REVIEW: Goosebumps

Having been born in the 90's, of course Goosebumps was a staple of my personal library all throughout childhood. The books were more cheesy than scary, sure, but the series still served its purpose well as a more macabre alternative to The Mouse and the Motorcycle or Super Fudge. Though the covers were often misleading, the black humor and twist endings filled the same niche as Tales from the Crypt or The Twilight Zone; a niche that I feel is woefully underpopulated these days. It's the reason why I champion films like Trick-R-Treat and Krampus so vehemently, as they harken back to a time when horror could be almost joyful in how absurd and inventive it was. Children's horror in particular is a subgenre that is all but devoid of modern entries; it's the reason why 2015's Goosebumps movie brings me such unironic joy.

The plot plays out like a classic Goosebumps novel, as we find our average teenage protagonist (Zach, played by Dylan Minnette) and his recently-widowed mother (Amy Ryan) moving from New York City to the quiet suburb of Madison, Delaware. As is par for the course in these stories, Zach ends up meeting his mysterious new neighbors, a young girl named Hannah (Odeya Rush) and her aggressively reculsive father, "Mr. Shivers" (Jack Black). Surprise surprise, it turns out that Shivers is actually Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, who possesses the ability to create monsters so lifelike, they literally jump right off the page. After his creepy creations are released from their manuscripts by Slappy (the talking ventriloquist doll from the classic Night of the Living Dummy), it's up to Stine and the kids to set things right and put the monsters back on the shelf where they belong.

When one imagines a Goosebumps movie, the plot is obviously going to be the first (and likely biggest) hurdle. There are countless books in the series, and none of them are particularly long or dense enough to fill in for a feature-length movie. Rather than go for the anthology approach à la Twilight Zone: The Movie, the writers instead decided to combine all of Goosebumps into one universe. It's a stroke of genius, making the film into a complete celebration of the series as a whole. If I have one criticism of this approach, it's that the selection of classic Goosebumps monsters on display feels a tad handicapped by the budget. While Slappy is the main antagonist of the film (which makes sense, considering he's arguably the most iconic character from all the books), a number of the more recognizable creatures (such as Carly Beth from The Haunted Mask or the Pumpkin Heads from Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns) are relegated to blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameos. These cameos are appreciated nonetheless, but considering how many inventive ghouls the Goosebumps books featured over the years, it's a bit of a downer that the most screentime goes to comparatively standard beasts like the Werewolf of Fever Swamp and the generic zombies from Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls.

Everyone gives solid performances here, but it's Jack Black who truly steals the show (playing not only R.L. Stine, but also providing the voice work for Slappy and the Invisible Boy). It's the most over-the-top caricature of a horror author ever; if this whole movie is one big cheesy Goosebumps book, then Black captures the part of the creepy neighbor to a T. Everything he says is delivered by way of rapid, intense, room-volume whispers, and his acting to the rafters provided the most consistent crack-ups the film had to offer. His turn as Slappy also has me convinced that he'd make an excellent Joker; while his Slappy voice veers a tad too close to his Stine voice at times, the man has an excellent laugh and gives a performance that is anything but wooden (I'm sorry).

I really have to applaud the tone of this film as well; I completely expected something more from the Jem and the Holograms or Inspector Gadget school of adaptation. Essentially, something that was made because a studio had access to a license that could be cheaply attached to a mediocre kids' movie. Instead, I got something with way more effort than I was expecting. Sure, not every joke hits (you've gotta have a fart or reference to YouTube in there, lest the kiddies get bored), but it's for the most part very self-aware. I can safely say I didn't expect this movie to make me laugh as much as it did (nor did I expect that many Stephen King jokes). The ending in particular is excellently cheesy, cementing my belief that this movie is nothing more than a big, new Goosebumps book written for the screen, rather than the page.

If you grew up with Goosebumps as so many did, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to check this out. It's by no means perfect, but it feels like a welcome throwback to a simpler time. Had this been released back in the 90's when the books were at their peak of popularity, I have no doubt that Goosebumps would be remembered fondly alongside such films as Gremlins, The Goonies, and The Monster Squad. While it doesn't quite have the bite of the childrens' horror of the past, the fact that this film is as good as it is feels like a step in the right direction. It's a modern entry in an endangered genre, a unique and imaginative use of a nostalgic license. The people who made this clearly cared about what they were doing, and that's definitely something to be encouraged and applauded.