Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 9, 2015.

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Director: Rob Letterman

Cast: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 

Length: 103 minutes

Opening: Oct 14 

 

With Halloween just around the corner, timing could not be more right for a movie like Goosebumps to premiere in cinemas this month. The film is based on the bestselling children’s book series of the same name, which is bound to excite both millennials who grew up reading them in the 90s and young readers who have just discovered the series. 

Instead of adapting one Goosebumps story for the big screen, the movie instead combines all the creatures from the complete kiddie-horror series. The movie is a genre mash-up, which mixes stereotypical American high school clichés with R L Stine’s monsters. It follows teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette), who is upset at being forced to move from a big city to a small town after his mother takes a job as the vice-principal at the local high school. Things, however, begin to look up when he meets the beautiful girl next door, Hannah (Odeya Rush), and makes friends at school with the goofy Champ (Ryan Lee). Not everything seems right, though, with Hannah’s mysterious father, who we find out later is Stine (Jack Black), the author of the Goosebumps series. 

When Zach and Champ sneak into the house next door, they discover the reason for Stine’s mysterious behaviour after they accidentally unleash the creatures from his books by accident. With all the creatures on the loose, it is up to Stine and the trio to try and get all these creatures back into the books where they belong, so they can save themselves and the town. 

Goosebumps is funny, spooky and touching with plenty of excitement to keep audiences at the edge of their seats. The decision to forego the anthology structure of the series is a good one as it manages to pack enough punch with characters from the books, such as Slappy the Dummy, the Invisible Boy and the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena all making appearances. These creatures give the film a strong sense of nostalgia with their whacky shenanigans and slick CGI treatment.   

Black is amusing in his role as Stine, but you would find yourself rooting more for the trio, who hold their own as the leads well. Zach and Hannah have good chemistry, while Champ takes on the trope of the geeky best friend with much success. There are certain subplots in the film that get lost in the high jinks and could have been more developed as the film goes on. At certain moments in the film, it is hard to keep track of the creatures, but the film redeems itself with its musical score and cast. 

Ultimately, Goosebumps is definitely a film to watch with the family for Halloween without being too scary. The film gives old fans of the books the opportunity to see their favourite creatures on the big screen and also introduces a new generation of fans to the series.

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