Movie Review: Goosebumps

Goosebumps is a book series that came out when my mother was a kid. I discovered the books back somewhere in grade 3 and have read only a few of them since. I watched some of the episodes of the show on Netflix, so I was really interested in how they were going to do the movie. Plus it's October and Halloween is getting near so scary movies is what I’m hoping to get this month.

The movie starts with Zach (played by Dylan Minnette) and his mother, Gale (played by Amy Ryan) driving to their new house in Madison, Delaware. After getting out of the car, Zach jokes with his mom that he is only staying with her because he loves her and can't legally live on his own until he's 18. Just after they go inside, Zach's aunt Lorraine (played by Jillian Bell) stops by to visit and gives Zach a hat. He tells his mother that he's going to start unpacking, and while he does that, the girl next door named Hannah (played by Odeya Rush) starts talking to him from her window. Her father, who we later know as R. L. Stine (played by Jack Black) tells her to get away from the window, then rushes up to it and tells Zach to stay away or bad things will happen. Zach takes his things inside and goes up to his room, where he watches a video of his father playing baseball with him.

Later that night, while Zach is taking out the trash, Hannah pulls back a board in the fence, scaring him. Hannah takes Zach to an abandoned amusement park in the woods, and makes him climb the Ferris wheel. Afterwards, in his room, Zach hears Hannah scream from her room. He tells his mom, but she doesn't listen, so he calls the police. From here on the adventure gets more interesting at every turn. 

The Plot leads us through a bunch of twists and turns that try to keep us all on our toes. Some of our favorite, and creepiest characters from the Goosebumps books are in the movie as well so it also makes it fun to watch. I was looking for something a little scarier though, with it being Goosebumps, but it's good for the younger kids that might want to watch.

The acting was very good, but like most movies, there were some flaws. I really enjoyed how Odeya Rush portrayed Hannah and the sincerity she brought to the character, but I found that, true to his style of acting, Jack Black was a little manic in his R. L. Stine character. It seemed to me that he made his character more angry than any other emotion he showed in the movie. I did expect a little more from him, but still good nonetheless.

The movie was still fun to watch and if the cheesy, but cool, classic Hocus Pocus stuff can be loved every Halloween, even though it isn't always scary, so can this movie. So for these reasons I would rate this movie 7.9/10.

I have been looking at the idea of having a contest this coming Christmas season. I need to know how many people would be interested in having some fun and maybe get some loot as well. Please make sure to comment below with the words "Giving is Great!" and if I have enough interest I might be able to make this happen. Thanks!