Review:
"Goosebumps"
Release Date: Oct. 16, 2015
Rating: PG Running Time: 103 minutes The family-friendly horror yarn Goosebumps is a fun monster mash that takes its cue from Jumanji rather than any of the books penned by author R. L. Stine. An understandably uptight Jack Black stars as an obviously fictional version of Stine, whose literary creations are alive and imprisoned within Stine’s original manuscripts. All break hells loose when Stine’s new next-door neighbor Zach (the winningly wholesome Dylan Minnette) accidentally unlocks some books, allowing the monsters within to jump off the written page and come back to life. Director Rob Letterman takes great delight unleashing werewolves, mummies, zombies, aliens and—yes!—garden gnomes on a small Delaware town that serves as a microcosm of every sleepy community where nothing of consequence happens. But it is the fan favorite Slappy, a dummy conjured up by a preteen Stine to carry out all the naughty things he wouldn’t dare do himself, who steals Goosebumps with his vengeful streak, lousy puns, and psychological taunting of the man he calls “Papa.” Letterman also manages to bring some heart to Goosebumps through the burgeoning romance between Minnette and Stine’s daughter, Hannah (a spunky Odeya Rush). Yes, Goosebumps is crafted to have more thrills than chills, but it should still satisfy the young kids who read Stine’s novels with trembling hands and the parents who handed down their oft-read copies of Stine's tales of terror. Robert Sims Aired: Oct. 15, 2015 Web site: http://www.goosebumps-movie.com/ |
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