Sony Pictures
One of the biggest surprises of 2015 was the Goosebumps movie based on the popular book series by R. L. Stine. I was rather worried about that film because I grew up reading all of the books (I still actually own them) and watching the series on Fox Kids every Saturday morning. It is a series I cherish because it got me interested in reading and gave me quite a scare as a kid. My favorite book as a kid was ‘The Girl Who Cried Monster’, the 8th book of the series. The movie was a success both in theaters and for audience members, so of course Sony Pictures Animation wanted to capitalize on that success. Unfortunately the cast of Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Jillian Bell, and Amy Ryan couldn’t return for the sequel and the film had a much smaller budget to work with. I was not upset at the change since every Goosebumps book is focused on a new set of characters, setting, and story; I was upset at the story itself.
While collecting junk one day, best friends Sonny and Sam, enter the old house of R. L. Stine. Hidden inside his house is an unpublished Goosebumps book titled ‘Haunted Halloween’. By unlocking the book, similar to the first movie, Slappy is released and he has an agenda of his own. Hoping to start his own family, he kidnaps Sonny’s mother and brings all of his ghoulish friends to life.
The best thing about Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is easily the monsters involved. The movie brings characters from such books as ‘The Werewolf of Fever Swamp’, ‘The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena’, ‘The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight’, and ‘Return of the Mummy’. Growing up, these monsters were iconic and memorable and I loved seeing these monsters terrorize the small screen. They were fun to watch on the big screen, even if their moments were brief. The CGI created for these monsters was sub-par and wasn’t as well done as the first film.
Slappy is the main part of the film as he is trying to start his own family and use his monster friends to get what he wants. Slappy appeared in three episodes on the Fox show and I have always thought that the ventriloquist dummy was horrific. He spends the movie trying to become friends with the three main stars. Once they realize his plot, they want nothing to do with him and cast him aside. This doesn’t sit well with Slappy and he wants revenge. How the writers portrayed Slappy in this sequel was pathetic and desperate. It really didn’t feel like Slappy at all. It felt like a version of Slappy that is tired and just wants to settle down and retire his devilish ways.
I watched Goosebumps 2 at 9:30 at night and a family of three sat near me. Within 20 minutes of the film, their young son fell asleep in the AMC recliner seats. It was probably for the best since he was screaming for the first 20 minutes of the film. I think the reason he fell asleep was because the film wasn’t exciting. The movie just felt dull. Half of the film was a set up for Slappy and most of that is the friends setting up science projects or going on dates. No kid wants to watch 30 minutes of kids talking … bring on the monsters and thrills!
I didn’t mind Goosebumps 2. It lacked a sense of fun and tried to mirror the first film. I found Slappy’s storyline to be weak but I did enjoy seeing the monsters I grew up with on the big screen. The movie tanked at the box office and I am not sure what their future plans are for the property, but I would love to see a reboot of the show or smaller budget Netflix movies. Whatever the future holds for Goosebumps, just make it better than this movie.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween has a run time of 1 hour 40 minutes and is rated PG for scary creature action and images, some thematic elements, rude humor and language.
Share this post
