Goosebumps (2015)

As a kid growing up in the 1990's, I subjected myself to various books in order to keep my mind expanded. One series of books was Goosebumps by R. L. Stine; combining horror and the paranormal for young readers, this series of books made an impact on popular culture. So, when a movie based on the series was announced, I was excited to see a nostalgic memory come to life. And then I saw the film. The movie version definitely captures the spirit of the books, yet everything else seemed to be overplayed a bit. While the movie adaptation isn't terrible, it's also not good. “Goosebumps” is a fun movie for fans of the original books, but newcomers might be a little confused as to what is going on.

The story has a new kid named Zach (Dylan Minnette) moving into Madison, Delaware with his mother to adapt to his new surroundings. Said surroundings include his next door neighbor, who just so happens to be R. L. Stine, author of Goosebumps (Jack Black). He also has a daughter named Hannah (Odeya Rush), whom he keeps in his house for some secretive reasons. One night, Zach hears Hannah screaming, and calls his new friend Champ (Ryan Lee) over to investigate. Once inside, they find manuscripts to Goosebumps, that, when opened, unleash the monsters created for the books. Including the infamous dummy Slappy (voiced by Black). Now, it’s up to Stine, Zach, Champ, and Hannah to get the monsters back before something really bad happens.

“Goosebumps” is practically half good. There are some good things, but there's also some bad ones, too.

Let's talk about the bad first to get that out of the way.

For starters, while the story does capture the essence of the books, the whole thing feels rushed and very quick. This leads to another problem: the pacing. The movie goes at a slow pace, especially in the beginning where we have to wait nearly 30 minutes for the actual plot to get going. There's also a lot of conveniences that happen in the movie, and if the film was a parody of these types of tropes, then that's fine. But the problem is that the film is taken seriously, these tropes get somewhat annoying. Also, there are some plot details that don't go nowhere, like Zach missing his father that is completely sidelined throughout the rest of the film.

And while it is nice to to see some famous monsters from the books make an appearance, they only make a small cameo, or are hidden in the back. Also, the movie mostly focuses on the monsters from Goosebumps, and not more on the psychological aspects of what made the books charming.

And then there's Jack Back. Personally, I would have chosen John Cusack, but that's just me. Black, however, is just so over-the-top, it's almost laughable. He speaks the role of Stine with an accent; one must wonder what was going through his head when he came up with that voice. It's not a terrible performance, per se, but it's so cheesy you just gotta laugh.

With that being said, the movie does have some good things going for it.

For starters, the actors who play the kids do a good job with what they are given, and it looks like they have fun with it.

The monsters look good, and Sony Pictures Animation did a great job in their design. There's also some good animatronic movements in the form of Slappy, the main mascot of the Goosebumps books. Here, he looks like a puppet, and the visual effects team did a great job at recreating his design from the books. Finally, the movie is definitely for kids, and they will more than likely enjoy the action that's being played before them. Although, younger viewers might be a little confused as to what this movie is actually about, but it doesn't hurt for them to do a little research.

And the music by Danny Elfman is a nice fun soundtrack to listen to, even if some of the more popular songs can get in the way.

In conclusion, while “Goosebumps” may not be a blast from the past for some like myself, others will more than likely enjoy it.