Tubi's R.L. Stine Films Embrace 'Vegetable Gore' and a Big Audience
Tubi is making a big push into R.L. Stine territory, with a trio of films and a focus on their unique brand of spooky, youth-friendly scares. The Hollywood Reporter details the streamer's strategy, which includes the new film "Pumpkinhead" and its sequel.
According to the outlet, Tubi execs had a very specific content discussion for their take on the classic Nightmare Hour short. Josh Van Houdt, Tubi’s VP of Original Scripted Content, said the network's standards department gave them a memorable guideline: "You can do vegetable gore, but not regular gore." Van Houdt told THR they could have pumpkin guts but not blood, a rule they embraced.
"Pumpkinhead" follows a teen boy searching for his missing brother in a town plagued by an evil crop curse. The project is part of a three-picture deal with Front Street Pictures, the studio behind the earlier anthology series "The Haunting Hour." Van Houdt says the goal is to attract both nostalgic older fans and a younger audience.
He cited films like "Gremlins" and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" as touchstones, aiming for a tone that's not too comedic like the "Goosebumps" movie nor as intense as "Stranger Things." The streamer, which has a large Gen Z viewership, is setting the films in a timeless aesthetic with some retro tech to avoid a strict period piece.
Stine himself told THR that seeing adaptations has long been a fun process for him. He noted he was too busy writing a book a month in the '90s to be involved with the "Goosebumps" TV show, but enjoyed watching other writers take his stories in new directions. Tubi's plans also include adaptations of other Stine titles like "Afraid of Clowns" and "The Babysitter."
