. It's a more kid-friendly version of It, combined with a less evil version of The Craft. This campfire-style horror story is predictable to adults, but kids who've never seen any of those other movies may enjoy this and be on the edge of their seats for most of it.
What's not great here is the insistence on cross-promotion. Tween stars these days, perhaps motivated by the mega-mogul example of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, are branded to within an inch of their lives. Star Emily Osment never really disappears into her character because it's so clear that she's Emily Osment -- a fact reiterated by her music video at the end of the movie. It's a song she recorded just for this movie and it's not an extra feature -- it starts just as the credits end and is included as part of the length of the DVD.
But the overly integrated product placement of Papa John's Pizza is too much: Not only is the pizza delivery guy included in more than half of the DVD, but the logo is present and the kids are shown munching ecstatically on the pizza at the end of the movie. They even say things like, "What great pizza!" and something along the lines of "That delivery guy sure was nice!" It's enough to make a commercial-conscious parent gag.
People who like this movie may also enjoy the Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, the Goosebumps series, The Monster Squad, and the Halloweentown made-for-TV movie series.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentFlirting between Sean and Priscilla and Cassie and Sean, but no kissing. |
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ViolenceLots of creepy violence, including a slimy monster with babies encased in eggs on its back. The pizza delivery guy, Max, and Priscilla get captured by The Evil Thing and wrapped up in a cocoon. The babies almost eat Max. Max throws blood on The Evil Thing and it kills itself by biting itself to death. |
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LanguageOne use of "dang." |
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Social BehaviorLots of jealousy and conniving among girls, including Priscilla threatening Sean and Cassie filling a piñata with roaches, which rain down on Priscilla. Cassie also intentionally terrorizes her brother with scary stories and pranks. |
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CommercialismWith a coupon in the DVD box for a free Papa John Pizza and a Papa John delivery guy figuring prominently into the plot, they only forgot the scratch-and-sniff pizza stickers. You'll also find an Aquapod, an iPod, and the Berenstein Bears. There's also a video at the end for a song by star Emily Osment. |
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