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Oct 12, 2018 · Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween offers a handful of treats for very young viewers, but compared to the entertaining original, this sequel is a ding dong to ditch. Read Critics Reviews
- (94)
- Ari Sandel
- PG
- Madison Iseman
Oct 12, 2018 · It’s not as clever or engaging as the first “Goosebumps,” and nowhere near Halloween classics like “Monster House,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” or “ParaNorman.”. But striking the right balance of silly and scary makes it trick or treat-worthy, the cinematic equivalent of a fun-size candy bar. Horror.
Light frights in funny, tween-friendly creepfest. Read Common Sense Media's Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween review, age rating, and parents guide.
- Ari Sandel
- Tara Mcnamara
- Caleel Harris
- A slapdash monster mash.
- Verdict
By Witney Seibold
Updated: Oct 12, 2018 8:03 pm
Posted: Oct 12, 2018 8:00 pm
There are the makings of a spooky, kid-friendly classic buried somewhere within Ari Sandel's Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. It is a film that features, among its many monsters, a werewolf, a yeti, a cackling ventriloquist dummy, a trio of truly terrifying witch creatures (with eerie Mysterio-like globe heads), a gigantic killer spider, and an army of killer gummi bears (that can mash their bodies together into giant bear monsters before swallowing children whole). There are ghosts, goblins, a headless horseman, and, of course, a flock of flying jack o' lanterns. So eager is Goosebumps 2 to get to its spooktacular monster mash, that it regrettably hastens past such trivial cinematic necessities as establishing a rich mood in its own opening act. Acknowledging that it is a comedic film for younger kids, Goosebumps 2 still feels unduly impatient.
Rob Letterman's Goosebumps feature film from 2015 featured a novel premise, originally conceived by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski: R.L. Stine, the original author of the Goosebumps kid novels, appears in the film to explain that his horror stories are literally contained in his books, and opening those books unleashes the monsters into the real world. The climax of that film featured Stine (played by Jack Black) writing the ending to the story as monsters tried to break in from outside. It was a fun meta-narrative about the relationship between an author and his own dark creations. Not terribly complex, of course, but clever.
In the follow-up, the tale is merely straightforward. Two 12-ish boys named Sonny (Jeremy Rae Taylor from Stephen King's It) and Sam (Caleel Harris from Castle Rock) find a mysterious chest in an abandoned house. Inside is a book. When opened, the book manifests Slappy (voiced by Jack Black) the aforementioned living ventriloquist dummy, and villain from the previous film. Slappy explains that he can use magical animation powers to make the kids' dreams come true, but that he is also driven by a lust for violence: Early in the proceedings, Slappy gleefully injures a student who dissed Sonny's older sister Sarah (Madison Iseman). It won't be long before Slappy, embittered by the kids' eventual rejection, will walk into a drug store and bring all of the Halloween paraphernalia to life. This will be a prologue to a Halloween night wherein the entirety of the city's spooky Halloween decorations will begin marauding in earnest.
The Halloween monster mash iconography is incredibly strong and the cast is excellent, but Goosebumps 2 is in far too much of a hurry – and perhaps too eager to be widely accessible – to be actually scary or wholly effective.
- Witney Seibold
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween follows a lot of the same story beats as the first film but still displays some clever writing and provides audiences with an entertaining, family-friendly...
Oct 10, 2018 · By Frank Scheck. October 10, 2018 9:00am. The good news is that, despite his absence in the credits, Jack Black returns in the Goosebumps sequel to play author R.L. Stine and provide the voice of...
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is spooky, fun and creative! It is very engaging and entertaining throughout the whole film. The story is about a young boy, Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and his best friend, Sam (Caleel Harris) who finds a book. When they open it, a doll called Slappy comes out! The boys lose the book, but keep Slappy.
