GOOSEBUMPS – The Review

GOOSEBUMPS is a sweet witch’s brew with dashes of FRIGHT NIGHT (1985), JUMANJI, and R.L. Stine’s original stories all mixed together. Once our young hero Zach (Dylan Minnette) suspects something awry is going on with the crabby neighbor next door, some troublesome snooping transpires and reveals that the neighbor is actually famous horror writer R.L. Stine (Jack Black). But that still doesn’t explain why he locks up his daughter Hannah (Odeya Rush) at night, and why all of his manuscripts are sitting locked on a shelf. The setup is similar to many of R.L. Stine’s stories, complete with the dorky, enthusiastic sidekick (played to a T by Ryan Lee). And if you know the author’s stories, then you know he has a knack for writing creepy characters. Unfortunately, Stine, the trio of kids, and the entire town, are going to come face-to-face with these famous monsters.

I try to avoid getting into too many personal stories in my reviews. Of course when you read any film critic, you are inviting yourself to peer inside the mind of the writer. Every review, opinion piece, or article is influenced by the writer’s previous experiences. That being said, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series is one of the reasons why I’m the horror fan I am today. There are other films, books, and tv shows that formed the macabre mind I have today, but Goosebumps was one of the first. I read a lot as a kid. Many of the books that grabbed my attention were because of striking cover art – something that no doubt was a trigger for many kids. However, R.L. Stine’s books had more than just hair-raising covers that grabbed your attention. The pages inside breathed life into the colorful images. And I know I’m not the only kid that believed this. The Goosebumps series continues to grow in popularity over 20 years since its conception. I was 7 when the first book Welcome to Dead House was released, and watching the film GOOSEBUMPS on the big-screen gave me the same sense of wonder and excitement that I felt all those years ago.

GOOSEBUMPS perfectly captures the tone of R.L. Stine’s popular children’s stories, while incorporating a clever conceit so that all of the writer’s creations can emerge on-screen. The monsters and scares are handled in a way that is very similar to how Stein depicts them in the books. The shocks are mild enough without scaring the pants off kids. At times, director Rob Letterman has fun with this. One scene where ceramic gnomes begin popping up in random places around a kitchen is just the right amount of fun and frightful.

Jack Black is refreshingly restrained compared to his usual self. His usual shenanigans are downplayed, forcing him from being the center of attention like his personality customarily demands. How the film uses Black’s tendency towards over-the-top showmanship is through the main villain Slappy – a ventriloquist dummy also voiced by Black. His punny and comedic one-liners inject some dark humor into the film; especially since the other monsters don’t speak. Having Jack Black bring to life the author’s “alter-ego” is just another example of how director Rob Letterman understands and shows love for the source material.

All three of the kids play well off of one another. There’s a natural and carefree charm to their interactions, revealing kids that feel like kids. What many will find the most surprising about the film is its sense of humor. Much of this has to do with the comedic timing and delivery from these three leads. Of course, the monsters like the “Abominable Snowman of Pasadena” deliver some childish gags, but Darren Lemke’s screenplay plays perfectly to the talent of the young leads.

GOOSEBUMPS is nothing but fun. It’s filled with the perfect amount of chills and laughs that will appeal to families looking to get in the haunting holiday mood. Older horror fans should be aware that film is rated PG, and so the level of scares aren’t up to the level of some more extreme films. Some of the CGI monsters like the “Werewolf of Fever Swamp” aren’t as realistically rendered as I would have liked – thankfully, Slappy the dummy is brought to life through the use of a puppet – but that’s a minor complaint when you are having this much fun in a theater. GOOSEBUMPS is an entertaining romp that seems inspired by the work of Chris Columbus and Joe Dante. Ghouls, ghosts, and goblins of all sorts fill the screen, leaving fans of R.L. Stine (like this one) smiling.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

GOOSEBUMPS opens in theaters everywhere October 16.