Children's Horror Movie Reviews: Goosebumps

I love the Goosebumps books, which heavily inspire the way that I write my books. Goosebumps, the movie starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine, came out in theaters in 2015.

Goosebumps is about a teenage boy named Zach who, after his father's death, moves to Madison, Delaware. One night, he sneaks into his neighbor Hannah’s house, worried she is in danger. He finds a library shelf inside her home with all the Goosebumps manuscripts. When Zach opens a book, the monster from the book comes out, which causes a domino of all the other monsters coming out from their books. Quickly, the entire town is in chaos. 

(I drew myself as Slappy)

While Jack Black plays R.L. Stine, the actual R.L. Stine has a cameo at the end of the movie. The movie includes many characters from the Goosebumps books, such as Slappy from The Night of the Living Dummy, the giant mantis from Shocker Street, the werewolf from The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, and many more. Slappy is the film's main villain and is voiced by Jack Black. I felt immersed in the Goosebumps world in the film because so many characters from the original Goosebumps books were included. 

Goosebumps had good writing, and there weren’t any noticeable plot gaps that didn’t make sense. The only critique I had of the movie was that the blob and gnomes weren’t how they were in the books, but this won’t take away from enjoying the film, especially if you haven’t read the books in a long time.

Goosebumps is an overall good choice for a children’s horror movie. It isn’t as scary as other children’s horror films like Coraline, but it is still exhilarating and action-packed, especially for younger kids around 7-10 years old who don’t scare easily. I think older kids would enjoy it, especially if they are fans of Goosebumps books. 

I recommend this movie to kids who want a light scare, families who want a fun family movie night, or anyone who is a fan of Goosebumps books. Rating Goosebumps as a regular movie would be just 6.5-7/10, but as a children’s horror/Goosebumps fan film, it's at least an 8.5/10, and I highly recommend it!

Have you watched the Goosebumps movie? If so, did you like it? What children’s horror movies or shows should I review next? Keep on shivering.