Ernest Scared Stupid | |
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Theatrical release poster by John Alvin.
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Directed by | John Cherry |
Produced by | Stacy Williams Martin Erlichman Coke Sams (Co-producer) |
Screenplay by | Charlie Gale Coke Sams |
Story by |
John Cherry Coke Sams |
Starring | |
Music by | Bruce Arntson Kirby Shelstad |
Cinematography | Hanania Baer |
Edited by | Craig Bassett |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
Release date
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October 11, 1991 (Theatrical) |
Running time
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91 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $14.1 million |
Ernest Scared Stupid is a 1991 American horror comedy dark fantasy film directed by John R. Cherry III and starring Jim Varney. It is the fifth film to feature the character Ernest P. Worrell. It has him accidentally unleashing an army of trolls upon a small town on Halloween and the plot involves him joining a few children in fighting back. It was shot in Nashville, Tennessee like its predecessors Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas, and Ernest Goes to Jail.
Due to its modest gross of $14,143,280 at the U.S. box office, it was the final Ernest film to be released under the Disney label Touchstone Pictures. All future Ernest films were independently produced, and following the financial failure of the theatrical release Ernest Rides Again, the Ernest films shifted to a straight-to-video market.
Its opening credits feature a montage of clips from various horror and science fiction films, including Nosferatu (1922), White Zombie (1932), Phantom from Space (1953), The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), The Screaming Skull (1958), Missile to the Moon (1958), The Hideous Sun Demon (1959), The Giant Gila Monster (1959), The Killer Shrews (1959), Battle Beyond the Sun (1959), and The Little Shop of Horrors (1960).