Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) on Netflix
PG19911h 31mComedyFamilyFantasy
In Briarville, Missouri, Ernest P. Worrell helps three children build a treehouse in an oak that holds the tomb of Trantor, a troll sealed beneath it. Ernest accidentally frees him.
- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb5.9/1014,367 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes17%
Trailer
Plot summary
In the late 19th century, the troll Trantor turns children into wooden dolls in Briarville, Missouri. The townspeople capture him and seal him beneath an oak tree. Reverend Phineas Worrell, a village minister and ancestor of Ernest P. Worrell, sets the seal, and Trantor curses the Worrell family: every generation will grow dumber until the dumbest one frees him on October 30, the night before Halloween. A century later, sanitation worker Ernest P. Worrell helps middle school friends Kenny Binder, Elizabeth, and Joey build a treehouse in that same oak, after the mayor's sons destroy their cardboard haunted house. Old Lady Hackmore sees the treehouse and leaves angrily. Ernest follows her, hears the story of Trantor, and repeats it to the children. He then inadvertently releases the troll.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- John Cherry, who directed the previous entries in the series, began from a simple premise of Ernest trying to stop "a bad guy with a mission". He researched several types of antagonists in fiction and became intrigued with trolls, which led to a Halloween Ernest film.
- The film placed fourth in its opening weekend, making $4.4 million from 1,782 theaters, and grossed a total of $14.1 million in the United States.
- A film named Ernest Scared Stiff was announced in two issues of Variety published on June 10 and July 22, 1991; the June 10 issue also mentioned the final name, Ernest Scared Stupid.
