After the poor reviews, I waited for DVD, expecting very little. But Ali Lohan had impressed me in her sheer ability to carry a bad movie by sheer talent. Here again Lohan doesn't disappoint, still managing to hold you captive with a screen presence that just doesn't quit, even when the writing or directing is not that great. The movie was funny and just slapstick enough to strain - but not break - credibility (once you accept the whole premise). I liked it for fun and enjoyment; I might even buy it. It also serves to remind us that Ali Lohan is only one good role away from an Oscar-winning performance. Pettis and Beaumon are excellent as well. I am surprised by the complete trouncing by the critics. I think it is possible that critics -and a great deal of the public - get 'mud-colored glasses' on when they smell blood in the water - as with Ali's sister Lindsay, Nicole Richie, and anyone else who appears vulnerable. They may love-to-hate, but I do know I very much enjoyed watching Ali Lohan act in this movie.

I wish people would actually read a movie's production information prior to making comments. This is not a DCOM, but rather a Universal Direct-to-DVD release based on the R.L. Stine books. Disney Channel picked up broadcasting rights as part of its Wiztober promotion (probably at a fire-sale price). With so many past DCOM and DC stars, and a DC showing, I can understand why an uninformed person would think it was produced by Disney, but even DC has some standards for production that this movie doesn't meet. Poor special effects, poor acting, poor first AND second unit directing. Ali Lohan has less acting ability at 14 than her older sister had when she was 11. Overall, a poor adaptation of a pretty popular book. Don't look for any sequels!

Wow, this was bad. I don't know who was in charge of this production but I hope they are long gone from anything associated with Disney. There is NO way this was up to the usual standards for something associated with Disney. Now I wasn't expecting Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings but I thought we'd at least get something fairly decent. When I saw another Halloween special on the Disney channel last week with the Mowry twins, the Twitches movies, I was very disappointed in them but no where as bad as this. Now Sterling Beauson wasn't too bad, he'd better have some talent after everything he's done but this certainly is not his best performance. I got the impression that they had no direction and no leadership in this movie. I know the two main adults are in regular Disney series so I'm very surprised at their performances. I'm not sure who thought all of this was good acting but they must live in a another dimension. This has to be some of the worst acting I've ever seen in a movie, and to have it shown on the Disney channel in prime time is so shocking that I'm still wondering if it was a mistake.

This DCOM was excellent. I have to admit the reason that made me want to watch this is because it is based on an R.L. Stein book, and I happen to be a fan of his kids horror stories. It thought the casting was great. They where able to use familiar Disney actors without them seeming like there characters from their shows. Luke Benward, Maddison Pettis,David Deluise, Kim Rhodes, they all delivered A+ performances. Let's not forget the main character Max played by a seemingly highly talented stage/movie/TV actor, Sterling Beaumon, I doubt this is the last we'll see of him (his resume is very long, even though he is only 13), he did an excellent job acting his role. This was classic R.L. Stein, from dumb bully brothers, to creepy basement creatures, to creepy children (ghosts), to a creepy ending where you know the bad guy is still out there, but he can't harm anyone any longer. I recommend this to anybody with kids, and to kids who want a good laugh, and maybe some scares. The special effects where top-notch considering it is a made-for-TV-movie. For performance, effects, and story I give it a 10/10!