All the rage in the 1990s, best-selling author RL Stine’s Goosebumps series of spooky tales for kids finally gets the big-screen treatment – and the result is a goofily entertaining horror romp full of tween-friendly chuckles and scares.
It takes a while, however, for the film to find its groove. At first, we’re in blandly generic teen-movie territory with sulky teenager Zach (Dylan Minnette) moving to small-town Delaware with his single parent mom (Amy Ryan) and striking up a friendship with Hannah the pretty girl next door (Odeya Rush), instantly vexing her fiercely over-protective dad Mr Shivers (Jack Black).
So far so blah. But things get far more engaging when Zach and his daffy buck-toothed new pal Champ (Ryan Lee) discover that ‘Mr Shivers’ is actually author RL Stine and accidentally unleash the real monsters locked inside his manuscripts.
The ensuing monster mash-up gives the film’s FX team a chance to really let rip. And it’s when they’re on the run from the rampaging creatures – including the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, the Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Slappy the malevolent ventriloquist’s dummy (voiced by Black) and a bunch of vicious garden gnomes – that the cast get into their stride, too, with Lee’s scaredy-cat sidekick and Black’s prickly writer providing the biggest laughs.
Certificate PG. Runtime 103 mins. Director Rob Letterman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cn716jv61s
