I’m sure (as I’m a certain age) some of you felt a bit against the news that hit book series Goosebumps was becoming a live action film.
Of course given the success of Trick ‘R Treat, Tales of Halloween, ABC’s of Death and the V/H/S series it would have been easy for this have become an anthology horror, but gladly this is the most fun horror in a while.
It’s influences go from Gremlins to even the aforementioned Trick ‘R Treat and the recent festive horror Krampus; as we don’t just one monster, we get hundreds!
Zach (Dylan Minnette) and his mum have just moved to a new city to help cope with the loss of his dad.
What Director Rob Letterman isn’t afraid to do here, is give his characters real emotion as we see Zach still in the mourning process over his father.
We don’t dwell on this too long as he meets Hannah from next door who’s father is none other than R.L Stine (the author of the Goosebumps book series). After thinking he hears a commotion in their house Zach accidentally opens one of the books on his shelf and unleashes the monsters from within.
Now Stine must reluctanctly team up with Zach, Hannah and bumbling sidekick Champ to defeat his monsters.
Although the premise may seem quite straight forward, Goosebumps really works as it doesn’t take itself too seriously and very much in a Cabin in the Woods style; there’s always a different monster to deal with.
Jack Black revels in the role of Stine, in what is easily his best role since School of Rock.
Goosebumps very much arks back to the Amblin Entertainment era of Gremlins, The Goonies and although featuring a young cast, allows us to understand them and invest in their journeys.
It’s a fun rollercoaster ride, which has a few scares, plenty of heart and a fun story oh and of course a twist…..
Goosebumps definitely has the potential to become a cult classic for years to come. Volume 2 anyone?
By Paul Downey
