Goosebumps: Delivers Harmless Fun

Editor’s Notes: Goosebumps is currently out in wide theatrical release. 

Take any existing property aimed toward children, slap some excessive CGI onto every frame, and the result will most likely be adored by its target audience, but hated by parents. That’s the solitary path many family films follow these days, from The Smurfs to Alvin and the Chipmunks and its far worse sequels. Several things can be done to avoid creating such insufferable trash, like more firmly adhering to source material, or providing something of more meaning than pandering jokes, but these steps are rarely taken. Goosebumps, based on its marketing, appeared to be apart from that crowd, but not by much. Thankfully, this gap is much larger than anticipated, and Goosebumps has no intentions of crossing to the other side.

Rob Letterman directs this pseudo-adaptation of “Goosebumps”, the beloved series of children’s books, and I call it a “pseudo-adaptation” because it doesn’t adapt a particular book’s story to film.

Rob Letterman directs this pseudo-adaptation of “Goosebumps”, the beloved series of children’s books, and I call it a “pseudo-adaptation” because it doesn’t adapt a particular book’s story to film. It’s the fourth-wall breaking tale of a teenage boy, Zach (played by Dylan Minnette), who moves with his mother to a quaint suburb in Greendale, Maryland. As is usual with young male leads, Zach develops a bit of a crush on the girl next-door, Hannah (Odeya Rush). Problem is, her father (Jack Black) disapproves, and persistently tells Zach to stay away from Hannah. But Zach discovers a more alarming problem, as he witnesses some sort of domestic disturbance through their window one night. After a series of events, he decides to break in with his weird newfound friend Champ to find out the truth. And what is the truth? Well, Hannah’s father is R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series, and he’s been harboring Goosebumps manuscripts in his house which, when opened, unleash their monsters upon the world (or in this case, Greendale, Maryland). Mistakes are made, the manuscripts are opened, and R.L. Stine must band together with this misfit group of adolescents to save citizens of Greendale and the world from their demise at the hands of a ventriloquist dummy.

Goosebumps is the kind of film that has the option to pander to nostalgia or stupid humor, but instead decides to use its property to deliver harmless fun.

Goosebumps is the kind of film that has the option to pander to nostalgia or stupid humor, but instead decides to use its property to deliver harmless fun. There’s nothing groundbreaking in its script, visuals, or performances, with a lot of CGI that is fairly and oddly poor. However, it does focus on making what it has the best it can be. Not once does it talk down to its audience, or tailor itself to fans of the books, it just throws different creatures at the screen, inserts a snappy joke or two between effects shots, and finds a way to make its derivative character development endearing. The sheer faith it has in itself is infectious. To think Rob Letterman previously directed Gulliver’s Travels and Shark Tale prior to this is quite surprising, as neither of those films have any semblance of soul, energy, or wit. Dylan Minnette plays his “straight man” lead with charisma and presence, bringing some life to a character that could very easily be devoid of it, effortlessly bouncing off of the plentiful jokes surrounding him. Jack Black provides many of these jokes, and his performance is one that can’t quite be nailed down. He delivers dramatic lines with a shocking bit of strength, and channels his well-known extravagance into a unique type of comedic role that is loud when it’s not reserved.

To watch Goosebumps is to feel perpetually surprised. You wouldn’t expect to find genuine heart in such a film, but it’s there, and makes for something quite entertaining.