As a kid I rarely read the Goosebumps books—frankly because their covers scared the crap out of me! The only one I recall reading is The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, which both terrified and gave me nightmares. I have seen several episodes of the Canadian television show however (which the film subtly references), enough to predict nostalgic fans’ being pleased with the film’s overall result. For unfamiliar viewers such as I, Goosebumps is passable entertainment primarily for two reasons—the imaginative monsters and Jack Black. Without them, Goosebumps would be an unbearably plain film—with stock characters in a surprisingly ordinary story. In fact the first 15 minutes (noticeably lacking both Black and monsters) had me staring vacantly at the screen, waiting for something interesting to occur—but I’m getting ahead of myself here.
The plot revolves around Zack Cooper (Alexander and the Terrible...Day’s Dylan Minnette), recently moved from New York to Delaware after his mom (Amy Ryan) got a job working as a high school vice principal. Their neighbors—the mysterious Shivers—live in a sealed up house, with Mr. Shivers warning Zack to stay away from them. Regardless, Zack makes friends with his daughter Hannah (The Giver’s Odeya Rush) as well as high school scaredy-cat Champ (Ryan Lee). When it appears there’s been a domestic disturbance at the Shivers’ house, Zack and Champ sneak in to check on Hannah, only to accidentally release the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena from a magic book…why not. Mr. Shivers saves the three kids and is revealed to be R.L. Stine (Jack Black), creator of the Goosebumps series and magic writer with the ability to bring his monsters to life…again, why not. Things go haywire when his creation Slappy (from the Night of the Living Dummy saga—also voiced by Jack Black) escapes one of the books and begins releasing monsters across the city—leaving it up to Zack, Hannah, Champ and Stine to stop Slappy’s evil scheme.
Jack Black is the key to Goosebumps mild success—in fact (taking into consideration I’ve hardly read the books) he’s the prime reason I went to see the film, and the first attention-grabbing aspect to happen after 15 minutes of trite setup. Black’s particular accent as Stine is right off the bat amusing, as is his dramatic eye movements—darting left to right mysteriously, as expected from a horror novelist. The majority of Stine’s actions are comically dramatized—such as when he angrily throws a statue next to the boys, only for the throw to be pitifully weak:
Stein: (Poorly throws small statue lightly into wall) Ahhhh! (Pausing for effect) I could have killed you!
Champ and Zack: No you couldn’t, that was a terrible throw.
The film likewise gets several fun jabs at R.L. Stine (who makes a cameo as "Mr. Black")—giving him a fictional rivalry with Stephen King, along with a poke at his book sales:
Stine: I’ve sold over 400 million copies!
Champ: Wow, all national!?
Stine: Well international actually, but it’s still rather impressive.
Black likewise does the voice for Slappy, easily Stine’s most memorable creation (even for someone who’s never read the books). It’s pleasing to see Slappy created using actual material, rather than pure CGI—creating (with Black behind the voice) a memorable villain equally sinister and hilarious.
In addition to Slappy, the Goosebumps monsters are delightful eye candy to view—ranging between zombies, a werewolf, and a giant freaky-looking Praying Mantis. The CGI is pretty good (excluding some unnecessary close ups), as is the unfortunately underused capture tactic where the monsters are sucked back into their books (similar to the Ghostbuster’s Proton Pack)—slowly dissolving into ink as they’re forcibly dragged in. Not sure if it’s because I’m older, but the film’s monsters are a lot less…terrifying than their book cover counterparts—in particular the Blob (from The Blob that Ate Everyone), whose depiction scared me so much I’d close my eyes whenever near the book (mostly during trips to the grocery store and library).. Goofiness seems more noticeable with these creatures, and not the unintentional (intentional?) campy style prevalent in the TV series. I’d argue kids will find more enjoyment than terror watching Goosebumps, despite several scenes getting a bit thrilling—particularly during the finale, where all the monsters team up to invade Zack’s high school. The scene is awesome for the monsters, not so much for the humans.
Goosebumps’ major flaw resides in anything not Jack Black and/or the monsters. The film’s remaining characters lack depth, receiving minimal character development in backstory and personality. The film often sets up a character subplot, only to rush, skim, or completely forget it. Goosebumps’ first 15 minutes establish Zack’s sorrow over recently losing his dad, yet never goes anywhere with it other than a few misplaced nods. Zack’s “development” going from grieving recluse to socially active student is barely noticeable given his limited interactions with others and little time to show such apparent growth (the “climax” to such development occurs during a hastily placed scene at a high school dance). I wouldn’t even classify what Zack goes through as character development, he just makes some new friends—the equivalent of adjusting to a new move (which would have happened with or without the monsters).
Everyone else falls into such deficiency as well; Champ, Hannah, Zack’s mom, Zack’s aunt, even R.L. Stine’s development—whether psychological or romantic—feels incredibly rushed and forcibly placed in. Such is a take or leave it scenario—a viewer can either look past the triteness in favor of the monsters and Black’s comedy, or find Goosebumps’ flaws too frustrating for overlooking. I find myself in the former group—Goosebumps is nothing exceptional, but it contains enough enjoyable material to pass as decent Halloween entertainment.