Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)

So last week after Venom I said that nobody at Sony would know what going dark was if it licked them in the ass with a giant symbiote tongue. This week, I take it back.

Goosebumps isn't going to wow you with what it has to say, nor does it have much to say in the first place, but this totally understands what it wants to be.

Like the books it's based off of, it's the scary movie starter kit for kids. You get your halloween fright monsters, you get some mild jump scares, you get inspired lunacy and funny references, some for kids, some clearly aimed at adults.

This movie is everything the first movie was and everything that House with the clock in the walls wanted to be.

If you're reviewing it, sure, you can come up with the problem that the plot is pretty much the same from the first movie but the first movie generally was just the creation of a playground to workout zaniness and frights anyway so as long as those work...

Here two kids find a book from R.L. Stine. It winds up bringing Stine's dummy Slappy back to life. Slappy in turn decides he wants to complete the story of one of Stine's earlier works and unleashes a bunch of monsters on the small town in order to do that.

The whole thing is a bunch of fun and nobody is having more of it than Jack Black. He voices Slappy with Crypt-keeper like precision, especially the laugh. He later shows up in person as Stine, full of hillarious mock arrogance.

Slappy is also sure to be the best character here, one who even at his most tame is really mischievous and at his most menacing is enough to make you fear for whoever he's around.

This is also another marvel for Sony Pictures animation. The visual effects, from the costumes in the halloween store that come to life to haunted pumpkins, to demonic gummy bears.

Every once in a while the mom from the Goldbergs or Ken Jeong will come in for some comedic support. The kid actors are fine too and there's a nice message about facing fears.

Really if I was 10 i'd think this was a great movie but even as an adult, I laughed at its absurdity while admiring how it balances being wacky, frightful, and also kid friendly.

If you like this, check out Craig James Review on Youtube for more