Review of Goosebumps (2015) by Nicolas L — 27 Mar 2016

So to all the fans out there does this ring a bell: "Reader beware, you're in for a scare". Even saying that brings my childhood rushing back to me. Problem is, the crew of this film seemed to completely forget that...

So as the 90's kids amongst you will remember, Goosebumps was the child horror book series by R.L.Stine that was literally a phenomenon- 400 million copies sold. When this movie was announced I was really looking forward to it, and that its here... I... (Sigh)... wasn't what I hoped for.

The plot summary is exactly what you already know from the trailer. Kid moves to small suburban town, his neighbor is R.L. Stine played by Jack Black, he hears sounds coming from the house, breaks in to see what's happening, mobsters get out, and the movie is spent both running away from them and trying to lock them up again. THE END, that's it.

Now the premise of the movie wasn't all bad, it had kind of Jumanji feel- or at least it tried to. The positives are that based on the spin they were trying to give the story by putting all the monsters in one movie, they picked the main monsters pretty well: Slappy from "Night of the Living Dummy" (who was arguably the most know character), "the Abominable snowman of Pasadena, and the werewolf of fever swamp all play leading roles. Problem is you already know that from the trailer. And they make an effort to throw more monsters into the fray, but I defy even the most hardcore Goosebumps fans to recognise each monster, the way they were introduced felt really sloppy and they ended up looking like generic B-movie monsters, which really doesn't pay the right tribute coz Stine came up with genuinely cool, scary and unique monsters.

The main issue is with this movie is that they made it a comedy- and a fucking bad one at that. Other than a single scene where they compare R.L. Stine to Steven King, there are zero, and I mean zero laughs to be had. Jack Black really didn't bother and the supporting cast are painful at best. This is meant to be a child horror, and it ends up being a child comedy. I hate to keep bringing Jumanji into it, but it's the most obvious comparison: you could have created a world where there was a genuine threat from the monsters, like there was from the animals in Jumanji.

But the saddest part is that it just feels like a missed opportunity: in the world of franchises and sequels that we live, Goosebumps was begging for the same treatment: basing a movie on each of the books, keeping that element of child horror. And if the counter argument is that it's been too long since the books were released, then who the fuck was this movie aimed at? It could have been a way to introduce a new generation to Goosebumps, instead I don't imagine the kids are going to get that much of a kick out of it, and for the 90's kids among us, it just feels like someone's taking a big turd on our childhood.

In conclusion, the movie misses the point of what Goosebumps is, and fails to capture any of the tension and horror found in the books. What we are left with is a bad, bad throwaway comedy- wannabe horror, trying its best to use nostalgia as its selling point. I'm gonna give Goosebumps a 2/10 and if you're a real Goosebumps fan, maybe a 1.5 to that score. Maybe.

So what did you guys think, do you agree? have you seen Goosebumps and what did you think of it? And what was your fav goosebumps novel (all about the Wetewolf of Fever Swamp for me). Leave your thoughts and comments below, and until next time, seeya!