The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

Last updated

R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It
Hauntinghour.PNG
DVD cover
Directed by Alex Zamm
Written by Dan Angel
Billy Brown
Produced byBill Siegler
Starring Emily Osment
Cody Linley
Brittany Curran
Alex Winzenread
Tobin Bell
Cinematography Jacques Haitkin
Edited by John Gilbert
Todd C. Ramsay
Music byChris Hajian
Production
companies
Universal Studios Family Productions
The Hatchery
Steeltown Entertainment
Creata Entertainment
Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release date
  • September 4, 2007 (2007-09-04)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It is a 2007 American children's horror film based on the children's book of the same name by R. L. Stine. The film was directed by Alex Zamm, written by Dan Angel and Billy Brown, and stars Emily Osment, Cody Linley, Brittany Curran, and Tobin Bell. It was released direct-to-DVD. The plot follows a goth girl named Cassie (Emily Osment) moving into a new town and fascinated by the occult. At a mysterious Halloween store, the store owner (Tobin Bell) insists on selling her an old book. Stuck with her brother Max (Alex Winzenread) on Halloween night, she reads the book to him, despite the book's warnings not to read it out loud or think about its monster. After the monster comes to life and captures Max, Cassie, with help from her friend, must save Max and defeat the monster before their parents return from a Halloween party.

Contents

The film was a joint production with Universal Studios Family Productions, The Hatchery, and Steeltown Entertainment. The film was released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on September 4, 2007, and aired on Cartoon Network on September 7, 2007. The film received mostly positive reviews from media critics upon release.

Plot

Cassie Keller (Emily Osment) is a goth girl who just moved with her family to a new neighborhood and school. She loves to play scary pranks on the popular kids at school and her younger brother Max. Priscilla Wright (Brittany Curran), a bully, is elected Halloween Queen for the school's annual Halloween fair. Cassie retaliates against Priscilla's rude comments against her by putting live cockroaches in the Halloween piñata, which Priscilla is due to break; she is showered with the insects after she breaks it, and is mocked by the student body.

Cassie finds a mysterious Halloween store in an alley. The owner (Tobin Bell) insists on selling her an old book titled The Evil Thing, which contains a warning not to read it aloud or think about "The Evil Thing," a two-headed monster: one head sucks its victim's blood while the other head eats flesh. That night, Cassie ignores the warning and reads the book to Max as revenge for him unplugging her computer.

Cassie's parents leave for a Halloween party and The Evil Thing is brought to life by Max's thoughts. it captures him, Priscilla and a Papa John's Pizza deliveryman. It is up to Cassie and Sean (Cody Linley), a popular boy she likes, to save them. Cassie goes to the store owner for help and discovers that he travels around the world each Halloween, searching for a person who loves to scare people, and tricks them into releasing The Evil Thing by reading the book in order to teach them a lesson. He leaves them with the riddle, "Two heads are better than one; that's the way to get the bloody job done" before his shop disappears. Sean and Cassie deduce that if they get blood from a roast that Cassie's mother made and throw it onto The Evil Thing, one head will attack the other. In doing so, it will devour itself. Meanwhile, The Evil Thing's babies hatch and try to eat the victims. The pair try to lure the monster away but fail. They accidentally drop the blood near Max, who must now conquer his fears. Encouraged by Cassie, Max tosses the blood onto The Evil Thing, causing its heads to attack each other. The monster eats itself, exploding in a shower of yellow blood, killing itself and its offspring.

Max, Sean and Cassie save Priscilla and pizza deliveryman. Cassie and Sean then burn the book and set aside their thoughts about The Evil Thing. However, when Cassie's parents come home, they find the book in the fireplace. The father mockingly reads it out loud, reviving The Evil Thing once again. The film concludes with Cassie realizing that The Evil Thing has been brought back to life.

Cast

Production

R. L. Stine wrote the book The Haunting Hour, upon which the film was based. R l stine 2008.jpg
R. L. Stine wrote the book The Haunting Hour, upon which the film was based.

Margaret Loesch, who founded Fox Kids and the Hallmark Channel, served as the executive producer. [1] The film's music score was composed by Chris Hajian. [2] Dan Angel, who wrote the script, said "The key is to do no gore, no violence, no [bad] language, no sex, no one dies, but you can take the audience to a scary place and bring them back". [3]

R. L. Stine was consulted for how the script should be written. There was supposed to be a series based on the short stories in R. L. Stine's book, but the executive producers decided to film their own original story, and Stine contributed what he thought should be added to it. Stine said that the film is no different from his short stories, saying, "It's a really good, creepy adventure for kids, but it never really goes too far, sort of like my stories." [4]

Filming took place in the borough of Carnegie, Pennsylvania as well as Cranberry Township in October and November 2006. [3] Filmed in Pittsburgh, the local Steeltown Entertainment Project has a credit in the film's beginning for investing in the film's production. Other people in Pittsburgh have credits at the end of the film. [5] Over 100 local citizens had a part in the film's production. Loesch stated the filming could not have happened in Pittsburgh without the help of Steeltown. A problem during the production was how many hours children can work each day, due to child labor laws. [3]

Product placement for the film includes a cookie from the restaurant chain Eat'n Park [3] and Papa John's Pizza. The use of pizza delivery by Papa John's Pizza in the film was regarded by Common Sense Media, a media website for parents, reviewer Heather Boerner, as "overly integrated product placement". She criticized the product placement, writing, "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 that the pizza is great, and how the delivery guy was nice. It's enough to make a commercial-conscious parent gag". [6]

Gregory Nicotero and Howard Berger designed the animatronic monster, The Evil Thing. [7] The Evil Thing was created by Nicotero's company KNB FX, the same company that did the special effects for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . [8] The monster's two heads were controlled by two people. Cody Linley described the monster as "nasty", while the director Alex Zamm said, "That's lunch". [3]

Release

Home media

In the United States, the film was rated as "PG" by the Motion Picture Association of America for "scary content and thematic elements". [9] [10] It was rated "12" by the British Board of Film Classification in the United Kingdom. [11]

The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It was released on DVD with seven special features, including Emily Osment singing "I Don't Think About It", a behind the scenes video of the production, a personality test that compares the viewer to the characters, an interview with R. L. Stine and the film's cast, and three trailers for other films. The DVD is in widescreen format with English Dolby Digital 5.0 sound. Subtitles on the DVD are available in English, French, and Spanish. [7] The DVD was released on September 4, 2007 in the United States and on October 22, 2007 in the United Kingdom. [12] [13] [14]

The DVD release of The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It was reported as the fourth top children's DVD rental on a chart from the Orlando Sentinel , published on September 28, 2007. [15]

Television

The film aired on the children's cable channel Cartoon Network on September 7, 2007. [5] A re-airing of the film received the most viewers of that week for the channel. [16]

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews. William Lee, a reviewer writing for the Movie Metropolis, said "Don't Think About It is a very simplistic and straightforward tale. The characters all fit into the standard roles of popular boy, outsider and mean girl, and they never advance beyond those descriptions". [17]

Nick Lyons of DVD Talk wrote: "As the children's horror movie/television field is sparse, this film is a perfect opportunity for youngins to experience the genre before eventually moving on to classic horror movies. Hopefully we shall see more Haunting Hour films in the future". [7] In her review for About.com, Carey Bryson said: "The movie is a great Halloween flick for kids in the target age group (about ages 8-14, depending on their ability to handle scary content), and stars some of the big names in current kid culture". [18] Melanie Dee of Yahoo! Voices called The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It "a fast-paced movie". She noted the scenes "jump quickly and get the point across, making it an easy to follow upbeat flick that kids and parents alike will enjoy." [19]

Accolades

In 2008, film writers Dan Angel and Billy Brown were nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for the Children's Script - Long Form or Special category. [20] At the 29th Young Artist Awards, Cody Linley and Emily Osment were nominated for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special - Leading Young Actor and Actress categories, respectively. [21]

Spin-off

The film spawned a television spin-off series called R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour , which premiered October 29, 2010 on the Hub Network. The series was similar to R.L. Stine's previous anthology television series, Goosebumps , and had a different story in each episode. [22] It was cancelled on December 6, 2014. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. L. Stine</span> American writer and producer (born 1943)

Robert Lawrence Stine, sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor.

<i>Goosebumps</i> Series of childrens novels by R. L. Stine

Goosebumps is a series of horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the paranormal, or the occult. Between 1992 to 1997, 62 books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title. R. L. Stine also wrote various spin-off series, including, Goosebumps Series 2000, Give Yourself Goosebumps, Tales to Give You Goosebumps, Goosebumps Triple Header, Goosebumps HorrorLand, Goosebumps Most Wanted and Goosebumps SlappyWorld. Additionally there was a series called Goosebumps Gold that was never released.

Michael Myers (<i>Halloween</i>) Fictional character in the Halloween franchise

Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) as a young boy who murders his elder sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he returns home to Haddonfield, Illinois, to murder more teenagers. In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film and substituted by Tony Moran in the final scene where Michael's face is revealed. The character was created by John Carpenter and has been featured in twelve films, as well as novels, video games, and comic books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Osment</span> American actress, singer and songwriter

Emily Jordan Osment is an American actress, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Osment began her career as a child actress, appearing in numerous television shows and films, before co-starring as Gerti Giggles in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002) and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003). She played Lilly Truscott on the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana (2006–2011) and its film spinoff Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009).

<i>The Nightmare Room</i> American horror anthology television series (2001–2002)

The Nightmare Room is an American children's anthology horror series that aired on Kids' WB. The series was based on the short-lived children's book series that went by the same title created by Goosebumps author, R. L. Stine. The Nightmare Room originally aired from August 31, 2001, to March 16, 2002, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cody Linley</span> American actor (born 1989)

Cody Martin Linley is an American actor and singer. He played a recurring role as Jake Ryan in the television series Hannah Montana, and was a contestant on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, in which he was partnered with Julianne Hough and finished fourth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slappy the Dummy</span> Villain in the Goosebumps book series

Slappy the Dummy is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the Goosebumps children's series by R. L. Stine. He is one of the series' most popular villains, the main antagonist of the Night of the Living Dummy saga and the mascot of the franchise. He is also the main antagonist of the Goosebumps movie and its sequel, where Stine describes him as a "ventriloquist's dummy with a serious Napoleonic complex". He comes alive by these words: "Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molanu Karrano", and they can be found on a sheet of paper in Slappy's jacket pocket. After coming to life, Slappy will try to make the person who brought him to life serve him as a slave, to the point that he will frame that person for bad things that he does.

The Haunting Hour may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Think About It</span> 2007 single by Emily Osment

I Don't Think About It is a song performed by Emily Osment for R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It. The song hit #1 on the Radio Disney top 3. Osment also shot an accompanying music video for the song, released in The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It DVD. The song was written by Ilene Angel and Sue Fabisch.

Cassie Keller may refer to:

<i>Goosebumps</i> (film) 2015 American comedy horror film by Rob Letterman

Goosebumps is a 2015 American comedy horror film directed by Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Darren Lemke. It is based on R. L. Stine's children's horror book series of the same name and stars Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, and Jillian Bell. The plot follows a fictionalized version of Stine who teams up with his teenage daughter and their neighbor to save their hometown after all the monsters from the Goosebumps franchise escape from their books, wreaking havoc in the real world.

<i>The Haunting Hour: The Series</i> Canadian-American horror-fantasy television anthology

R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series is an original anthology horror-fantasy television series which is based on the 2007 movie R.L Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It and the anthologies The Haunting Hour and Nightmare Hour by R.L. Stine, that originally aired on The Hub Network from October 29, 2010 to October 11, 2014. The only story taken from The Haunting Hour anthology was My Imaginary Friend, and the only story unused from The Nightmare Hour was Make Me a Witch. The fourth season's seven remaining episodes ran on Discovery Family from October 18, 2014 to November 29, 2014. The series was produced by Front Street Pictures, The Hatchery, Incendo Films, and Endemol.

<i>Nightmare Hour</i> Book by R.L. Stine

Nightmare Hour is a 1999 children's horror collection by R. L. Stine. It is composed of 10 different short stories, ranging from "Pumpkinhead" to "The Ghostly Stare", and was a New York Times bestseller from the year 1999 to 2000.

The 33rd Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Association, honored excellence of young performers between the ages of 5 and 21 in the fields of film, television, theater and music for the year 2011. Nominees were announced on Saturday March 31, 2012. Winners were announced on Sunday May 6, 2012 in the Empire Ballroom of the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, California.

<i>Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?</i> 2014 American film

Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? is a 2014 American horror comedy fantasy film directed by Peter Hewitt. The film is a sequel to the 2008 film Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out?. The film is based on the second book of the same name by R. L. Stine and the second installment in the Mostly Ghostly film series. The film was released on DVD on September 2, 2014, and was broadcast on Disney Channel on October 11, 2014.

<i>Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls</i> 2015 American film

Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls is a 2015 American comedy horror film based on the 2012 novel of the same name by R.L. Stine. It is directed by Peter DeLuise, written and produced by Dan Angel and Billy Brown, and executive produced by Stine. It stars Dove Cameron, Katherine McNamara, Braeden Lemasters, Tiffany Espensen and Ryan McCartan.

<i>Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween</i> 2018 film by Ari Sandel

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a 2018 American comedy horror film directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke. A stand-alone sequel to 2015's Goosebumps, it is based on the children's horror book series of the same name by R. L. Stine. The new cast consists of Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell, and Ken Jeong. The plot follows two young boys who accidentally release the monsters from the Goosebumps franchise in their town after opening an unpublished Goosebumps manuscript titled Haunted Halloween, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night.

References

  1. ↑ Owen, Rob (October 10, 2010). "Tuned In: The Hub Network offers programs for younger children". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  2. ↑ "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)". Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Owen, Rob (November 21, 2006). "Evil lurks in Collier (But it's kid-friendly and coming to an 'R.L. Stine' DVD)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  4. ↑ Rhudy, Ben (September 1, 2007). "M&C Interview: R.L. Stine talks "The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It"". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Owen, Rob (September 4, 2007). "TV/DVD Review: Locally filmed 'Haunting Hour' delivers frightful Stine-style fun". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  6. ↑ Heather Boerner, "Review of R.L. Stine's Haunting House: Don't Think About: Tween-friendly, ad-happy Halloween fright fest Archived 2009-06-15 at the Wayback Machine ", Common Sense Media.
  7. 1 2 3 Lyons, Nick. "RL Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  8. ↑ Louise Boursaw, Jane (September 14, 2007). "Interview: Emily Osment of R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)". FilmRatings.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "R.L. STINE'S THE HAUNTING HOUR - DON'T THINK ABOUT IT". British Board of Film Classification. 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It". Amazon. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  13. ↑ "The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (UK - DVD R2)". DVD Active. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ "R.L. Stine's 'The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It' All-New Spooky Fare For The Entire Family". Starpulse. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  15. ↑ "DVD & Video". Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It". Steeltown Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  17. ↑ Lee, William (September 3, 2007). "R.L. STINE'S THE HAUNTING HOUR: DON'T THINK ABOUT IT - DVD review". Movie Metropolis. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  18. ↑ Bryson, Carey. "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It - DVD Review for Parents". About.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  19. ↑ Dee, Melanie (13 September 2007). "R.L. Stine's Haunting Hour, Don't Think About It: Movie Review". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  20. ↑ "WGA announce TV, radio nominees". Variety. December 12, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  21. ↑ "29th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Association. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  22. ↑ Lowry, Brian (October 28, 2010). "Review: "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series"". Variety. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  23. ↑ Stine, R. L. (December 6, 2014). "Apologies for those of you looking for The Haunting Hour today. The show has been dropped by the Discovery Family Channel..." Twitter. Archived from the original on February 13, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.