My Overall thoughts on...
I remember this show really hyping itself up as being scary for kids through its promos, and would seem to deliver by having episodes that would get me and my brothers terrified. I did notice the show's cheese here and there as a kid, but nothing that I didn't find to be lacking of scares and suspense, which I suppose that's because I only watched the VHS's that were released since I never really watched much of “Fox Kids” growing up. The only criticisms that I ever heard kids talk about the show when I was young is how the books are better, which didn't seem to bother me because that always sounded like the typical answer when comparing a book to a film/TV adaptation. Now that I've seen and reviewed every episode past the age that the show is targeted for and still judging them on their own merits, I'll admit that it's not as scary as it was built up to be for how campy and cheesy it is!
That's not to say that there aren't episodes or moments that don't have legitimate scares and thrills to frighten its target audience. Episodes such as "The Haunted Mask", its sequel, "Stay Out of The Basement", "A Night In Terror Tower", "Welcome to Dead House", and "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp" are great at creating terror and suspense while still managing to entertain. And unlike how its competition "Are You Afraid Of The Dark" would usually have whimsical happy endings as the main character would learn a lesson, most of the endings to this show would usually offer something either dark, twisted, or have a cliffhanger that would be left unresolved. Still while having some scary episodes, the majority of episodes on the show are pretty over the top. The hokey acting, the one note characters, the cheesy effects, the goofy monsters, and the constant corny jokes, give this series more of a colorful B movie quality. Even in the episodes that I did praise and found to be chilling still have a piece of the show's camp to prevent them from being too intense for kids! And I'm not saying that the show doesn't have good effects, actors good enough to give their characters charm, and frightening monsters, it's just that the show as a whole does it so rarely, or in the very least is barely often that you would witness the show getting every single element right in one episode.
However, it's kind of hard for me to really fault the lack of actual scares as a whole, but not because it’s a kids show, but because the show isn't really treating itself as seriously as many were lead to believe as kids. If anything, it practically embraces its camp. It's not trying to be "The Twilight Zone" for kids, but more as the "Tales from the Crypt" for kids by being more just spooky fun than it is trying to make kids scream out of their pants. I mean come on, are we really supposed to be afraid of Lawn Gnomes, a killer sponge, a mud monster, and worms? It's pretty silly. The signs of the show exploiting its comical nature were always there right in front of us the whole time, including the promos and opening credits that made us believe that this was actually going to be the scariest show to ever be made for kids for how cheesy and gimmicky it was, kind of like how kids who watched the 60s Batman took it seriously when it was really making fun of itself.
So if the show is meant to be as fun as riding in a cheap haunted house attraction at a local carnival, does that make the episodes I faulted in the past forgivable, definitely not! The show maybe campy, but it doesn't automatically mean that all the episodes I criticized get a free pass for being intentionally funny. There are still a handful episodes that may not be scary to an adult but still successfully surpasses the goofy and low-budget nature that the show is usually known for thanks to its creativity in terms of story and effects, and containing some good scares without the entire episode getting too scary or silly, which makes the entire tone and quality of the show as a whole inconstant, since you can sense when they are trying and when they are not. I mean try comparing the quality of the "The Haunted Mask" to "Go Eat Worms", where one episode has a story to tell with a unique concept, good effects, and relatable characters through a tone that adds humor and terror at the right moments without going too far; while the other is just flat out ridiculous, has lousy effects, a character who is blandly strange and terribly acted, and the overall tone being more gross and obnoxious than it is scary and fun. It’s common for a good show to have a few bad episodes, or reach a point where the show loses its touch, but this show doesn't have that. Ever since the first season, it's had episodes that constantly varied in quality from being creepy in tone with some fun added to it, and episodes being excessively goofy that don't try as hard to thrill or surprise its viewers. And this roller-coaster of changes in tone and quality would continue on until the very end of the series.
But what I find worse than the show not being sure how much it wants to scare or make us laugh, are its cliches that get old and tedious during its course. Almost every character that you encounter when you get to the third season are cardboard cutouts to characters that you've met before. You start to become more aware of where and when each important event will take place for how predictable it is after getting familiar with the show's formula. We may be given different monsters and scenarios, but you're mostly not given different characters or a lay-out that breaks the formula that the show usually follows. And what makes it even more degrading is you begin to see monsters that appeared in other episodes being lazily passed off as new ones, where it seems that the people behind the show are not given enough money or time to create new monster effects.
I don't want to make it seem like that I think that this is a bad show because it isn't, it's just very hit and miss! When the show works, it gives us some of the best episodes that show why the show is still fondly remembered. And when the show fails, though there are indeed many episodes that aren't worth a second viewing, they are still mostly entertaining that would even offer some of the show's strengths to make them worth a watch. Furthermore, I found my viewing of this show to be both interesting and nostalgic, to not only see how well it holds up, but to see how drenched in the 90s that this show is, as well as getting a chance to see some of the young actors who would later make it big in their careers either as serious actors who starred in famous films and TV shows, or provide the voices of cartoon characters that many kids back in the 90s and 2000s grew-up with. I don't recommend this show at all to an adult crowd, but for kids I most certainly would. It may not be all that scary, but in the very least its enough to get them invested in the thrills as it gives them a strong sense of fun entertainment that has plenty of zany visuals (scary or not) to get them hooked, with occasional likable characters.
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