I love the whole idea of making horror/scary films for kids. You want to make it scary.... but not too scary or parents won’t let their kids watch it. You want to include dark and creepy concepts but you’re stuck within the constraints of a PG (at best) rating. It’s a constant battle of compromising in your subject matter without damaging the quality. Like pimpin’, it ‘aint easy but it can be done as films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Monster House have shown. The next trick or treating contender comes with no shortage of pedigree either, being based upon the acclaimed children’s book series, Goosebumps. R.L Stine's novels have already spawned a highly successful TV adaptation (the US highest rated kids show for 3 years running), and now Columbia Pictures and director Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens) look to replicate that on the big screen. The result may not be overly scary but it is a surprisingly fun and enjoyable fantasy adventure.
Zach (Dylan Minnette – Let Me In, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), has just moved to quiet Madison, Delawar, met the girl next door, Hannah (Odeya Rush – The Giver) and her strangely private father (Jack Black – King Kong, Kung Fu Panda). However, it turns out her father is secretly the Goosebumps books author R.L. Stine and his monstrous creations are much more than just in his imagination.
Now, it’s been a generation since the books were released or the TV show aired, and the film shows good awareness of this in how it tackles its source material. While there are Easter Eggs aplenty (R.L. Stine himself cameos as “Mr Black”), it predominantly sticks to well known and genre classic style monsters in its featured set pieces. These are well known beasties like werewolves, abdominal snowmen and zombies, the kind of monsters that require little or no explanation. What’s more. it makes the books most well known creation, the creepy ventriloquist dummy Slappy, its principle villain, which doesn’t feel like it’s alienating anyone. Slappy’s character is even expanded to be the dark side embodiment of Stine’s imagination and also played/voiced by Jack Black for terrific effect, especially when the pair converse. Once the little guy makes his big entrance, it plays perfectly into the premise of Stine’s imagination being unleashed and turns everything that follows into a fun adventure as the main characters try to get monsters back inside the pages of their manuscripts. Once the main story is in motion, it develops a good fluid encounter based pace. It utilizes the full town setting vast rogues gallery at its disposal by spending just enough time with each monster in each location so stop the film dragging. Even the more unexpected monsters like killer garden gnomes and levitating poodles make for good fun antics.
Playing the meta card in a kids/family film can be risky as it may fly over the small heads of your audience but Goosebumps keeps it simple and combines it well with humor. While some jokes, like Stine’s jealous rage over comparisons to Stephen King are of course, adult-aimed, but others like forgetting exactly when he wrote about a giant praying mantis are comprehendible for all ages. Despite a bad start while pledging us the normal world of Madison, once the film gets going, the comedy becomes its best feature as its woven naturally into all parts of the film. Of course, with an asset like Black at the centre that’s not a huge stretch but many of the gags are surprisingly well-written such as the awkward hero worship of token geeky friend, Champ (Ryan Lee – Super 8). Despite a few OTT 3D moments the visual effects and monster rendering are good for a mid budget film ($58 million), especially as monsters transition from the inky strands of their literary prison. The scoring is also a nice blend of old school monster movie themes and more atypical dramatic orchestral tones.
The bad bumps come from a few unfortunate cases of taking itself too seriously. The overall tone of the film is a lighthearted romp, so seeing Zach being torn up over his father’s death or Stine confessing about his loneliness and need for companionship feel really out of place. It’s like the film is making big grasping attempts for adult audience appeal that it just doesn’t need to because its sense of fun is universal enough. Especially when you consider that the original Goosebumps generation is now grownups/parents. The ending also turns into less of a page-turner than expected due to predictable twists.
You have to give full credit to Jack Black as from his very first creepy stare he is throwing everything into his performance. He may have less in common with R.L. Stine than Justin Beiber but he does sell you as an overly introverted writer and can be hilarious at a moment’s notice. Dylan Minnette was always going to look muted compared to Black, with a character designed to be the grounded/normal one, but he holds his own and he’s likeable without feeling like he’s trying too hard. Odeya Rush is okay if not overly memorable. The surprise star turn is from Ryan Lee. He starts out a little awkward and annoying quickly becomes very funny as the resourceful coward. Timothy Simons (Veep) and Amanda Lund steal a couple scenes as the town’s incompetent police force and Jillian Bell’s (22 Jump Street); Aunt Lorraine also adds well to the humour.
They’ll be a moment after you leave the cinema when you realize that nothing about Goosebumps was overly new or groundbreaking. You could easily label it as a kiddy Cabin in the Woods or a Jumaji of monsters but taking it at face value, it is good entertainment and family fun. There are talks of a sequel and although the same trick might not work twice, a new story could still be a treat.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!