Goosebumps

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Goosebumps was a big part of my childhood, both the books and the television show. Naturally, I was interested in seeing this movie. The final result was a pretty enjoyable Halloween guilty pleasure. It has several fun elements to it, especially Jack Black who plays three characters, each fairly fun and memorable. R.L. Stine is an uptight stick-in-the-mud, very different from the lovable loser Jack Black is known for playing. The Invisible Boy wasn't much more than a throw-away part with Black's voice. But, the absolute scene stealer is Jack Black's portrayal of Slappy the Dummy. The three main teenagers are pretty good in the movie, and the actors have decent chemistry together. On the more negative side of things, the effects can be hit-and-miss. Slappy looks fantastic, and the effects on a specific character that I won't give away are pretty solid too. The lawn gnomes look pretty good too. On the flip side, characters like the Werewolf of Fever Swamp and the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena look downright terrible. Some of the twists are pretty predictable, and can be seen coming from a mile away. Ken Marino plays the gym teacher at the high school. He is a pretty funny actor, but I don't think he was utilized to his full potential. The final twist ending was pretty bad in my opinion, and puts small holes in the plot. As much as I may have torn this movie apart, I do enjoy it. Not everything works. It definitely has its flaws, but it's like a fun family Halloween guilty pleasure movie, similar to The Monster Squad or Hocus Pocus.

6 / 10