Not far into the first act of Goosebumps, I realized that
this was a film made for an audience much younger than myself—now at 29.
While that might sound like a bad thing, it’s not at all.
The “Goosebumps”
series was created by author R.L. Stein in 1992, making it prevalent throughout
much of my grade-school career. It would make sense for the target
audience of a Goosebumps movie to be an older set, but, as someone who
worshiped those books, I’m happy to see the series gifted to a new, younger
generation.
Director Rob Letterman turns the average book adaptation
on its ear by casting Jack Black as R.L. Stein. The Stein in this movie is
a keeper of monsters, a writer whose own creations came to life and now
stay locked away in their original manuscripts, in Stein’s library. Through a
series of mishaps, Stein’s new neighbor (played by Dylan Minnette)
stumbles upon the manuscripts with his pal Champ (Ryan Lee) and the boys
accidentally unleash Stein’s creations upon their town. Both young
men, along with Stein’s daughter (Odeyah Rush), are forced to team up with
the author to capture the creatures before it’s too late.
It’s a fast-paced film with a few great set pieces and
monsters galore; think of it as a horror-tinged Jumanji. I found myself
delighted at all of the “Goosebumps” characters I recognized, frame after
frame. Anyone who grew up with “Goosebumps” books will be suddenly reminded of
all the wonderful characters that filled those pages and adorned their
notoriously colorful covers.
Goosebumps excels in providing a little something for
everyone, across a wide age range. There are just enough scares to keep the
little ones spooked, and it’s paired with enough humor to keep the older ones
laughing. With a runtime short of two hours, Goosebumps is a lean and
entertaining thrill ride that has enough heart and charm to earn the price
of admission. Every child should have an introduction to horror, and
Goosebumps is the safest—and most ideal—way to achieve that.
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