The first must-see film of the year.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

After stumbling onto this show on Netflix, I decided to watch it without too much enthusiasm. I assumed it would be similar to Are You Afraid of The Dark - which was a good show when I was a kid, but is much more dull as an adult.This show is really good. I watch lots of horror, and I'm very aware when a movie or a show is recycling ideas, or an episode is being written like a Mad Libs.This show upends some of that. There are some predictable episodes, but the stories are mostly told from the kids point of view. They aren't shortchanged into being caricatures of kids, either. They don't talk like idiots, they have specific concerns.There is a wide variety of casting. There are plenty of girls and boys, lots of minorities, and they are careful to not put them into stereotypical roles. This may not seem like a big deal, but it's very refreshing. It injects a little bit of spice into the way these stories play out.Where the show really shines is that it isn't afraid to go into dark or weird places. Episodes twist around, many of them don't end happily - although some do. This helps keep the viewer guessing.I'm 36, and I've watched every episode. It's solid. And I want to rewatch them.I think this is an important series. It's serious enough that it exposes younger viewers to what quality horror can be like, without the episodes being too scary. And that's something that isn't available out there.

I love this series. Watching it with the kids in October - a tradition. But I saw episode 2.6 (Brush with Madness) with my 2 kids and 3 of my friend's children. One of them, the oldest (aged15) responded, at the end of the movie: "this is more like (the movie) "Saw" than a kid's movie." I totally agreed. The ending was disturbingly violent - disturbing is fine for a children's horror genre; it goes with the genre. But disturbingly violent - not cool. Nope - not cool AT ALL. (Spoiler alert) I was genuinely put off by the ending, in which a teen aged boy and his girlfriend are (off camera) sawed in half. This is not appropriate for any film under an "R" rating, in my opinion. I did not expect this. The film has a warning that the film may not be suitable for children under 7; this episode was inappropriate for any child. Nobody under aged 17 should view this without a parent - and the graphic depiction at the movie's end should have been better warned of in advance. Cool concept. Well acted. Well written. But this was NOT WELL-TARGETED FOR ITS TARGET AUDIENCE OF CHILDREN.

Growing up there are always kids who can remember horror shows: Tales from the Darkside, Goosebumps, Twilight Zone, Are You Afraid of the Dark, etc. but in today's modern world, where garbage like Family Guy and American Dad dominates television, it's hard to find anything good. The Haunting Hour is a good choice, it's one of the few good shows of the 21st century. Each episode features popular actors/actresses that deal with fear; dolls, ghosts, clowns, imaginary friends gone awry, bullying, rodents and zombies, among others. Rather than use swearing and fart jokes as some horror shows do, this one sticks to PG-7 and also has hidden lessons in each episode. The effects of bullying, the needless desire to be superficially beautiful, facing your fears, making and keeping friends, all these are in the episodes. Actors like Bailee Madison, Booboo Stewart and Debby Ryan that kids enjoy seeing are frequently guests in the episodes, such as Pool Shark, Really You and Wrong Number. the actor who played the salesman in the Scarecrow episode was also very talented and effectively creepy. Some episodes are intended to be comedic, like Uncle Howie, Big Yellow and Poof De Fromage, while there are episodes meant to strike fear, such as the Hole and Dreamcatcher. The only issue is repeatedly using actors from Diary of a Wimpy Kid and other popular movies makes the episodes have an unrealistic feel to them, when you watch the Cast or Catching Cold you keep thinking, "hey, that's the Rowley fatty from Diary of a Wimpy Kid!" it's hard to picture them as another character in this show. Also episodes like Pumpkinheads and Dreamcatcher are not scary to adults, but could be very frightening to younger kids. For this reason I suggest if you're a parent, watching the show with your child. Overall a very good show, I wouldn't say the best but in this day and age it's pretty good! I hope it isn't cancelled, it's great that there's a horror show like this on the air.(why though, do all the kids on THH have cell phones? Every time I watch this and there's a character texting or chatting on a phone, it makes me want to reach right through the TV, swat it out of their hands and shout, "lose the cell phones, you lot of sheep! Just because it's the 21st century doesn't mean you all have to act like robots and conform to your I-Phone addictions!" Does THH have a contract with Apple Inc. or something?)

What can I say about The Haunting Hour that any other fan has not already said. Yes, the show draws from Canada's ginormous talent pool. fun fact: Our neighbor to the North has some of the best artists in the business. But, getting back to the business at hand. The Haunting Hour has great casting, adequate writers, and awesome production values. What's not to like? As in any anthology series, the hit-or-miss aspect is not forgone; even in Masters of Horror there were quite a few "misses." Some include "Scary Mary", "Walls", and especially "Pool Shark." Some of the biggest hits include "Wrong Number" (left me chilled-not easy to do-I'm jaded) and "The Dream Catcher." Stine should be proud that his product has become so ingrained in the popular culture. Kids love it, and Im not a kid, but I definitely love it.