Goosebumps treat audiences with monsters, laughs and nostalgia.
Director: Rob Letterman
Starring: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell and Halston Sage
Studios: Sony Pictures Animation, Village Roadshow Pictures, LStar Capital, Original Film, Scholastic Entertainment
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release dates: October 5, 2015 (Los Angeles premiere)
October 16, 2015 (United States)
Plot: A teenager teams up with the daughter of young adult horror author R. L. Stine after the writer's imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware.
R.L. Stine is probably one of the best American horror writers I've known. Don't get me wrong. I haven't read all his books but I've read enough for me to say that he is really good. One of the Goosebumps books that I've read was 'The Haunted Mask' and that one was quite entertaining. I've forgot the rest of the books that I've read from the Goosebumps series. Altough I can still fondly remember reading his first adult horror novel, 'Superstitious'. That one was my favorite R.L. Stine story, considering that I've forgot the rest of his works that I've read.
So after learing that his popular book series will be adapter into a movie, my heart was pounding with excitement. The trailer itself promises monsters, monsters and more monsters. Plus some good laughs and scares. Everything to make up the perfect Halloween treat not just for the horror fans but for the whole family alike.
Now, the film isn't a direct adaptation of one his stories. Instead, the writers decided to weave a whole new mythology where all the monsters, demons and ghouls from R.L. Stine's popular book series comes to life. From the Abominable Snowman, ghouls, werewolves, gnomes, Giant Praying Mantis, and of course, Slappy, the living dummy. They also used some of the stories to provide twist to the film. One of the most prominent would be the revelation that Hannah (Odeya Rush) is actually one of R.L. Stine's creations (from the story 'The Ghost Next Door') and is not a real human.
I know some of us would find the plot so overtly done but with Goosebumps, they made it fell and look so fresh and fun.
The cast were also great. I can't think of anyone else playing the role of R.L. Stine aside form Jack Black. I love his one liners that provides laughs all throughout the film. “Why couldn’t you have written stories about rainbows and unicorns?” asks Champ as they are being chased around with his creations that came to life. R.L. Stine responded, “Because that doesn’t sell 400 million copies.”
Dylan Minette was also a great choice to be paired with Odeya Rush. They really look so good together and has great chemistry. Ryan Lee is the best choice as their sidekick as he brings laugh to every scene. Zach asks, “Is that your scream?” Champs responds “Don’t judge me.”
The monsters themselves were pretty good. Altough some of them were just obviously wearing masks and costumes, others were really scary to look at particularly the ghouls that rose from the cemetery and that evil clown. The FX department did a prettgood job at making these creatures come to life. One of their most solid work was with Slappy, the living dummy. Everytime he's around, he really steals the scene. He talks funny but he definitely creeps me out whenever I see him talk. The same feeling I had when I first saw the doll 'annabelle' from James Wan's The Conjuring (2013). The other monsters were also looks convincing such as the werewolf, the Abominable Snowman and the Giant Praying Mantis. but even if the film's creatures are almost all CGI made, the film doesn't feel like just another CGI fest.
I alos liked to commend the film for it's perfect doe of laughs and scares. Honestly, I didn't really expected the film to be scary. So I was totally caught off guard in some scenes that really made me jump. The film has a lot of really exciting scenes. I was literally kicking the seat in front of me while watching the part where they try to capture the Abominable Snowman in the skating rink. It was a whole lot of fun.
Final Verdict:
Goosebumps is the ultimate treat for fans of the original book series and horror genre lovers. It's family-friendly, and makes a great introduction for kids to the horror genre.
Fun, exciting, and highly entertaining. No single minute is wasted.
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