David Pierdomenico
For anyone who grew up during the 1990’s, Goosebumps was a cultural icon. Between the extensive bibliography of books and the TV series, it served as a gateway for kids to get into the horror genre. Many even proclaimed author R.L. Stine to be the Stephen King for children. So it was to no one’s surprise that in 2015 nostalgia kicked in, and the Jack Black starring feature Goosebumps was released. Sony couldn’t decide on any one novel or story to adapt, so instead they sort of adapted all of them by having his monsters come to life out of the books. It was a fascinating concept whose execution was sullied by cheesy dialogue, weak characters, and CGI that looked very cartoonish. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is an improvement in many ways, but it’s not without its issues either.
The Brilliant First Act
The film opens with very little connection to the original. It does follow the events from that, but it’s not mentioned until much later. Unlike the first film, which utilized the kid moving to a new town cliché that’s been played to death, this one establishes a family that isn’t without inner conflict. Sarah (Madison Iseman) dreams of being a writer and leaving her town, while her younger brother Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and his friend Sam (Caleel Harris) are under her supervision as her mom is perpetually at work. Sure it has its clichés, but it’s done better here. The film takes the time to show and develop Sarah in high school and Sonny and Sam in middle school, so as to establish them equally. Sonny and Sam also run a side hustle, hauling junk away that people don’t want. They come across an old ventriloquist dummy in a house they’ve been tasked to clear out.
Slappy is perhaps the most enduring image of Goosebumps, so it makes sense that he would be the primary antagonist of both films. The original saw him unleashing the monsters for no real reason other than to cause chaos. It also took the idea that Slappy and Stine are mirrors of each other and shoved it down the throats of the entire audience. However, when we first see Slappy (still voiced by Jack Black) in Haunted Halloween, all he wants is a family. He goes out of his way to bond with, and help Sonny and Sam. He folds laundry for them, completes their homework, and even gets revenge on their sister Sarah’s boyfriend after he mistreats her.
All the while, Slappy keeps proclaiming that they are his family and thus he wants to help them however he can. It’s both strange and incredibly unsettling. Slappy is a psychotic and evil character whose endearment isn’t always welcome. He loves his new family, and he’s willing to do anything for them. He crosses lines that shouldn’t be crossed. And all the while they fear he may direct this incredibly negative energy and effort towards them. Which eventually he does, when their fear of him drives them to try and get rid of him. In a very interesting way, the film shows just how terrifying it can be when a psychopath is fond of you.
The Unfortunate Second and Third Acts
The first act takes its time to introduce the characters, and sets up a pretty scary scenario about this evil doll that just wants to be loved. He shows his love via acts of cruelty against those who have wronged his family. It had all the makings of a brilliant film that could have been enjoyed by both kids and adults. Then the film decides to just retread the entire first one by having Slappy get mad at his family for turning on him, at which point he unleashes all the horror creatures upon the town. From there, we are treated to a sight of poor CGI monsters that don’t for a second look like they’re really there; all the while, the kids attempt to use the book to trap the creatures inside it. It’s all the more frustrating because the first 30 minutes or so were setting up a really entertaining film.
Would Have Worked Better as a Spinoff or Reboot
Early on, Slappy establishes that he’s able to make other objects come to life, just like him. With him using this ability, there’s no real need for this to connect to the original. In that film, it was the books themselves that unleased the monsters. But here, Slappy is perfectly capable of doing that himself. And in an odd way, Jack Black’s R.L. Stine is in this too much or not enough. He appears for barely more than a few minutes towards the end in an attempt to help solve the problem. But with the characters already coming to a resolution themselves, he wasn’t really necessary. So it perhaps would have been better to not include him at all, or any connections to the first film for that matter.
It’s definitely better than the first in many ways. But it still suffers from many of the same issues. Kids will most certainly find it entertaining, and the adults who take them to see it will find it more tolerable. Had this one gone all in on the premise purported in the first act, it would have been a much better film that didn’t need any connection to 2015’s lackluster film.
