"You've just unleashed every monster I've ever created!"
Zack (Dylan Minnette) just moved to Madison, Delaware for his mom, as she takes a new vice principal job. A new life is starting, so where to start? One other guy takes a friendly interest in him named Champ (Ryan Lee), but its the girl next door named Hannah (Odeya Rush) that gets the teen finally excited about living in the neighborhood. Hannah isn't allowed, despite a few talks, to socialize with Zach, by her overprotective father (Jack Black). One night, Zack hears screams from Hannah's house and he and Champ go investigate. Upon finding a collection of books, they open one up and accidentally unleash....an abominable snowman! Turns out Hannah's dad is author R.L. Stine, and his characters are apparently real!
The actors do a very believable job bringing their characters to life. Usually much more goofy (or obnoxious), Black is relatively restrained here, though he delivers several clever one-liners and funny gags. Overall, he gives an interesting depiction of Stine, with charisma and lots of interesting moments. As the real leads of the film, Minnette and Rush carry solid chemistry, and are also engaging in their roles. Lee is solid as a supporting role also, while Amy Ryan and Jillian Bell are also given some solid moments as Zack's mom and aunt.
The visual effects, for a cheap(ish) production, are very solid also. Its' not too realistic (thank goodness), and shows that these characters are storybook characters coming to life. There are a few impressive CGI images, such as the giant bug and the lawn gnomes. But overall, its more cartoonish than anything. The action sequences are fun, with one or two particular chase sequences that feel like they could be in a theme park ride.
Danny Elfman's music score is very appropriate and does a nice job accompanying the film at all the right moments. The screenwriters do a nice job implementing some solid slapstick humor here and there, and wisely refrain (at least mostly) from gross-out humor. A couple of very touching scenes showcase very solid messages on accepting and being nice to people who may not fit in, as well as showing kindness to others. Some funny moments.
On the downside, there is hardly anything to complain about. I do think the character Slappy might have been overused. Not saying Black is to blame (he shows off his versatility voicing the character in addition to playing Stine). But he is shown to be the main antagonist, and has way too much time in the film. If only some of the other background monsters could have gotten maybe a little bit more to work with, perhaps?
Goosebumps is a book series I never read. So, upon hearing about this film, it flew under my radar until recently when I heard good things about it from critics as well as family-centric review sites I follow closely. I decided to give it a shot, and I am now more than glad that I did.
It turns out, you don't need to have read the books to enjoy this somewhat old-fashioned thrill ride. The scares here aren't really too scary. Director Rob Letterman, instead of focusing on the terror and horror of it all, instead makes the film more of an amusement park ride, of sorts. In other words, Goosebumps is much more like Scooby-Doo, Sky High and Hotel Transylvania than, say, The Lord of the Rings or The Last Witch Hunter.
And that's what I found Goosebumps to be, a shockingly, very fun ride. The script isn't deep or complex, but it has a few lightly mature touches and twists here and there that are welcome and only make the film more enjoyable. The breezy pace moves fairly quick. The actors give fun performances. Its' exciting. Its' thrilling. And it carries the right amount of visual pizzazz to make it even more likable than the trailers suggest it is.
With all this praise, could this possibly be a modern-day classic? Not quite (at least on first viewing). But I can say that it is one of the most interesting surprises of recent memory.
Score: 8.6/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: One half-gasped "what the h---?" Eight uses of "oh my g--" and the like. "Imbecile" and "sucks".
Adult Content: Zack and Hannah kiss once, so does Champ and one other girl. One woman makes a comment about, "Is he thinking about leaving his wife and needs a push?" A couple of "sexy" comments. A couple of low-cut outfits. Some mild flirting. A teacher warns students that if "a girl's butt is facing another student, they would be thrown out of the dance" (this comment immediately generates some booing from the student body). Someone confuses "audiophile" for "pedophile".
Violence: Monsters break in and are sucked back into books. The Abominable snowman wrecks an ice skating rink. Gnomes throw a knife and other objects at our heroes. Zack and Champ (and others) almost fall into bear traps in the basement (while the gnomes are broken by it and a frying pan). A giant bug apparently badly injures a student and crashes into a town building (causing some light destruction). Someone bites a werewolf. The invisible boy slaps and slaps, and slaps. Slappy slams a case down on Stine's fingers. Monsters break into a high school, causing some problems. A few mildly scary moments here and there. A schoolbus explodes. A ferris wheel spins out of control and over top of trees. A carnivorous blob sucks in someone.
Drugs/Alcohol: Zach is accused of being on drugs at one point.
Other: Champ claims he didn't brush his teeth for a whole year when he was 10. One fart gag and a couple of jokes about Stine's body odor. Attempted (if unintentional) robbery. Though the film stays away from anything spiritually occultic for the most part, Stine does call his monsters "ghouls" and "demons" a couple of times each.
