Goosebumps Review
Much like The Final Girls that same year this is less a horror movie and more of an homage to them. However, as someone who has read at least two of the books (despite being oblivious to the names) I can understand the kind of feel this was aiming for. Anyone who has read at least one of the Goosebumps books can tell you they were the little brother to Alvin Schwartz's older Scary Stories if we were to have Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft as the parents. Meaning that while they were creepy the premises were still apt for Elementary schoolers. The movie itself, however, aims less to adapt a story or two and instead serve as a tribute to fans old and new. The few stories that it does focus on, however, help add an emotionally satisfying touch that, at the risk of spoiling, quite literally brings the characters to life in a touchingly cinematic way. The rest of the movie can be summarized best in critic Kevin P. Sullivan’s words: “…at a certain point you may realize that it's as if Nickelodeon produced Cabin in the Woods—but it's a never-boring trip to a world, where stories and imagination are powerful tools, that just might inspire kids to do the scariest thing of all: pick up a book"