Goosebumps- Movie Review

Rating: B-

Being a 90's kid, R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series was a giant part of my early childhood. Between the legendary television show and the hit book series, every kid my age was obsessed with this creepy universe Stine had created. When I found out a movie paying homage to the Stine's work was coming out, I was beyond excited. I was even more excited when I left the theater happy after seeing Goosebumps. 

I'll admit, although excited, I was skeptical of this project. The last time director Rob Letterman worked with Jack Black was in the 2010 release of Gulliver's Travels. That film was a complete disaster and I feared my beloved Goosebumps would fall victim to such disaster. Yet, it didn't. I had a blast with this movie.

The cast was tons of fun. Jack Black playing R.L. Stine worked so well. I'm a big Jack Black fan and I'm glad he's back making movies that will make kids love him again. He was witty and extremely charming and the character worked so well. Dylan Minnette, known for his minor role in Prisoners, was the leading man and was really good. His character had some depth and was a really good leading man. Odeya Rush was also charming and the tension between her and Minnette felt pretty real for a children's movie. I cannot write this review without mentioning Ryan Scott Lee. Lee, probably known for his role in Super 8, was HILARIOUS. Adults were on the verge of tears when he said something funny. He was easily a highlight of this film.

I have to insert a warning here. Do not go into this film expecting something similar to the television series. Go into Goosebumps expecting a homage being paid to Stine's work. That's what this film ultimately is. It features tons of the creatures and monsters Stine created in his novels. We see Slappy, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, and countless other creatures that gave us nightmares as kids. I personally enjoyed this aspect. Putting all these monsters in one movie will give today's current children the chance to go back and read the novels and learn about all these crazy characters from Stine's books. One thing this film did similarly to the books and television series was the pace. You can barely catch your breath during this movie. Something is always happening. My twelve year old sister's eyes didn't leave the screen for the near two hour run time. Not one kid in my theater got bored. That's an accomplishment in itself. 

One trend I've been seeing in terms of trashing this film is the CGI. People are complaining that the CGI in this movie was too fake. Well, if the CGI on a werewolf was realistic, it would've terrified children. And that wasn't the goal here. The goal of this film was to have a good time and to go on an adventure with the cast. There's some creepy elements in this movie that will certainly creep out a preteen. The faulty CGI allowed for more laughs to occur and for the audience to have more fun. The goal of this movie wasn't to scare the pants off of kids. Goosebumps was never about that. It was and still is about having fun. 

One complaint I have with this film is certain characters weren't necessary at all. There's two cops in this film and besides trying to get cheap laughs, (they didn't even get those), they were insanely unnecessary. Jillian Bell was also randomly in this. I usually love her because she's hilarious. She was funny in Goosebumps but her character didn't serve much of a purpose. She was just there without much reasoning. I thought she'd cater to the adult audience in terms of humor, yet she was just randomly talking about nonsense for most of her screen time. 

I encourage fans of the series to see this film. It's a good time at the movies that's jam packed with fun and entertainment.