A scary good adaptation of the beloved book series.
Based as it is on the monstrously popular book series from the 1990s, it wouldn’t be surprising if Goosebumps the movie played best to a very specific demo — the Millennials who so cherish the last decade of the last century and were raised on R.L. Stine’s spooky anthology tales as well as the TV show based on the same.
But Sony’s Goosebumps, which stars Jack Black (as a fictional version of Stine) and was directed by Rob Letterman (Black’s, ahem, Gulliver’s Travels helmer), does not require such generation-specific fandom in order to be enjoyed, and is in fact an all-inclusive monster romp that’s fun and spooky and just a little bit touching too.
We want to hear it.
While a Goosebumps movie has been rumored since the ’90s, one can see the potential difficulties of adapting the books. As a series of anthology stories, there is no set protagonist or villain for a screenwriter to latch onto. (See Twilight Zone: The Movie for an example of a beloved anthology series gone wrong in movie form.) But the notion of making Stine a character in his own series, and pitting him in a single tale against a host of some of his most popular monsters, fiends and ghouls from across the pantheon of Goosebumps books, proves to be the key to unlocking the series’ big-screen potential.
Speaking of unlocking things, the trouble for our characters starts when young Zach Cooper (played with full heartthrob potential by Dylan Minnette) moves to a new town with his mom (the always enjoyable Amy Ryan). Zach hits it off with his neighbor Hannah Stine (Odeya Rush), the daughter of Black’s R.L. But R.L. doesn’t want the kid anywhere near his daughter; this is as much to do with protective dad impulses as it is protective hiding-fictional-monsters-that-could-come-to-life impulses. As we will soon find out.
Still, despite such parental meddling, Zach and Hannah sneak out at night to bond in a lovely little scene at a local disused carnival, complete with still functioning Ferris wheel! However improbable, it’s a nice bit of set design, that lit-up wheel in the overgrown woods, and the two characters find common ground in each’s loss of a parent: Zach’s father, who recently died, and Hannah’s mother, who she never knew.
We want to hear it.
But, of course, the real reason you come to a Goosebumps movie is for the monster action, so let’s get to that. When Zach and his new pal Champ (Ryan Lee, bringing some funny comic-relief support) sneak into the Stine house and open one of the author’s under-lock-and-key manuscripts, they get more than they bargained for as a genuine, and quite large, abominable snowman emerges magically from the book. Yep, Stine’s creations are real, and only the locked books can keep them contained.
What follows is a pleasing mix of old-school practical creature effects with more slick CGI creations. Slappy — the ventriloquist dummy of Night of the Living Dummy fame that is the Goosebumps series’ best-known villain — takes on the Big Bad role here, unleashing his frightening fellows from their leather-bound jails to lay siege to Zach’s new town. Flying vampire poodles, aliens with freeze guns, an array of lawn gnomes, a blob, mummies, killer clowns, and an army of other scary scaries invade. On the night of the school dance, of course!
Well, “scary” is perhaps a better way to put it, as Goosebumps falls more in line with the Monster Squad school of thought. The critters are generally more of the thrill than chill variety, as wacky as they are threatening, though some moments could get under the skin of more sensitive kids. The cackling Invisible Boy, in his unseen murderous glee, and the CGI’d werewolf in particular come to mind. Though when Champ manages to come out on top in a bout with one of these because of the year he spent not brushing his teeth, even the most delicate viewer will have to giggle.
Surprisingly enough, it’s the three young leads who make the biggest impact on the viewer, with Black’s affected take on Stine sort of getting lost in the noise and spectacle of things. While he’s amusing enough in the role (as is Jillian Bell, who plays Zach’s oddball aunt), the viewer is more invested in the trio, particularly Zach and Hannah. A third-act twist also packs a punch regarding these two, although the final resolution of that matter is perhaps too pat and could’ve been less lazily scripted.
Goosebumps is perfect Halloween season fun for the family, for monster hounds, and for devotees of the R.L. Stine form. Its likable lead cast leaves an impression, not just in the more humorous and action-oriented aspects of the film but also in the quieter moments, while Jack Black does his Jack Black thing just fine. Abetted by a nice Danny Elfman score, Goosebumps is scary good!
