Goosebumps: Monstros e Arrepios

We went in expecting a children's adventure (which usually satisfies open minded and fun loving adults too!) but in this case the movie is really intended only for the kids.

Jack Black's delivery is hammed up a little, the romance and teen themes are mind bogglingly bad) not as bad as Twilight though, I'll give them that!) One character just seems to be there for "annoying kid" trope purposes.

But the CGI was okay. The actors seemed to be trying or at least had their reasons. But altogether something felt flat about how it all came together and the movie wasn't very enjoyable or memorable. I don't know what went wrong but I blame the script.

I remember when I was young the Goosebumps TV show, but I was never got into it, or the books they are based on past the the point of just knowing who R.L. Stine is.

It's a perfect treat for Halloween as a group of children accidentally unleash the monsters from Stine's mind, by unlocking the books they were written into.

It's a fantastic adventure as Stine and this group of kids attempt to put his monsters back into the books.

It's a fun story even if you are not aware of Goosebumps, but I'm sure if you are a huge fan, you'll get a real kick out of seeing some of the monsters from your favorite book make an appearance on the big screen.

It's not just a fun film as some of the monsters were real creepy. Like the Gnome army, the giant prey mantis and especially a ventriloquist "puppet" voiced by Jack Black (who also plays a fictional version of Stine).

It's a great time at the movies.

I revisited this with my daughter n nephew last evening. The best part about this film is that it moves at a very steady pace n doesn't get boring or preachy at all.

A teenage boy unintentionally unleashes the monsters from Stine's books. It has all the monsters but the focus is more on the Werewolf n Snowman n both of em r pretty well done. Since it's based on the children's book n one of the best part about the books is that they never contain any depravity, drugs or violence. So dont expect monster mayhem in this film.

The Goosebumps book series where a big sellers in the 90's, so was the T.V. series, which was The Twilight Zone for preteens. R.L. Stine proves he had a creative mind with such bizarre tales and some insane plot twist. So having some of the Goosebumps characters come alive in the real world, is quite a tribute to R.L. Stine's work.

Jack Black is quite enjoyable, seems to having the most fun has Stine, at times he is a little over the top, but in a good way. Odeya Rush is good has Hannah. But it's Dylan Minnette and Ryan Lee who play Zach and Champ, really bring the comedy here, those two have such comedic chemistry they are like a comedy team. The effects are incredible, an amusing CGI fest. The movie never takes itself seriously, if you like The Monster Squad(1987), so I'll bet you'll get an good ride out of Goosebumps.

Goosebumps seems like it would be best handled by an expert of family/horror films such as Joe Dante. Instead, they got the one who helmed Gulliver's Travels, but for some reason, this movie pleasantly offers beyond than just another nostalgic cash grab. Maybe to those who wants to linger more on the monsters from their favorite Goosebumps books may get disappointed since most of them are shoehorned as another monstrous villain to run away from. However, the film manages to tell a story of its own from its characters. Yes, their arcs can be by-the-numbers, or more specific, nothing original whatsoever, but it manages to find its own heart and sense of fun to its own story, which makes it quite entertaining and surprisingly heartwarming.

The first act is the strongest of the entirety. Though the main protagonist, Zach, doesn't have any special arc to focus on, but it gets better when he meets his new neighbor, Hannah, and their small innocent moments manages to bring easy charm with these characters. The rest of the characters are just downright kooky as they provide exaggeratedly delivered punchlines. Though, this is the kind of world this movie establishes, almost everyone is basically a cartoon. Some moments work, while some is just admittedly corny, but we accept it in this sort of context anyway. Nothing is particularly scary, either. The plot is just hunting down these monsters; set piece after set piece, punchline after punchline, then some emotional twists and somewhat. It doesn't quite have an exact narrative structure, but these scenes are still quite fun and engaging when it counts. It may still be a letdown to the fans about the fact that the monsters are treated nothing more than grand spectacles.

The special effects are pretty fake looking, but still they don't look too bad. It's just not spooky or scary, purposely of course. It would be more interesting if they are a little bit in a campy horror way rather than overly kid friendly. I mean this is a family movie, but the books were intended for kids and they are horror stories, so why avoid creeping them out here or, nevermind. If their intention is to embrace the silliness, then that's a better argument. I'll just assume that's the case rather than toning the general audience down. Slappy looks cool, though. The acting is nice: Jack Black is just priceless, nothing more, nothing less. However I wish the teens would react more whenever they try to catch a monster. Maybe it's just me, but I suggest more expressions, perhaps. Though they perform better at the less louder scenes; Dylan Minnette is alright as the lead, though the best among the three is Odeya Rush, who has done enough job as the heart of the picture. The other kid is basically just another comic relief in this realm of comic reliefs.

Goosebumps is a little messy, but overall it's still all out fun. Yeah, the monsters aren't quite interacted that properly and it was just kind of shoehorned, but it provides some admirable choices to its story. It makes the typical character arcs resolve with sincerity or just genuine charm. There's a lot of inspired moments, despite most of the monsters look pretty cuddly. The totally cartoon approach might be the film's way of saying that they're pretty aware that the source material has always been ridiculous, and they just broadens it. They still gave some heart to the novellas, by surface and Slappy. It's crazy, amusing and eventually endearing. I believe that the movie is actually worth the nostalgia, in spite of its more candy looking.