Saturday, October 13, 2018

THE 31 MOVIES OF HORROR-WEEN: GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN (2018) ***


Goosebumps were not my bag.  By the time they came out, I was already reading Stephen King, so I had no interest in them whatsoever.  I only saw the first movie because my daughter wanted to see it and while she enjoyed it immensely, I was not so amused.  I’m happy to report that Goosebumps 2:  Haunted Halloween is a considerable improvement in just about every way.  Not only that, it’s a lot of fun for grown-ups too.

A couple of kids find Slappy the evil ventriloquist dummy in a creepy abandoned house.  When it comes to life, they think it’s cool because it helps them fight off a nasty bully.  When Slappy tries to become a permanent member of their family, the kids dump his ass in a river.  This makes Slappy angry and he gets his revenge by bringing all the Halloween decorations in town to life. 

Since I was not a fan of the original, I went into Goosebumps 2 with absolutely no expectations.  Much to my surprise, it was fast moving fun with some real laugh-out-loud moments along the way.  I can’t even remember cracking a smile throughout the first one.  The fate of Terry, the slow-witted pumpkin in particular made me laugh a very long time. 

It felt like the first Goosebumps movie was trying to cram all the stories into one place.  This feels more like a one-off.  Because it has a narrower scope, it handily accomplishes what it sets out to do.  The design work on the creatures is impressive and there are a few moments that may be intense for young ones, something which couldn’t be said for its predecessor.  Speaking of young ones, my daughter was on the edge of her seat the whole time and was cackling throughout the entire movie. 

Although not quite up to the standards of The House with a Clock in its Walls, this is still my second favorite Jack Black kid’s horror movie of 2018.  Sure, he isn’t given a whole lot to do, which may be disappointing for some, but I felt the younger actors were strong enough to sustain your interest without relying on Black’s constant mugging.  He is around just long enough to set up another sequel though (not to mention take a funny jab at It).

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