goosebumps – We Are Movie Geeks

GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN – Review

Witches, werewolves, creatures, spiders, mummies, pumpkins… Halloween is always a colorful combination of characters and frightful findings. The same can be said about R.L. Stine’s popular Goosebumps book series. Given the number of books he’s written over the years, it’s no wonder that the 2015 film decided to take an ensemble approach to the author’s creations instead of adapting just one story. The meta-approach to bringing the stories to the big-screen while acknowledging the author’s popularity within the film resulted in tongue-in-cheek family fun. GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN takes a very similar approach but sets it during… you guessed it. Now, you have a film made up of Halloween, Goosebumps characters, self-aware humor, and even Nikola Tesla (yes, the famous inventor). While the combination should work on paper, these ingredients come together into a concoction that’s never as sweet or fun as the first entry.

Besides Jack Black reprising his role as famous horror writer R.L. Stine – in what feels like a stint filmed over the course of a weekend – we’re treated (or tricked, depending on how you look at it) to a whole new family-friendly cast of characters in a new setting. Sonny and Sam (Jeremy Ray Taylor and Caleel Harris) discover a hidden room with a chest when they are scavenging in an abandoned home. Inside the chest, they discover a locked book titled Haunted Halloween. When they open it, they flip through it and realize it’s unfinished. What they initially don’t realize is that they also resurrected Slappy the ventriloquist dummy. It’s now up to the two friends and Sonny’s sister Sarah (Madison Iseman) to stop Slappy from bringing Halloween characters to life and destroying their town.

R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps book 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. Even though I went into the 2015 film adaptation with apprehension, I left feeling that GOOSEBUMPS perfectly captured the tone of Stine’s children’s stories while incorporating a clever conceit so that all of the writer’s creations can emerge on-screen.

Director Ari Sandel has a hard time finding his footing taking over for Rob Letterman. The jokes don’t land quite right, the scale of it all seems smaller and cheaper than it should (similar to the TV show), and the film bounces between scenes somewhat sporadically, feeling as if it doesn’t quite know what it’s doing. Granted, some of the blame can be put on the script by Darren Lemke. Once the film turns into Slappy’s show, the characters serve more as conduits to explain the plot instead of genuine and goofy kids. They “randomly” stumble upon R.L. Stine’s name when researching weird paranormal events online. Next, they suddenly know how to use the book to beat the demons. And of course, they know Slappy will use Tesla’s coil to bring everything to life. A number of plot points are clumsily shoe-horned into the dialogue to push the film from one visual gag to the next.

GOOSEBUMPS 2 isn’t without a few fun and scary moments that page-turning fans will appreciate. Like the garden gnome scene in the first film, the gummy bear setpiece makes for a gooey treat as the little guys morph into one another to create a larger demon bear. And, of course, there’s the fan-favorite Slappy. While he wears out his welcome on screen, his introduction in the spooky old house is the perfect example of a less-is-more style of scare, free of the CGI to come. By the time he’s raising an army of monsters in a department store, you get the feeling that the screenwriter might have mashed two film ideas together: a Slappy spin-off film and a remake of the first film.

It’s trying to be a love letter to the season of Halloween (complete with a HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH visual nod). It’s trying to be a creepy doll film. It’s trying to be a fun family film. It’s trying to be a “Goosebumps Greatest Hits” creature feature. It even feels like it’s trying to be an anti-bullying PSA in the first half with a number of drawn-out scenes. GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN wants to be all this and more, but it can’t quite achieve any of these as it lives in the monster-sized shadow of its predecessor.

Overall score: 2 out of 5

GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN opens in theaters everywhere Friday, October 12th, 2018

This Week’s WAMG Podcast – CRIMSON PEAK, GOOSEBUMPS, Spielberg, and More!

This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Michelle McCue, Jim Batts and Tom Stockman discuss the weekend box office, and next weekend’s releases. We’ll review BEAST OF NO NATION, GOOSEBUMPS, CRIMSON PEAK, LABYRINTH OF LIES, and GOODNIGHT MOMMY. We’ll also preview SPOTLIGHT, THE LAST WITCH HUNTER, TRUTH, and ROCK THE CASBAH. We’ll discuss ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and our favorite films of director Steven Spielberg. Tom will discuss his weekend visit to New York and his look at Martin Scorsese’s movie poster collection. WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is a weekly podcast and can be heard streaming at ONStl.com Online Radio.

Here’s this week’s show. Have a listen:

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.

This Week’s WAMG Podcast – 99 HOMES, FREEHELD, HALLOWEEN III, and More!

This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Michelle McCue, Jim Batts and Tom Stockman discuss the weekend box office, and next weekend’s releases. We’ll review 99 HOMES, HELL AND BACK, FREEHELD, and HE NAMED ME MALALA. We’ll also preview GOOSEBUMPS, and CRIMSON PEAK and discuss the career of director Guillermo del Toro. Jim will discuss his weekend visit to the Skyview Drive-In and we’ll talk about HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, which screens this weekend at the Late Night Grindhouse. WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is a weekly podcast and can be heard streaming at ONStl.com Online Radio.

Here’s this week’s show. Have a listen:

Win A Family 4-Pack Of Passes To The Advance Screening Of GOOSEBUMPS In St. Louis

Ready for a scary good time? WAMG has got your passes the upcoming movie, GOOSEBUMPS.

Teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette), upset about moving from a big city to a small town, finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door, and makes a quick friend in Champ (Ryan Lee). But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah’s mysterious dad is in fact R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. As Zach starts learning about the strange family next door, he soon discovers that Stine holds a dangerous secret: the creatures that his stories made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books.

When Stine’s creations are unintentionally released from their manuscripts, Zach’s life takes a turn for the weird. In a crazy night of adventure, it’s up to Zach, Hannah, Champ, and Stine to team up and get all of these figments of Stine’s imagination – including Slappy the Dummy, the girl with the haunted mask, the gnomes and many more – back in the books where they belong to save the town.

The literary phenomenon is coming to the big screen on October 16, 2015.

WAMG invites you take the whole family to the advance screening of GOOSEBUMPS on Monday, October 12 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.

Answer the following:

Leading the way in GOOSEBUMPS as the chief villain is Stine’s most lasting creation: Slappy the Dummy. Joining Slappy in the film are many of Stine’s other creations.

Which one of the titles listed below is NOT an R.L. Stine creation?

Vampire Poodle from Please Don’t Feed the Vampire!
The Praying Mantis from A Shocker on Shock Street
The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
The Werewolf from Werewolf of Fever Swamp
The Ants from Sugar Hill Chiller
The Gnomes from Revenge of the Gnomes
The Blob from The Blob That Ate Everyone
The Walking Undead from the Three Tree Cemetery
The Witch Doctor from Deep in the Jungle of Doom
Madam Doom from Help! We Have Strange Powers!

TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWERS AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

OFFICIAL RULES:

1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.

2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.

The film has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for scary and intense creature action and images, and for some rude humor.

https://www.facebook.com/GoosebumpsMovie

https://twitter.com/GoosebumpsMovie

GOOSEBUMPS Virtual Reality Adventure Begins September 26 In Eleven Cities

In celebration of the worldwide release of GOOSEBUMPS, in theaters October 16, 2015, moviegoers can put themselves inside an action-packed scene from the movie in a virtual reality adventure with immersive motion by D-BOX with the Goosebumps Virtual Reality Adventure.

In eleven cities over four weekends, Goosebumps fans can buckle up for adventure as Jack Black, playing famed Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, takes them on an unforgettable journey through town, just after his creatures have escaped from their manuscripts.

In the one-of-a-kind promotional event, moviegoers will put on virtual reality goggles and climb into a D-BOX immersive motion-activated chair to experience being inside a scene from the movie. In the experience, which is inspired by a scene in the film itself,Jack Black, playing Stine, drives through town, trying to escape one of his creations, the Praying Mantis. With the motion of the D-BOX chair precisely synced to action, Black directs viewers to look around and experience the world of Goosebumps, as if they were inside the film itself. The experience was directed by Rob Letterman, the director of Goosebumps.

The Goosebumps Virtual Reality Adventure will be available for four weekends, Saturdays and Sundays between September 26 and October 18, in the following markets:

New York
Los Angeles
Dallas
Chicago
Miami
San Jose
Cleveland
Washington
Albuquerque
Toronto
Salt Lake City

Moviegoers can visit www.Goosebumps-Movie.com for local theater location information. The experience will be available in select international cities at future dates, tied to the film’s release.

Sony partnered with the globally renowned creative studio and VFX powerhouse MPC to shoot and produce the VR content.

Commenting on the announcement, Elias Plishner, executive vice president, Digital Marketing for Sony Pictures said, “Goosebumps is a fun, immersive movie, and this promotional experience is going to put moviegoers inside the film itself. We’re always looking for ways to create engagement, and it was great to see Rob and Jack take the existing scene and re-shoot it for virtual reality. They were completely game.”

Jake Zim, senior vice president, Digital Marketing, added, “The world of Goosebumps lends itself perfectly to VR, and merging the D-BOX motion chair with virtual reality takes this experience to the next level. You’re going to feel immersed in the movie – it’s a virtual reality adventure ride right there in the theater lobby.”

Michel Paquette, VP Marketing, D-BOX added, “As the world leader and inventor of immersive motion for cinematic art, we are very pleased to see that the credibility in creating subtle and intelligent motion is adding embodied spectator participation to the storytelling. We’re always looking for ways to expand the moviegoing experience, which is why we jumped at the chance to team up with the studio for this unique event. We truly feel that the Goosebumps Virtual Reality Adventure elevates the viewer’s movie experience by combining VR with credible physical reality only available through the D-BOX chair. With the immersive motion of that chair specifically programmed and synced to the VR images playing in the goggles, you’re going to feel like you’re right there in the car with Jack Black, trying to escape the Praying Mantis.”

In addition to and separate from the Goosebumps Virtual Reality Adventure, moviegoers will be invited to experience the theatrical film Goosebumps in one of the thousands of D-BOX seats installed in theaters upon the film’s release.

Scholastic has over 400 million Goosebumps books worldwide in 32 languages in print since the series introduction in 1992, earning critical acclaim and dominating global best seller lists. R.L. Stine has been recognized as one of the bestselling children’s authors in history. Now, the literary phenomenon is coming to the big screen.

In GOSSEBUMPS, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette), upset about moving from a big city to a small town, finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door, and makes a quick friend in Champ (Ryan Lee). But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah’s mysterious dad is in fact R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series.

As Zach starts learning about the strange family next door, he soon discovers that Stine holds a dangerous secret: the creatures that his stories made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Stine’s creations are unintentionally released from their manuscripts, Zach’s life takes a turn for the weird. In a crazy night of adventure, it’s up to Zach, Hannah, Champ, and Stine to team up and get all of these figments of Stine’s imagination – including Slappy the Dummy, the girl with the haunted mask, the gnomes and many more – back in the books where they belong to save the town.

Directed by Rob Letterman, the screenplay is by Darren Lemke with a story by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, based on the Goosebumps book series published by Scholastic and written by R.L. Stine. The film is produced by Deborah Forte and Neal H. Moritz.

Visit the official site: http://www.goosebumps-movie.com/

Watch The New GOOSEBUMPS Movie Trailer

Catch the new trailer for director Rob Letterman’s GOOSEBUMPS

Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door, and makes a quick friend in Champ (Ryan Lee). But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah’s mysterious dad is in fact R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series.

In a crazy night of adventure, it’s up to Zach, Hannah, Champ, and Stine to team up and get all of these figments of Stine’s imagination – including Slappy the Dummy, the girl with the haunted mask, the gnomes and many more – back in the books where they belong to save the town.

Some fun facts about the books. Scholastic has over 400 million Goosebumps books worldwide in 32 languages in print since the series introduction in 1992, earning critical acclaim and dominating global best seller lists. R.L. Stine has been recognized as one of the bestselling children’s authors in history.

GOOSEBUMPS will be released in theaters nationwide on October 2015.

Connect with Goosebumps:
www.facebook.com/GoosebumpsMovie
www.twitter.com/GoosebumpsMovie

L-r, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Dylan Minnette and Jack Black

GOOSEBUMPS Movie Fan Contest

To build excitement for the release of the motion picture GOOSEBUMPS, Sony Rewards has launched the Goosebumps Movie Fan Contest, where fans can share cool content, test their Goosebumps knowledge in quizzes, watch spooky videos, create funny memes, submit fan art, and complete other fun challenges!

By completing challenges and sharing Goosebumps news on social media, fans can climb the leaderboard and win prizes! The current contest’s First Place Prize is a Video Call with famed Goosebumps author R.L. Stine and Second Place Prize is a complete Goosebumps book collection.

Fans who keep sharing content regularly over the course of the full campaign have the opportunity to win other amazing prizes in the future which may include: a Video Call with Jack Black, a Goosebumps Creature Makeover, signed memorabilia, authentic props from the movie and more.

To find out more information, enter the contest and read the official rules, go to http://goosebumps.socialtoaster.com/.

Once fans have entered, they will receive Goosebumps content by e-mail along with information on how they can earn points by sharing and completing Goosebumps challenges.

Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange… he is a prisoner of his own imagination – the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach, and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.

The film is directed by Robert Letterman with the screenplay by Darren Lemke from a story by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski. Based on the Goosebumps Book series published by Scholastic and written by R.L. Stine, The movie is produced by Deborah Forte and Neal H. Moritz.

GOOSEBUMPS will be released in theaters nationwide on August 7, 2015.

Connect with Goosebumps:
www.facebook.com/GoosebumpsMovie
www.twitter.com/GoosebumpsMovie

Principal Photography Begins on GOOSEBUMPS, Starring Jack Black; Rob Letterman Directs

Principal photography has commenced on GOOSEBUMPS, starring Jack Black. Rob Letterman directs the film from a screenplay by Darren Lemke and Mike White and a story by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski and Darren Lemke, based on the Goosebumps book series published by Scholastic and written by R. L. Stine. The producers are Neal H. Moritz and Deborah Forte. Executive producers are Bill Bannerman and Tania Landau. The film will be released on March 23, 2016.

Also starring in GOOSEBUMPS are Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Jillian Bell, Ryan Lee, and Ken Marino.

In Goosebumps, upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange… he is a prisoner of his own imagination – the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach, and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.

The production films in and around Conyers, Madison, and Atlanta, Georgia, notably in the counties of Morgan, Rockdale, Cobb, and DeKalb.

Scholastic has sold over 350 million Goosebumps books worldwide in 32 languages since the series introduction in 1992, earning critical acclaim and dominating global best seller lists. R.L. Stine has been recognized as one of the bestselling children’s authors in history.

The production’s creative team also includes director of photography Javier Aguirresarobe, production designer Sean Haworth, editor Jim May, and costume designer Judianna Makovsky.

‘Goosebumps’ Series Picked Up By Sony

The popular children’s series of horror books by R.L. Stine, ‘Goosebumps’, is going to be turned into at least one feature film.Ã‚ The rights to the series of books were picked up by Sony Pictures who already has two screenwriters working on the script.

Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander are the writers working on the screenplay.Ã‚ The team has previously worked on ‘Ed Wood’, ‘Agent Cody Banks’, and ‘1408’.

Neal Mortiz, who produced ‘Evan Almighty’ and ‘I Am Legend’, is producing the film, which is likely to be a horror themed anthology film geared more towards the PG-rated audience.Ã‚ Sony is looking to cast young actors in the lead roles and well-known adult actors in the supporting roles.

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