The Goosebumps Series 2000 book where a kid tries to prove he isn't scared to his horror director father.
Jake Banyon's father is Emory Banyon, a famous horror film director who has been dubbed the "King of Horror". It has its perks but the problem is Jake is easily scared. Emory is always trying to get him to admit he's scared but he often goes too far in doing so. After an especially bad incident during his birthday, Jake wants to show he can as scary as Emory. And when production starts on the newest entry, Jake may get his chance to finally see Emory being scared. But it might be more than he bargained for...
This book provides examples of:
- A Birthday, Not a Break: You'd think Jake's birthday would be the one time he doesn't have to deal with Emory's pranks. Nope, Emory pulls a big cruel prank involving people dressed as zombies, thinking he'd enjoy it because he claims to like scary things.
- Abusive Parents: Emory Banyon qualifies as one of the worst parents in the series. He insists that he's pals with his son Jake and is constantly needling him to admit that his movies have scared him, saying "it's healthy to admit you're scared" in a patronizing way. It's blatantly clear Emory is an egotistical ass who just wants the satisfaction of his own son flat out admitting he is scared by the movies Emory makes, cementing him as "the King of Horror." He gets his comeuppance in the end when Jake successfully scares him twice in a row.
- Calling the Old Man Out: This marks one of the few books, if not the only one, where a protagonist finally gets to call their parent out on being a useless jackass. Jake Banyon stages an elaborate prank to scare his father, horror movie director Emory Banyon, witless, after Banyon has spent every day scaring Jake and recently ruined Jake's birthday with a needlessly elaborate prank. And for added measure, Jake set up another prank while setting up the first one.
- Captain Ersatz: Johnny Scream is quite transparently based on Freddy Krueger.
- Covers Always Lie: Johnny Scream looks nothing like he looks on the cover.
- In-Universe Nickname: Emory is called the "King of Horror" because of all the scary films he makes.
- Parents as People: Film director and self-proclaimed "King of Horror" Emory Banyon insists on being more than just a parent with his son Jake and insists that they are also buddies, which is what entitles Emory to act like an asshole and scare his kid every day, including ruining his birthday (although he does feel a little bad with how that one prank turned out).
- Prank Gone Too Far: Emory's birthday stunt. It was just meant to be fun since Jake claimed to like scary stuff but it goes too far, scarring him. Mom even scolds him for doing it.
- Proscenium Reveal: It happens for the opening fakeout, In this book, the first chapter ends with a loud scream and a thud, following by someone saying "Was that in the script? I don't think so!", revealing that this is all a movie being filmed.
- Sham Supernatural:
- Jake's father gathering a crowd of people to pretend to be bloodthirsty zombies at his surprise party terrified Jake and ruined his birthday, and is one of the few stunts Jake's father actually feels guilty about.
- Jake and his friend Mindy get a bunch of her friends together at the end of the book to pretend to be ghosts haunting the school his father is filming in (as it was built over an old cemetery. Subverted when his father checks the footage afterwards... and Mindy and her friends don't show up on it. Double Subverted by the fact that Jake knew his father would check, and planted footage of an empty classroom in the camera to give his dad one last scare.
- Show Within a Show: Emory Banyon is creator of the Scream School horror film franchise, and part of the story is about him filming the latest entry in the series.
