Goosebumps The best part about meeting your favorite author is finally getting to tell them how to improve their books. Unfortunately, the teen in this family-comedy is only interested in the writer's daughter. When Zach (Dylan Minnette) and his mom (Amy Ryan) move in next-door to Mr. Shivers (Jack Black) and his daughter Hanna (Odeya Rush), Zach is instantly smitten with her. But when Zach and his friend (Ryan Lee) break into Hanna's house to free her from her father, they not only discover that Shivers is actually kid lit author R.L. Stine, but accidentally bring every monster he created for his horror series to life. A wholly original tale featuring elements from every Goosebumps book and TV episode, this awesome adaptation benefits greatly from Black's maniacal performance, as well as its spunky script and first-rate effects. However, if everything they wrote materialized authors would just write about licensed theme parks. Green Light
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capone66625 January 2016
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claudio_carvalho6 March 2016The teenager Zach (Dylan Minnette) moves from New York with his widow mother Gale (Amy Ryan) to Madison, Delaware, where she will be the vice- principal of the local high-school. Zach is bored and upset and while bringing his cardboard boxes with his belongings home, he meets his gorgeous next-door neighbor Hannah (Odeya Rush) that welcomes him. But soon her creepy father R.L. Stine (Jack Black) threatens him if he gets close to his daughter again. Zach befriends the clumsy Champ (Ryan Lee) at school and they schedule to go to a party together on Friday. However, Zach meets Hannah again but they are caught by Stine. Zach believes that Stine is an abusive father and he breaks in his house with Champ to seek out Hannah. When Zach opens a book in Stine's library, he accidentally unleashes a monster from the book. Soon he learns that the weird Stine is a famous writer of horror stories that keeps his imaginary friends that are monsters locked up in each book. But Zach released the evil Slappy that promises to bring havoc to Madison opening all the books on the same time.
"Goosebumps" is a silly film that entertains. The plot has funny moments but Champ is an unbearable character and Ryan Lee does not help with his face. "Aunt" Lorraine is also annoying, but Amy Ryan performs a nice character. The chemistry between Dylan Minnette and the lovely Odeya Rush, who seems to be a sister of Mila Kunis, are worthwhile watching. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Goosebumps: Monstros e Arrepios" ("Goosebumps: Monsters and Chills") -
TheMovieDiorama25 July 2019In what may just be the greatest marketing tool for R. L. Stine's series of children's horror novels, Letterman grants us the PG adaptation of 'Cabin in the Woods'. The abominable snowman, a werewolf, evil ventriloquist doll, a colossal praying mantis and even an army of garden gnomes. It's a menagerie of Halloweeny goodness, enough to spark the imagination from the youngest of viewers before the film concludes due to its ridiculous rapid pacing. A group of teenagers and the author of the Goosebumps novels accidentally open various manuscripts that literally transform the ink to reality. With the monsters unleashed, it's up to them to lure the ghouls back in before Slappy the Dummy burns all of the manuscripts, leaving them trapped in the real world forever.
If you're like me and have never read a single Goosebumps novel, despite one of the titles being 'I Live in your Basement!' (a phrase I say way too often...), then no need to panic. Turn off Tenacious D, switch over from 'School of Rock' and give it ago. As far as embodying an entire intellectual property goes, Goosebumps is accessible to everyone. Mostly because you'll be enthralled by pointing at the screen and loudly proclaiming "oh wow, it's a floating vampire poodle!", and that's where most of the enjoyment lies. The brisk exploration of these creatures, whilst solely powering the plot, brings out the family horror that is the essence of the original source material. Some monsters are better realised than others, the invisible boy and werewolf lacked a certain "je ne sais quoi", but on the whole the agglomeration of furry/fleshy/plastic ghouls were intricately designed.
The same cannot be said for the human characters however. Unfortunately, the one-dimensional protagonist, his robotically monotonous love interest and his new best friend that irritates more than he entertains, aren't enough to keep me invested in the story. The performances were fine, although Rush was instantly forgettable compared to Minnette and Lee, yet it's the basic screenplay that disallows any personable qualities to be brought forward. The comedy was scattered and rarely landed, mostly because Letterman focused on Black's rip-roaring, insatiable and rather exhausting charisma and the nightly frights. Various plot conveniences, such as Zach's aunt randomly appearing to save the day when the teens were about to be shredded by the werewolf, bring the enjoyment down a smidgen and of course allow for many eye-rolling moments. The third act chucks in as many monsters as possible and diminishes the intensity of the tightly wound second act. Oh, and I counted three jump scares in this family film. Three!
So whilst the monstrous thrills were somewhat lacking, the comedy was sporadic and the human characters were more hideous than that pinkish Blob, it does harness the accessibility of Stine's novels and Black is as hyperactive as ever. Which is a good thing, right? -
morrison-dylan-fan22 March 2016With Goosebumps recently having reached UK cinemas,I was pleased to discover that the film was already out on Region 1 DVD,with the cost of importing it being far cheaper than getting a family ticket,which led to me getting ready for my arms to be covered in goosebumps.
View on the film:
Taking 20 years to reach the screen,the screenplay by Darren Lemke/Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski's adaptation of R. L. Stine's novels contains a surprising level of fizz,as the writers are joined by an energetic score from Danny Elfman which keeps the spooky chase moving at a slick pace.
Surrounding the movie with some of Stine's most famous monster,the writers smartly use Stine's spooky offerings for a delightful Adventure tale,as new monster/obstacle that pops out leads to the gang having to find a new way to escape its deadly clutches.
Finding a good spot for a terrific tribute to Gulliver's Travels,director Rob Letterman and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe pick up on the atmosphere in the screenplay by covering the title in bright crayon reds and greens which firmly place the film in Adventure Movie mode. Along with the family Adventure side, Letterman also displays a good eye for bringing the Goosebumps monsters to stylish,spooky life.
Reuniting with Letterman after 2010's Gulliver's Travels, Jack Black gives a very good (somewhat) restrained performance as Stine, (and the voice of Slappy & Invisible Boy)thanks to Black's held-back voice giving Stein a quiet creepiness,as the Goosebumps go bump in the night. -
Anyone who was a kid or had a kid over the past twenty years knows what Goosebumps are, and R.L. Stine finally gets an upgrade from the small screen to a major motion picture by Sony Pictures, and we're satisfied.
A teenage boy Zach and his mom move to Delaware, where Zach promptly runs into his next door neighbor Hannah and her odd father. When Zach thinks Hannah is in danger, he springs to be savior, but things aren't quite what they appear. Her dad is hiding a secret, and when Zach and his new friend Champ disregard the father's warnings, amazingly scary things come to life.
Goosebumps the film is made for the kids, this isn't the type of film that is trying to bridge the age gap at being universally beloved. Lucky for the film, its makers know their market and the children in my theater loved it, and for this kid at heart, we liked it too.
One of the smartest decisions the filmmakers made in making an R.L. Stine film adaptation of the beloved book series Goosebumps was casting Jack Black as the token 'adult' in the film. While we know Black has aged in real life, he is one of the few men in Hollywood who hasn't lost his wonder, and that transcends the big screen. He may put on a funny accent for the role of R.L. Stine but he has the right sentiment and that is obvious to audience members.
The rest of the cast is equally wholesome and approachable, with each of the three teens (Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush and Ryan Lee) being equally effective in their roles. The characters they portray aren't anything extraordinary or new, but they are archetypes we know and enjoy. The stand out among the three would be Odeya Rush and scenes where the kids are interacting with one another.
Goosebumps does one thing that we wish would've been a bit bolder, and that is stray away from the horror and air more on the side of family adventure comedy. It's like Jumanji with zombies instead of a stampede of African wildlife. And that is also where it loses points for originality, as adult film goers will see the same plot line in a different skin, which is a tad disappointing for something as creative as the Goosebumps book series.
There are scares, especially for those ages 12 and under, almost all 'jump scares' of the fun variety. And that is the type of tone Goosebumps is aiming for, fun and entertaining. Of course, being a fan of the series when I was a kid, I hoped for the creatures from the pages of the books to be a bit more eerie, but alas.
Anyone who says this film is a complete disappointment must have lost their inner child ages ago. They are probably the type that says Santa Clause doesn't exist either or that monsters under the bed aren't real – and we all know those things are true. Goosebumps gets our seal of approval for popcorn, feet up, enjoyment.
Please check out our website for full reviews of all the recent releases. -
billygoat107124 October 2015Goosebumps seems like it would be best handled by an expert of family/horror films such as Joe Dante. Instead, they got the one who helmed Gulliver's Travels, but for some reason, this movie pleasantly offers beyond than just another nostalgic cash grab. Maybe to those who wants to linger more on the monsters from their favorite Goosebumps books may get disappointed since most of them are shoehorned as another monstrous villain to run away from. However, the film manages to tell a story of its own from its characters. Yes, their arcs can be by-the-numbers, or more specific, nothing original whatsoever, but it manages to find its own heart and sense of fun to its own story, which makes it quite entertaining and surprisingly heartwarming.
The first act is the strongest of the entirety. Though the main protagonist, Zach, doesn't have any special arc to focus on, but it gets better when he meets his new neighbor, Hannah, and their small innocent moments manages to bring easy charm with these characters. The rest of the characters are just downright kooky as they provide exaggeratedly delivered punchlines. Though, this is the kind of world this movie establishes, almost everyone is basically a cartoon. Some moments work, while some is just admittedly corny, but we accept it in this sort of context anyway. Nothing is particularly scary, either. The plot is just hunting down these monsters; set piece after set piece, punchline after punchline, then some emotional twists and somewhat. It doesn't quite have an exact narrative structure, but these scenes are still quite fun and engaging when it counts. It may still be a letdown to the fans about the fact that the monsters are treated nothing more than grand spectacles.
The special effects are pretty fake looking, but still they don't look too bad. It's just not spooky or scary, purposely of course. It would be more interesting if they are a little bit in a campy horror way rather than overly kid friendly. I mean this is a family movie, but the books were intended for kids and they are horror stories, so why avoid creeping them out here or, nevermind. If their intention is to embrace the silliness, then that's a better argument. I'll just assume that's the case rather than toning the general audience down. Slappy looks cool, though. The acting is nice: Jack Black is just priceless, nothing more, nothing less. However I wish the teens would react more whenever they try to catch a monster. Maybe it's just me, but I suggest more expressions, perhaps. Though they perform better at the less louder scenes; Dylan Minnette is alright as the lead, though the best among the three is Odeya Rush, who has done enough job as the heart of the picture. The other kid is basically just another comic relief in this realm of comic reliefs.
Goosebumps is a little messy, but overall it's still all out fun. Yeah, the monsters aren't quite interacted that properly and it was just kind of shoehorned, but it provides some admirable choices to its story. It makes the typical character arcs resolve with sincerity or just genuine charm. There's a lot of inspired moments, despite most of the monsters look pretty cuddly. The totally cartoon approach might be the film's way of saying that they're pretty aware that the source material has always been ridiculous, and they just broadens it. They still gave some heart to the novellas, by surface and Slappy. It's crazy, amusing and eventually endearing. I believe that the movie is actually worth the nostalgia, in spite of its more candy looking. -
I'm surprised that Hollywood hasn't made a 'Goosebumps' film yet. I would have expected one or three at least a decade ago, given that all of the horror books by R.L. Stine have sold millions of copies and continue to do so. I guess the time is right more now than ever though as Halloween is approaching. I remember reading a variety of these stories back when I was very young and always remembered those iconic covers of each book. I wouldn't say that they books really did any permanent damage, scaring me, but they were quite fun and entertaining from what I remember.
They were always good, short reads, and straight to the point, with a small amount of heart, soul, and life lessons in between the mild scares. These characters and books were part of most people's childhoods if you grew up in the 'X' or 'Y' generation. These generations now have kids of their own, and I'm quite happy to say that this film adaptation of 'Goosebumps' should satisfy both adults and children.
Directed by Rob Letterman ('Cowboys and Aliens'), this film follows a teenage boy named Zach (Dylan Minnette), when he moves in with his mother next door to Hannah (Odeya Rush) and her mysterious father who happens to be R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the writer of all the 'Goosebumps' books. Stine is fairly kooky here in that fun Jack Black sort of way, and he wants almost zero contact from the outside world in fear that they will discover his writings, and for good reason. You see, if one of his original manuscripts is opened again, whatever monsters or creatures that are in those pages will come to life.
Well it just so happens that Zach and his new fun, yet geeky friend Champ (Ryan Lee) accidentally open all of the books, and every R.L. Stine monster that is created gets out, including the Abominable Snowman, the lawn gnomes, the Giant Mantises, the Werewolf, and of course everyone's favorite dummy, Slappy, who is more or less the leader of these creatures. Make no mistake about it, these monsters are pure evil and are out to kill any human in sight, which makes for some surprisingly suspenseful moments. This aspect is something I loved about this movie.
Sure, some of the characters and dialogue are very silly and full of youthful humor, but when it comes to the monsters, they really didn't dumb it down, but rather kept it lively, action-packed, and somewhat scary. It's a great mix of both comedy and mild horror that should be fun for the whole family, along with some decent life lessons. The visual and practical effects were both top notch for a kid's film, which was a delight to see as well, and the performances are all a bit over-the-top, but endearing. For what it is, 'Goosebumps' is a highly entertaining Halloween film, perfect for the whole family, and I'd expect a sequel soon.
Recommended! -
Raja7916 March 2022This movie was incredibly entertaining, and the best part of this movie was undoubtedly and obviously that dummy, SLAPPY!
I would say that Slappy in this movie is better and scarier than he was back in the 90s show. They really pulled off Slappy very nicely! -
I revisited this with my daughter n nephew last evening. The best part about this film is that it moves at a very steady pace n doesn't get boring or preachy at all.
A teenage boy unintentionally unleashes the monsters from Stine's books. It has all the monsters but the focus is more on the Werewolf n Snowman n both of em r pretty well done. Since it's based on the children's book n one of the best part about the books is that they never contain any depravity, drugs or violence. So dont expect monster mayhem in this film. -
georgedarwell9 April 2022Goosebumps has loads of spooky scenes and charm with funny and enjoyable humour and a good fast pace. Also having a good cast Goosebumps should satisfy many people.
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warriorspirit24 January 2016If I was 10 years younger and perhaps 10 IQ points dumber I would loved loved this movie. This takes me back to those Nickoledian days, particularly their famous show "Are you afraid of the dark" where a group of kids would come together before midnight to tell scary stories to each other and stories of monsters coming out of books were among the most popular; so this entire movie could have fit like an extended episode in the series.
Intellectually and emotionally this is at the level of high school with the classic high school tropes: young kid moves to a new school, falls in love with a weird girl, geeky virgin wants to get laid so desperately tries to be his friend, oh and there is high school prom. Of course with the major difference that a universe of monsters from the Goosebumps series have been accidentally unleashed on the town, and are going to crash that prom night.
Technically, a well polished movie with good monster effects work, but which is becoming run of the mill stuff now in your typical Hollywoood teenie pic. -
wjets919 October 2015Goosebumps is a fun, family friendly movie. It captures the nostalgia from back when I was a kid, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie throughout.
The essential storyline is, monsters are released from R.L. Stine's manuscripts and cause mayhem through the town. We follow as the main leads attempt to put an end to the madness.
The actors do a decent job throughout, and Jack Black really excels as R.L. Stine. Aside from him, the main cast is made up of relative unknowns, however they do an adequate job.
The special effects are very well done, and the monsters look real.
Overall, I don't feel this movie is going to win any awards, but if you just want to have a good time at the movies, then go check it out. -
ksf-24 June 2022Fun story! Jack black plays stine. And the actual author of this story, robert stine, plays.... mr. Black! Wacky. When his family moves to a new house in the burbs, zach is the new kid at school. And strange things are happening in the hood... he meets a cute girl. A monster is on the loose, but it seems to be harmless. This is all tied to the weird neighbor next door, hannah's father. He's grumpy, has a terrible temper, and has his own issues. And doesn't want to talk with zach and his friends. There's a talking dummy. Evil garden gnomes. It's silly but fun. Some clever twists here and there! Fun, family safe film. Directed by rob letterman. As of today, there's a television series in the works as well.
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spencergrande68 December 2016There seems to be a lot of talk about how this film isn't nearly as bad as it should have been. And while that may be true, in the sincerest way possible whilst residing in the cynical franchise driven Hollywood big- budget culture, it's also kind of like saying that getting punched in the chest isn't as bad as you thought--it could have been your face. How about not getting punched at all?
This isn't a very good film. It's fine, has its fleeting moments. The 3D isn't even well utilized.
Most of the Goosebumps books that are used involve big monsters in some way, which makes sense, but also isn't particularly creative. -
codykonior16 January 2016We went in expecting a children's adventure (which usually satisfies open minded and fun loving adults too!) but in this case the movie is really intended only for the kids.
Jack Black's delivery is hammed up a little, the romance and teen themes are mind bogglingly bad) not as bad as Twilight though, I'll give them that!) One character just seems to be there for "annoying kid" trope purposes.
But the CGI was okay. The actors seemed to be trying or at least had their reasons. But altogether something felt flat about how it all came together and the movie wasn't very enjoyable or memorable. I don't know what went wrong but I blame the script. -
quincytheodore20 October 2015For most movies, being formulaic would be a flaw. This is not the case with Goosebumps, it takes full advantage of the nostalgia effect and instead of going for edgy dark atmosphere, it stays within the boundary of its fun juvenile antics. It brings mild comedy of horror with surprisingly decent visual effect as well as healthy amount of witty jokes.
The set-up itself will be a reminiscence of retro horror and 90s gimmicks. From the quiet suburban life where the sneaker-wearing teen protagonists would wander off due to boredom, the strangely oblivious adults who only realize the dire problem far too late and all the PG-13 monsters, it just reeks of nostalgia. However, the movie also balances this with a few modern touches so it would be accessible to previous and current generation.
Plot isn't complicated, the trailer or synopsis pretty much script the whole thing. Monsters from the book roam a once peaceful city and a merry band of teens must save it from destruction. There are a few developments here and there, but none too major or shocking which is understandable for family movie. Granted, there are a couple of plot holes or a few scenes where it feel too frantic, but audience would mostly be lenient considering the silly nature of the movie.
Its greatest asset aside nostalgia is the humor. The cast does a fine job delivering the timely quips and awkward situations even during chaotic danger, or rather it works from the irony of being in such danger. There's surprisingly good chemistry between them, beyond just stereotypical teen escapades. Jack Black does his usual eccentric persona. While it's not great, it's presentable, plus the movie needs a big name for push.
Goosebumps is arguably predictable and can be hectic at times, yet it has sufficient nostalgia charm and witty humor for an entertaining family oriented adventure comedy. -
RforFilm27 October 2015Reading is a big part of my life and credit is due where it is deserved. Most might stake their claim on the start of their reading journey to something classic like Shakespeare or maybe something more modern like J.K. Rowling. I heave read those too, but I like to thank the works of R.L. Stine and more particularly, his Goosebumps series. Instead of being a continuing series that tell one big story like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, the Goosebumps books were more like The Twilight Zone anthology where each story told a supernatural scenario that happens to children.
It's hard to defend the Goosebumps books as masterpieces and to even say that R.L. Stine was a good writer as many stories were taken from preexisting media, but I got my start here for two reasons. The first was that I learned a lot about classic monsters from this series as they ranged from werewolves to zombies to vampires to talking dummies and even giant bugs. Second was that chapters were always ending on cliffhangers, preventing me from putting them down as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The books are now coming life in it's own feature film, Goosebumps.
Teenager Zach Cooper (played by Dylan Minnette) moves with his mother from New York to small town Madison, Delaware. He meets his next-door neighbor "Mr. Shivers" (played by Jack Black) who warns him to stay away. Zach meets two other people; a socially awkward geek Champ (played by Ryan Lee) and Mr. Shivers teen daughter Hannah (played by Odeya Rush) who takes a liking to the new kid. One night, Zach hears Hannah's scream and tries to call the police, but Shivers shoos them away. Zach tricks Shivers into driving to the police station to find out what's going on.
Inside, he finds a large shelf full of Goosebumps manuscripts. Before a fine Hannah can stop them, he unlocks a book causing a yeti monster to attack. They lure him to an ice rink where Shivers finds them and sucks the monster back into the book. Zach and Champ figure out that Mr. Shivers is actually Goosebumps author, R.L. Stine. When they get back, they find that the talking dummy Slappy (voiced by Jack Black) is angry and takes all the manuscripts where he unleashes every monster created by R.L. Stine. It's up to the author and the three teens to get the monsters back into the books before they spread chaos around town.
Goosebumps could have been an easy dumb kids story, but I'm surprised that the movie is very self aware of it stories and the jokes that they crack. They take several stabs at the writing of R.L. Stine and his work, yet manages to pay enough of a homage that it doesn't seem too mean. While some of the monsters like the yeti and the werewolf are CGI (not rendered that well), the rest look very well, especially Slappy who's both creepy and funny. The story itself is a good set up (kind of a cross between Jumanji and Gremlins) and adapting individual stories are not plausible are most were too short. The problem here is that it moves at such a fast pace that I rarely have a chance to catch up. It's not that trying to spew a lot of plot, but the action scenes are fast to get to another. For what they do though, they are entertaining.
Jack Black makes for a good R.L. Stine as does everyone else. The main character Zach could have used more personality, but I didn't mind as the monsters and the author were the real stars and what audience are going to want in the end.
I'll give this seven Goosebumps books out of ten. Goosebumps knows who it's audience is; children that read the books and nostalgic fans from the nineties. I probably would have liked it more had it gone darker, but I appreciate Sony for making a spooky movie for families. If you liked the books, then you'll probably enjoy Goosebumps. Just don't expect it to be too scary. -
rgkarim18 October 2015Remember 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.
Acting wise our cast has done their jobs of bringing the kids series to life. Jack Black was by far my favorite of the crew, capturing both the look and persona I envisioned of the famous writer. Black's theatrical, overdramatic delivery works well in this film, building up the comedy in the scenes and adding some punch to the punch lines. He even does some voice acting in the film, bringing some humorous elements to Slappy and the Invisible Boy but still adding a little menacing atmosphere to the mix. Dylan Minnette's performance as a struggling teenager was spot on, and was perhaps the most balanced character of the bunch. He held his emotions in check, and made for a relatable hero to latch on to. The lovely Odeya Rush helps ground the silliness and excitement, resetting the moment to keep the adventure fun instead of overbearing. As for Ryan Lee, well his role is the opposite of Rush's, primarily escalating the scene to ridiculous levels with screaming, panicking, and more screaming. He was funny at times, but his characters antics got old after a while.
Filming wise the movie is has decent quality, in both special effects and camera work. The animation and design of the monsters is decent, personalized to mimic their expected natural movements. Slappy moves in a jerky, blocky, and somewhat stiff motion much like you would see in a ventriloquism dummy. However, the werewolf's digital design is sleek, with fierce, fluid movements seen in wolves. The camera work is also decently stable, only going into a chaotic frenzy once or twice during the adventure. Our team maximizes the intensity and emotion in each scene, making sure to use the best angles to film the scene. There are numerous shots that are obviously designed for the 3-D version of the film, many of them involving something coming out of the screen to "terrorize" the audience. At this point I will say I don't see a need for watching this movie in 3-D, but for the full cinematic effect you'll need to spend the extra cash.
Overall Goosebumps is a fun Halloween adventure that families will certainly enjoy. Nostalgia runs deep in the veins of this movie, and fans like me will enjoy the adventure Hollywood has set up for us and be thoroughly entertained. Would I recommend a trip to the theater? For the special effects and fun, yeah I would recommend it, especially in the 2-D version. It is at least worth a NetFlix or RedBox rent whenever it joins their library in the future.
My scores for Goosebumps are:
Action/Adventure/Comedy: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5 -
As a fan of the books as a child, there was much to look forward to in this amalgamation of R. L. Stine's horror series. The movie was marketed towards younger generation of kids but since it was about writing and this was my favorite series, I went to see it.
Jack Black played R. L. Stine with a his usual charisma, and I thought his performance to be one of the most entertaining parts. He portrayed the horror writer with panache and was the source for most of the writer jokes. I liked how he was angered at the comparison to Stephen King claiming he had sold more copies of books. I guess even famous authors have doubts, but this was fiction. The cameo of the real R. L. Stine was quickly stuck in.
The entire meta premise of the books crossing over into the real world was interesting and didn't really need an explanation that was never supplied. I was willing to go along with it and I assume most kids would too.
The teenage cast members did a manageable job and nothing was too terrible to take away from the film. The romantic subplot between Odeya Rush as Hannah and Zach, played by Dylan Minnette, helped the story along and the comedic asides from Ryan Lee's Champ didn't fall flat. Zach's aunt, the always funny Jillian Bell, had a few good lines.
The special effect were nothing amazing, made more for kids but they did make good use of the 3D in a few parts, especially the werewolf. Slappy the dummy was a great lead villain and should come back if they make a sequel.
Overall this was a goofy kids movie that played on my nostalgia. I wish they had made more references to the novels instead of just throwing a bunch out there as an homage but I'm sure explaining all of the different books would have made for a longer movie. The pace already felt rushed. It was passable. -
The Goosebumps book series where a big sellers in the 90's, so was the T.V. series, which was The Twilight Zone for preteens. R.L. Stine proves he had a creative mind with such bizarre tales and some insane plot twist. So having some of the Goosebumps characters come alive in the real world, is quite a tribute to R.L. Stine's work.
Jack Black is quite enjoyable, seems to having the most fun has Stine, at times he is a little over the top, but in a good way. Odeya Rush is good has Hannah. But it's Dylan Minnette and Ryan Lee who play Zach and Champ, really bring the comedy here, those two have such comedic chemistry they are like a comedy team. The effects are incredible, an amusing CGI fest. The movie never takes itself seriously, if you like The Monster Squad(1987), so I'll bet you'll get an good ride out of Goosebumps. -
Seraphion27 October 2015Zach and his mom just moved into Madison, Delaware. He meets his neighbor Hannah, a home-schooled girl. One night she shows him an abandoned amusement park. Her father warns him not to see her again. He then sees their shadow on the window, arguing when she suddenly screams, making him call the cops. The father disproves his claims, but then he tricks him to go out, and Zach sneaks in; taking a new friend Champ who's passing by. They found a collection of locked Goosebumps manuscripts. Champ suspects something but Zach dismisses it, opening the lock with a key. Hannah comes finding the opened book, which suddenly has its title monster, the abominable snowman, jumps out from the pages. It runs out after tearing out a wall. Zach and Champ follow Hannah chases it to a hockey rink. She explains it can be locked back in the book if they open the book on it. They get cornered by it but the father opens the book behind it, locking it back into the book.
Back at Hannah's place they find another book, Slappy's, has been accidentally opened. Slappy greets them and soon runs away with the rest of the books after burning his own book. Slappy starts opening the books and burning them after the monsters in them get out. Hannah, Zach, Champ and the father face a batch of evil gnomes and escape. In the car father reveals himself as the Goosebumps writer R.L. Stine. He explains the cause behind the monsters being real. They shake off the invisible boy and escape a giant locust into a supermarket, only to find a werewolf. Zach's aunt Lorraine saves them and Zach tells her to warn the town while they take a shortcut to find Stine's special typewriter in Zach's school to let him write another book to catch all the monsters back. They escape ghouls in the cemetery shortcut, and Zach discovers Hannah is also Stine's creations.
In the school Zach confronts Stine about Hannah. They find the typewriter and Zach and Champ warns the school dance. The giant locust confirms Zach's warning. Slappy focuses the monsters advance to the school, setting free more monsters and burning more books. The school gets barricaded but the monsters advance easily. Champ helps a girl from the werewolf. Slappy confronts Stine, breaking his fingers and stopping him from finishing the new book. The whole school gets cornered, so Stine, Hannah, Zach and Champ lures the monsters away while they flee to the amusement park. Slappy sets fee the blob so Stine lets himself gets captured as bait while Hannah and Zach get to the ferris wheel and finish the story. But as the new book sucks all the monsters back in, so does Hannah gets sucked in. Stine gets a job at the school, and apparently he wrote another book, a rewrite on Hannah, bringing her back to reality.
Well, now I see why the movie managed to nab top positions in the box office for its first weeks. It was able to gain in from the combination of factors; the building mood approaching Halloween, the lack of good and worthy Halloween movies, and the sense of nostalgia of the 90s kids who then read the books, like I did. Although the story doesn't really reflect the usual mood of the original books, at least the nostalgia effect kicks in greatly as the appearance of the familiar monsters keeps the old readers to their seats the entire movie.
Again I must say that the box office phenomenon will likely be mostly caused by the nostalgic parts, as the story itself lacks the focus the original books had. Having more than one monster or ghost at a time deprives the movie of the common horror formula of recurring threat and instead changes the movie into a quick paced adventure rather than the scary children's horror it use to be.
Also the movie doesn't really reflect the full breadth of how Goosebumps can be. I own five Indonesian editions of the book, including the Shock Street, Camp Jellyjam, and Horrorland. It felt very much nostalgic to see Shock Street's locust. But the movie only follows the mainstream Hollywood formula of giving happy endings. I was kind of expecting that the movie may go somewhere wild like how My Hairiest Adventure went.
A thing to add is that the CGI looks nice enough to give adequate weight for the monsters to look scary. The acting overall is just adequate to support the movie. Jack Black did enough as the horror author in a more comedic and adventurous movie. He really looks funny even in his threatening lines. Also he did quite a great job in vicing Slappy and The Invisible Boy, maximizing the contrast in them that I didn't recognize it's him until I read the credits. Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush did just okay, their faces are the real reason they landed the roles.
My opinion about Goosebumps (2015) is a score of 7 out of 10, which covers mainly the nostalgic parts and the adventurous rush. A recommendation just goes as a so-so say since it's not really a horror movie at all in this Halloween time. -
nightcrawlercyp-311-21934619 March 2016I gave a 4 because despite the awful story, the non-scary elements and despite every character (monster) is a lamer version of a character belonging to SK which apparently this writer surpasses (maybe in his dreams) from the clown (IT) the giant praying mantis (spider end of IT) the car (Christine) and so on. Then we have the extremely predictable story. By the time of the parent daughter fight I knew she was a monster. When it was revealed monsters came from books I knew she was one. Also another problem is that you never think that maybe they will fail or that anyone will actually die. You already know everything will end up fine so you are in no way impressed. The whole typewriter thing reminds me of "In the mouth of madness" and many others that hare a similar subject. But unlike those it is never explained how come the typewriter has that power, there is no explanation behind where those characters came from and so on. Also a lot of characters were not believable including Zach and Hannah. But despite all that I cannot claim I did not enjoy it so it has a 4 from me.
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ldbellhayden12 November 2015I took my entire family to see this movie, and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Everything about this screamed, remake of a property from the past, a washed up actor as one of the lead, etc., 'terrible movie', but I'm really glad that they actually made this quite well. I'd say if you need a movie for all ages then Goosebumps is your best best this fall/winter besides Peanuts and Good Dinosaur.
I'm not going to say goosebumps is a perfect movie though, I mean a lot of the main plot points are clichés, and while I liked Black's performance because I thought it was over the top crazy (which he does quite well), others might not find it as amusing. Overall definitely a movie to check out! I watched the Goosebumps cartoon as a kid, and I'm happy to say this is better than previous iterations of R.L. Stein's Goosebumps -
afsalthodupuzha2 November 2015Goosebumps was one easily accessible fiction for most children growing up in the 90's that had a huge fan following then and even now.In my case,there was a plethora of the series in my School Library and hence naturally this one become a regular read and forthwith a childhood favorite that gave goosebumps every time I read it because of its spooky horror element mixed with twists and genuine humor.
Directed by Rob Letterman who gave a lame rework of Gullivers Travels back in 2010 ,the cinematic version of the popular novel do hold the spookiness that the books offer,but only upto an extent.The screenplay by Darren Lemke based upon an original story by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski mixes up creatures like Slappy The Dummy, Zombies,Werewolf,Giant Mantis and Abominable Snowman from the goosebumps series which all gets to be a part of less than two hours long narrative.
The factor of nostalgia plays a significant role here as the screenplay is strictly average and the major factor of appeal is the connect that the viewers develop with the characters whom they have met before in books.Having said this,I must also admit the fact that the movie offers something for even the new audience who have never been to the series in the form of interesting humor and twists.
On the negative side,the horror part was really weak and there wasn't a single moment that could chill the spines in the narration.Further,the mixing up of too many characters into one story couldn't make any wonders as expected and ended as a pretty average effort by the makers to spin out a movie based on the series.
According to author RL Stine,every Goopsebumps story can be broken down into three parts and the same applies to this one too,the twist element here being really impressive and executed well.
Jack Black as R.L Stine couldn't get better and the actor was pretty impressive with his peculiar dialog delivery and mannerisms.Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush were equally good and played their part well.Ryan Lee enacted the clichéd character of a cowardly friend to the hero.
The CGI part was slightly on the disappointing side considering this as a Hollywood movie,but made up by neat editing and cinematography.
Overall,Goosebumps is a retro-fashioned horror comedy that can be watched with families this Halloween. -
Vivekmaru458 January 2016Or say Mr. William Shakespeare, "Methinks This Film Stinks." I agree with both of them. The film is an adaptation of R. L. Stines Goosebumps series of children's books. Goosebumps was made into a TV anthology series that ran for four seasons from 1995 to 1998.
Goosebumps stars Jack Black as the author R. L. Stine, whose creations are literally brought to life when his storybooks are opened. So he keeps them locked and leads the life of a recluse, in the fear that someone else may try to open the books, thereby letting loose the monstrosities contained within.
Plot: After moving into the town of Madison, Delaware, a teenage boy named Zach (Dylan Minnette) meets Hannah (Odeya Rush), his new neighbor. Hannah's father is R. L. Stine (Jack Black), who writes the Goosebumps stories and keeps all the ghosts, monsters, and villains in the series locked up in his manuscripts including Slappy the Living Dummy, the Abominable Snowman, Will Blake's werewolf form, the Giant Mantis, the living Garden gnomes, the graveyard ghouls, a Giant pink Blob and the Invisible boy named Brent Green. Zach and his friend Champ (Ryan Lee) unintentionally open one of Stine's books, leading to the release of every ghost, monster, and villain from the manuscripts. Now Zach, Hannah and Stine team up in order to put the ghosts and monsters back where they came from before they overrun the town and harm people.
Verdict: If you've seen the films Jumanji(1995) and Zathura(2005) based on Chris Van Allsburg's books, then the special effects in the film will not impress you. Indeed I find that these two films are far too superior and that Allsburg is a better author than Stine.
Jack Black's acting is monotonous, his jokes, facial expressions are becoming boring and monotonous. His best films were School of Rock (2003) and Nacho Libre (2006). His most comedic performance was in Nacho Libre, and I sincerely think that he will be remembered for this role.
Dylan Christopher Minnette is another young actor that has done work in many productions like TV series Lost, Saving Grace, Awake and the comedy film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I do not consider him an extraordinary actor.
Opposite him is Odeya Rush who starred in the science-fiction film The Giver (2014) directed by Phillip Noyce.
Thank you for reading this review. Live long and prosper.
More films: The Neverending story 1984, Return To Oz 1985, Joey a.k.a Making Contact (1985. Watch this highly underrated film. You will believe), Paperhouse (1988. Must see. Highly Recommended), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Time Bandits (1981), Dragonslayer(1981).