Ernest Scared Stupid

Ernest P. Worrell is a clumsy man who accidentally awakens an evil creature from a sacred tomb while building a treehouse with local children. The creature, a troll that turns children into wooden dolls, had been imprisoned centuries earlier by an ancestor of Ernest. Before being trapped, the monster placed a curse on Ernest's lineage to make his descendants increasingly unintelligent, ensuring the creature would eventually be freed. Ernest must now protect the town of Briarville from destruction and stop the creature from multiplying.

Directed by John Cherry, this 1991 film is the third in a series of projects he helmed, following Ernest Goes to Camp and Ernest Goes to Jail. The movie stars Jim Varney as Ernest and Bill Byrge as Bobby Tulip, with a credited cast of 73 people. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1, and Emshell Producers, the film earned 14 million USD at the worldwide box office.

Audience reception is mixed, with a rating of 5.8/10 from 14,000 votes on IMDb and 5.4/10 from 217 votes on TMDB. These scores are higher than the rating from film critics, which stands at 4.2/10 based on 11 reviews.