Review of Goosebumps (2015) by Brian S — 25 Jan 2016

As an adaptation from a series of books from the '90s, 2015s Goosebumps' screenplay appears to have been written back in the days of The Fresh Prince, put in a time capsule, buried somewhere deep under Hollywood and finally unearthed.

Feeling very reminiscent to popular child fantasy films from the late '80s and '90s (1987s Monster Squad, 1993s Hocus Pocus and 1995s Casper were brought to mind while viewing), writers Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski and Darren Lemke bring the right amount of innocent, troublemaking and fun that is missing from a lot of recent properties that was in abundance in the past.

This nostalgic tingling worked wonders for a more mature audience and the writers go the extra mile by actually crafting a real story with stakes, memorable characters and a fun premise that will strike with the younger crowd who didn't grow up reading (or seeing) The Haunted Mask.

The direction from Rob Letterman is expected and he secures bright performances from his actors (including Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush and Jack Back), uses the special effects well (even though it can get overabundant) and keeps everything at a balanced pace.

Strung together by a B-Movie dosed score (performed by Danny Elfman) that represents the tone well, Goosebumps is a treat and will have you mutter "viewer beware, you're in for a scare" as you think about the next time you'll watch it again.