Review of Goosebumps (2015) by Victoria N — 12 Aug 2016

Finally watched this and I enjoyed it! I like just about any kid from the 90's read a ton of (hell maybe all) Goosebump books. As an older fan of the series I absolutely enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would.

Goosebumps mixes some small scares, comedy and a pretty decent story very well. Zach (Dylan Minnette) has moved to a new town with his mom Gale (Amy Ryan). He meets a young girl named Hannah (Odeya Rush) who lives next door.

The girls father turns out to be R.L. Stine (Jack Black) author of the Goosebump books, but also hiding a terrible secret. A night goes by and Zach believes he hears Hannah next door in danger. Along with his new friend Champ (Ryan Lee) the two break into Stines house and uncover the original manuscripts of the Goosebump books.

The books are all mysteriously locked. Zach unlocks one and the book's monster comes alive causing havoc across the town. Soon enough Slappy (Jack Black) comes out of his book and starts opening all the rest causing a pandemic.

Zach, Champ, Hannah and Stine join together to rid the town of the monsters and trap the monsters back into the books once and for all. The movie is actually pretty well done overall. The cinematography is actually quite good, special effects look great and the story has a good pacing.

One thing that isn't touched too much is actually the character of R.L. Stine. Although, Jack Black does a good job portraying him he often comes off just a bit too goofy at times. Also his development is almost non existential he suddenly seems to just want to help with no real force behind it.

Overall, solid film and I recommend giving it a look there's a bonus especially if you've read some of the books back in the day as well.