The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

This little gem from Halloween season 2007 has a special place in me and my family's black little hearts. I'm the "dad" raised on 1980's horror and, in 2007, and now a dad of 2 kids too young (at the time) to see some of my 70s, 80s and 90s horror favorite, was looking for alternative "family horror". Sure, there's Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown and many others, but I wanted something a little more relevant and newer for the time. Once I saw the ads for an "R. L. Stine Halloween" movie premiering on Cartoon Network! We watched it when it aired (early September mind you) and INSTANTLY, my kids wanted to watch it again! It played all throughout the season that year and it became a household favorite repeated many times the way some grew up watching "Lion King" or "Aladdin" over and over again. Now, with my kids in their very early 20s, we revisited this and, despite some things being outdated ("am I being punk'd?") it was still pure, nostalgic fun! Its got some heavy horror hitters for the creature fx (KNB fx), Tobin Bell (Saw) and Chris Hajian's music is especially eerie with a main opening theme that comes off like a creepy music box (reminded me of Dead Silence, also released in 2007). As a "starter horror" for the younger ones, its slightly more intense then the movies I mentioned above, but PERFECT for some brave kids come Halloween time!!

The movie is kind of childish and the monster was awful. Like seriously, I have to look into the release date twice as I was confused, was it really a movie of 2007? The monster was creepy and kind of like cartoon. There isn't much story in this. It's about a book and if a person reads the movie aloud then the monster arises. And then little guys fight with them that's it xD.

I won't recommend this to anyone .

It was in-between bad and horrible. I excepted much more from this movie, it wasn't even the least bit scary. And 'The evil thing?' come on.. couldn't they have thought of something more original? I did however enjoy a few parts, and the actresses/actors were pretty good at their roles. The thing that made me bring this movie down a few stars then i would have is the little brother, he is such an annoying pest and is scared of the silliest things. Emily Osment looked completely different in this movie compared to her character in Hannah Montana, it was pretty cool to see her dressed as a goth. The plot was unsatisfying but at least it ran smoothly. I would rate this movie 5 out of ten stars.

I simply love this movie! It's a fun flick that I enjoy watching anytime of the year. I especially like the fact that it was shot here in the Pittsburgh area. The boy who plays Ralph in the movie should have had a bigger part. He should have gone to fight the evil thing with the rest of them. Anyway, you should see him now!!! He's 16 and he has grow into quite a hottie!!! He is performing now with a group called the UNDALRDS. He performs under the name Z1Nation, and one of his hits is called Black Superman. To find out more about him, you search for him on google or youtube. His videos can be found on laydash's channel.

Horror-obsessed Cassie Keller (Emily Osment) likes to scare his afraid little brother. She's the new student at Knoxville Jr High. She has a crush on Sean (Cody Linley). When she offers to help Sean on his Edgar Allan Poe book report, jealous Priscilla Wright (Brittany Curran) starts bullying her. Cassie buys a book "The Evil Thing" at a mysterious Halloween store from a mystery man (Tobin Bell). Priscilla wins Pumpkin Queen at the Halloween dance and Cassie plays a prank on her. Priscilla returns the favor on Halloween night. Cassie reads the book to her little brother despite the warning "Do Not Read Aloud" bringing forth something evil.

R.L. Stine is a widely liked kiddie horror series. It's usually similar to adult horrors without the grotesque or sexuality and at a lower horror level. This one is perfectly fine but the monsters look really cheesy. Emily Osment is able to walk the line between victim and pouty teen. It really needs to work on the creature effects. Actually, I would like mature horrors with children as protagonists. This could be that kind of horror if it's scarier with more grotesque realistic creatures.