Movie Review: R.L. Stine's 'Goosebumps'

'Goosebumps' effectively conjured the monsters from R.L. Stine's bestselling  children horror book series. The entirety of the film offers perfect blend of excitement, horror, suspense, drama and humor. The visual effects and cinematography of the film is top notch. The seamless marriage of reality and fantasy is one the films best feature.

The fans of R.L. Stine's bestselling Goosebumps series would surely love this movie. It ties up familiar monsters from the books and they literally pop-out from the book and given flesh by stunning 3D animation. There is the fantastic first moment when the abominable snowman slowly transforms from the letters in the manuscripts and was given a monumental form. The movie started to get more and more electrifying as the locked monsters were unlocked one by one bringing chaos to the town.

Some of the Goosebumps monsters are also recognizable by fans of the TV Series based also in the book series of the same title. It is just horrifying seeing "Slappy the Dummy" brought to life again. I can still remember getting scared of that puppet for days when I was younger. 

We agreed that the film is actually a scary film, it would have been a terrifying film if the comedic plot was totally pulled from the script and blood was shed. It was a race against time and death awaits for anyone who would be caught in the annoyed and pissed monsters led by Slappy. It is a good thing that the film adaptation maintained the humor of the books and just enough fright to keep the audience fascinated and captivated on the flow of the plot. 

Jack Black is perfect for the role of the fictional R.L. Stine. He had enough mystery and comedic antics and effectively pull off some catchy and witty lines. Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette),  Hannah (Odeya Rush) and Champ (Ryan Lee) forms a perfect trio that is reminiscent of the Harry Potter protagonists (Harry, Hermione and Ron). The film also had a dash of love-interest to bind Zach and Hannah, and a few bromance hints with Zach and Champ.

The special effects and animation done by SONY is flawless. Everything is in place and seamlessly blended reality and fantasy. The vibrant colors and realistic movements of the monsters are exemplary. Surely, 'Goosebumps' would be a great viewing experience for the family.  

Goosebumps (2015)
PG-13  |  103 min  |  Action, Adventure, Comedy  |  21 October 2015 (Philippines)

Our ratings: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

In “Goosebumps,” teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette), upset about moving from a big city to a small town, finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door, and makes a quick friend in Champ (Ryan Lee). But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah’s mysterious dad is in fact R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series.

Jack Black Plays R.L. Stine in New Adventure Comedy "Goosebumps"

As Zach starts learning about the strange family next door, he soon discovers that Stine holds a dangerous secret: the creatures that his stories made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Stine’s creations are unintentionally released from their manuscripts, Zach’s life takes a turn for the weird. In a crazy night of adventure, it’s up to Zach, Hannah, Champ, and Stine to team up and get all of these figments of Stine’s imagination – including Slappy the Dummy, the girl with the haunted mask, the gnomes and many more – back in the books where they belong to save the town.

Opening across the Philippines in Oct. 21, 2015, “Goosebumps” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.