Goosebumps (2015)

Remember when you were a kid, and your parents told you to read something? Chances are you were like me and chose Goosebumps as your series, enjoying the juvenile horrors it brought. R.L. Stine's band of ghouls, goblins, and dummies left me with chills many years ago, along with many memorable stories to enjoy. Now years later, following reprints, spin-offs, and more reprints a movie surrounding Stine's creatures has emerged, and just in time for Halloween. What thrills, or chills, does this installment have for audiences? Read on to find out.

For those who grew up with the series, the main benefit this movie brings is a sense of nostalgia. Director Rob Letterman has placed iconic monsters (such as Slappy, Werewolf of Fever Swamp, and Lawn Gnomes) throughout the movie that will take you on an adventure that screams R.L. Stine. I felt the crew did a nice job integrating some of the characters into the story, providing plenty of "exciting" moments that young and young at heart will enjoy. Many of these scenes make a reference to a part in the book, be it in the form of a quote, iconic scene, or some other mark representative of our monsters. Unfortunately…they limited their monsters to only a few of Stine's horror champions, reducing others to quick cameos that lasted mere seconds. I'm knew that it would be impossible to adequately provide all sixty four books proper screen time in 103 minutes, but was hoping for a few more appearances.

The second strength of Goosebumps is how fun the story is. It's a very simplistic adventure that after a cliché' opening gets pretty exciting. Chases through grocery stores, battling ceramic ornaments, and attempting to escape the clutches of massive mantis are just some examples of the bouts our heroes go through. The plot is of course obvious, but is certainly representative of an R.L. Stine plot. There are a few highly predictable twists in the film, but there are a few lessons that will hit home to audiences of all ages. Humor was injected into the sequences as well, mostly juvenile antics and over the top screaming that had little kids screaming in delight. However, there are a few witty puns and lines dropped at the right time that got some laughs from the older generation. All of the fun takes away from the "scariness" of Slappy and his crew, and wraps the whole film in a cute package.