Goosebumps Review
PG: Scary and Intense Creature Action and Images, and For Some Rude Humor
Sony, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Original Film, Village Roadshow Pictures, Scholastic Entertainment
1 hr and 43 Minutes
Cast: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Amy Ryan, with Jillian Bell, and Jack Black as the voice of Slappy the Dummy
Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during my adolescence. Outdated language might be seen in these old posts. Since then, my thoughts and values have grown. This review is being presented as they were originally written, grammatical errors and typos and all. Because to do otherwise would be that same as claiming these flaws has never existed.
BACKSTORY: Sunday October 11th I went to the final day of New York Comic Con where I received the pass to go to the screening of Goosebumps that same night after attending the panel. Afterwards I went to the autographing section and actually got the opportunity to meet the cast. After I just thought to myself, is it worth going to the panel if I met the cast and see the movie? OBVIOUSLY NOT! SO I ran from Javits Center to West 34th to go see Goosebumps and surprisingly I WAS THE FIRST GUY IN LINE! After the line formed and I was let inside the cast came to greet the audience. But since I was tired as hell I bought skittles to stay awake because 4 days in NYCC is a pain in the ass.
STORYLINE: Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooperfinds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah, 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, 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, Hannah, and Zach's friend Champ to get all of them back in the books where they belong.
REVIEW: We have seen R.L Stine's Goosebumps films going straight to television back in the late 2000s. Some were hit and miss yet very entertaining, but now we finally have the long awaited big screen Goosebumps feature film which has to be definitely the best family film to be released this time of year. Monsters Vs. Aliens director Rob Letterman takes the idea he helmed to animate in 2009 and transitioned more famous monsters from Stine's books of horror to live action modern day. I Though we had films of this type set in one night more specifically similar to Night at the Museum, it provides constant actual twists and turns that makes for engaging drama from all the frantic chasing. The characters we are introduced are written with such charm that when the twists come you do care about what are heroes are up against. The film starts slowly, but once Zach interact with Stine and Hannah the film immediately just gets going. Since this is a family comedy, there are a ton of jokes thrown at you and 80% of them work. Most of the jokes are funny with visual gags and dialouge targeted to modern day themes, but then there are the completely unnecessary forced romances that's just thrown upon just because. The romance centered between Zach and Hannah is good enough we don't need 3 others just to be funny, because they only come off as extremely awkward. You may be wondering how are the monsters in the film. The effects on the most part are pretty decent with the exception of the blob which looks like the film's budget ran out by the point it appears onscreen. Out of all the monsters Slappy may be the most effective character, but even when he's offscreen you demand more Slappy. He may not be scary (to an extant most of the monsters aren't as frightening as they seem), but he is cunning and a master at wreaking havoc. Slappy is as mischievous as Loki and has daddy issues as bad as Ultron. Every time he mentions his past to Stine, you just wish they dig deeper into it. They do constantly hit on the subject, but doesn't give a flashback scene. The film has a nice message through all the craziness, but lacks a complete resolution. With it's fast pacing you really don't really see the flaws until the very end.
LAST STATEMENT: With clear inspiration behind it, Goosebumps' mixture of likable characters and CG monsters makes this fast paced and fun film a new Halloween family classic.
Rating: 4/5 | 87%
Super Scene: I'm all lost in the supermarket I can no longer shop happily. We're being chased by a freaking werewolf. Hope he doesn't smell my smelly body
