R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It

R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It is an American 2007 children's horror fantasy film based on the children's book of the same name by R. L. Stine. The film was released on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on September 4, 2007, and was the first family direct-to-video film to be released on DVD in separate widescreen and pan and scan formats. On September 7, 2007 it was released as a television film on the Cartoon Network.
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.
==Plot==
Cassie (Emily Osment) is a thirteen-year-old goth girl who just moved to a new neighborhood and school. She loves playing tricks on the popular kids at school, such as filling a piñata with cockroaches, and her younger brother Max (Alex Winzenread).
On the way to the library, Cassie finds a mysterious Halloween store down an alley and goes inside. The store owner (Tobin Bell) sells her a book called The Evil Thing which contains a warning on the front page: "DO NOT READ ALOUD". That night, Priscilla (Brittany Curran), who stole The Evil Thing from Cassie's bag in school, gets back at Cassie and films her jumping in fear, quoting from the book. Cassie ignores the warning in the book and reads it to Max to get back at him for turning off her computer in the middle of her writing a report:
“	
The Evil Thing is a gruesome beast.On living flesh it loves to feast.It's a two-headed thing, who you don't wish to greet.One head sucks your blood, one head chews your meat.It carries its babies, in slimy eggs on its back.The babies are hungry, when they hatch for a snack.So The Evil Thing traps some poor victim alive,For the babies to eat when their birthdays arrive.But don't worry, don't cry, please don't have a fit.The Evil Thing is not real...Unless you think about it.	”
Later that night, The Evil Thing, brought to life by Max's thoughts, captures him, Priscilla, and a Papa John's Pizza delivery man. It is up to Cassie and Sean (Cody Linley) to save them.
At first, they try to defeat The Evil Thing on their own, but fail. Cassie then asks the owner of the shop where she got the book for help. Cassie discovers that the store owner travels around the world each Halloween, searching for the person who loves to scare people the most. He makes her feel guilty by saying it was only because of evil deeds that he came there. He leaves them with only a riddle for help: "Two heads are better than one. That's the way to get the bloody job done", before making his shop disappear leaving them on the sidewalk, to which Cassie cries "Well what does that mean?" Sean brilliantly makes remarks that solve the riddle. Together, they formulate that if they get blood from a roast that Cassie's mother made and throw it on The Evil Thing it will be forced to suck up the blood and in doing so will devour itself. By using Sean's CD of monster sound effects as a "mating call", they were able to lure the monster to the CD player; however, when the monster nudged it, it turned into hip hop music, thus ruining their plan. After fumbling for the blood because neither of them wanted to pour the blood onto the monster, they accidentally drop the blood nearby recently freed Max who must conquer his fears and save the day. Thanks to Cassie encouraging him, Max tosses the blood onto The Evil Thing, causing its heads to begin attacking each other, beginning to eat itself, eventually causing it to explode in a shower of yellow blood, taking its offspring with it.
With The Evil Thing destroyed, Max, Sean, and Cassie save Priscilla, who angrily accuses Cassie of being a witch, and Sean rejects Priscilla in favor of Cassie. After Priscilla leaves, they save the pizza guy who offers free pizza in return for his release. After eating the free pizza, they burn the book and rid themselves of The Evil Thing. After coming home, their parents find the book only singed in the fireplace. The father mockingly reads it out loud, reviving The Evil Thing. The movie ends with Cassie realizing it is not over yet.
The screen then goes dark and the store owner says "Happy Halloween", followed by maniacal laughter.
==Cast==
*Emily Osment as Cassie Keller
*Cody Linley as Sean Redford
*Brittany Curran as Priscilla Wright
*Alex Winzenread as Max Keller
*Tobin Bell as The Stranger
*John Hawkinson as Mr. Keller
*Michelle Duffy as Mrs. Keller
*Nigel Ash as Ralph
*Katelyn Pippy as Erin
*Michael Dickson II as The Pizza Guy
==Production==
The movie was filmed in the borough of Carnegie, Pennsylvania as well as Cranberry Township in October and November 2006.
==Music==
The film's score was written by Chris Hajian. The film also included songs by pop rock and indie rock musicians.
*"Still Alright" by Adam Merrin of The 88
*"Tell Me" by Failed Flight
*"Evil Santa" by Chromosome Tea
*"Don't Take It" by Mark McGeary
*"October 31st" by Mark Olson
*"I Don't Think About It" by Emily Osment
==Reception==
While Doug Bentin calls the main character Cassie as "the main attraction" of the film;
The use of pizza delivery in the film has been regarded by critics as "overly integrated product placement". Heather Boerner criticized the film for its over the top use of Papa John's Pizza. She wrote, "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."
==TV series==
:Main article: R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour
R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour series premiered on October 29, 2010 during the launch of the new TV station The Hub. According to his Twitter, R.L. Stine says the show is similar to his previous series Goosebumps and will have a different story every episode.
==External links==
* The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It Official site
* The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It at YouTube
* The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It at IMDB
* The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It at Rotten Tomatoes
* DVD Review for Parents
Category:The Haunting Hour