For a lot of horror fans of a certain age, the Goosebumps books were sort of a gateway drug to the hard stuff, aka horror written by adults for adults, a la Stephen King, Clive Barker, Peter Straub and plenty more where that came from. For those who didn't care much for reading, there was also a TV series based on the books in the mid-90's that was a lot of fun as well.
I got started on the more adult stuff before I was even into my double digits, but I still got a kick out of the series- horror fans aren't that discerning when it comes to content. For all the bitching some do about PG/PG-13 horror, they keep watching it, nevertheless. That's because horror fans are die-hards, and will watch anything within the genre, even if they know better, and know good and well they'll end up disappointed.
By the time the first Goosebumps film hit theatres in 2015, I was a grown-ass man, and yet, nostalgia took hold and I found myself buying a ticket, anyway. Lo and behold, it actually wasn't that bad- in fact, it was a lot of fun. The film's coup de grace was that, instead of adapting a specific book- after all, the Goosebumps books were written for kids, so they were all pretty short- it opted to present a movie in which a group of kids accidentally set free some of the characters from the books in question, which, in turn, leads to all of them getting free.
As such, the film was loaded with in-joke references for die-hard fans, and appearances from lots of fan favorites, even if you had to look hard for some of them. Front and center among them was the ever-popular Slappy, the wise-cracking ventriloquist's dummy given to committing evil acts however he could. The sinister garden gnomes, Abominable Snowman, haunted car, vampire poodle, body squeezers, giant praying mantis, ghouls, killer bees, the Blob and the Invisible Boy all also made appearances, among many others.
In a nifty bit of casting, Jack Black played author R.L. Stine himself, as a cantankerous shut-in that kept his books under lock and key, lest they be unleashed upon the world, leaving him to resent their very existence. The author himself ironically played Mr. Black, the drama teacher, in another in-joke. Black also voiced Slappy and the Invisible Boy for good measure.
The movie was a financial and critical success, and genuinely entertaining, so a sequel was perhaps inevitable. Unfortunately, the likable cast from the first film has been jettisoned for the follow-up, save for Black, who is featured in a much more diminished capacity, and, TBH, doesn't contribute that much to the proceedings beyond showing up towards the end of the film, largely when the main events are over. He doesn't even voice Slappy this time around, leading one to wonder if maybe Black had prior commitments and they had to shoe-horn him in, which would explain why he misses out on a lot of the stuff that goes down. Or maybe he just smelled a stinker.
The plot is basically a retread of the first film. This time around, two teens, Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor, IT) and his friend Sam (Caleel Harris, Castle Rock) get a call to pick up some junk at an abandoned house- which turns out to be Stine's former residence- with the caveat that they can keep whatever they find if they dispose of the rest. When Sonny stumbles upon a hidden storage room, the boys discover a box containing a book which they open, setting free the nefarious Slappy once again.
It isn't long before he's up to his old tricks, and try as they might to get rid of him, he just keeps coming back to commit more mayhem, causing disaster wherever he goes. Eventually, he has the bright idea to use his powers to start up the abandoned factory that Tesla himself used to experiment within, and use the tower to magnify his powers and electrify the town and bring Halloween to life, as it were. Everything from decorations and trick-or-treat bags to jack-o-lanterns and even a ginormous spider made of balloons comes to life and goes on a rampage throughout the town, terrorizing the citizens left and right.
Eventually, the boys enlist Sonny's sister, Sarah to help, played by cutie Madison Iseman, of Annabelle Comes Home and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the latter also with Black, which is probably how she got the role here, being as Black played her "avatar" in that film. Sarah eventually discovers the Stine connection and tries to contact him to no avail, but he later gets the message and rushes to save the day, but, as I mentioned, he misses most of the action.
Other new recruits to the sequel include Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911, The Goldbergs) as Sonny and Sarah's mother; Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Community) as the holiday-happy next door neighbor, who goes a bit crazy with the home decorating, which given what happens, comes back to bite him- and the rest of the neighborhood- in the ass when everything starts coming to life; and Chris Parnell (SNL, 30 Rock) as a drug store manager who ends up being transformed into a troll who serves as one of Slappy's henchman- sort of like an Igor to his Dr. Frankenstein.
While everyone seems to be having fun, more or less, the film itself is kind of going through the motions, which may be why a lot of the original cast opted not to return, to say nothing of the original director, Rob Letterman, and writer, Darren Lemke, who are replaced here by, respectively, Ari Sandel (The DUFF) and Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit).
The new cast is likeable enough, and Lieber's direction is fine, but the film lacks the verve of the original- or the originality, for that matter, as it basically functions as a variation of the plot of the first film. Still, it is fun playing spot- the-book-characters, and I did enjoy the bit with the Gummi Bears come to life, which gave me pause as I next entertained one of my favorite candy snacks, lol. 🐻😨
That basically leaves the visuals to carry the film, and they, at least, are pretty impressive- you can definitely tell what the budget (around $35 million) went towards. Ultimately, it basically paid off, as the film grossed some $93 million at the box office, though it's worth noting that the first film made over $150 million on at least twice the budget. Sometimes the extra effort- and budget- actually does make the difference. As it stands, this plays more like a made-for-TV or direct-to-video sequel than a feature film. A high-end one, but a lesser one than its predecessor, nonetheless.
I didn't hate it, and I can see myself watching it on TV if it crops up on down the line, but I certainly don't see it becoming a go-to around Halloween time. The first one, on the other hand, I can see myself watching on the semi-regular over the years to come. That's why I bought the first one, and only rented this one, honestly.
This one isn't a total fail- I liked the idea of Halloween coming to life, even if it was a bit ripped off from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the main cast isn't bad- but it just lacks the inventiveness and attention to detail of the original. To say nothing of the underlying melancholic tone to the proceedings that gave the first film an unexpected emotional punch. The first one is a modern-day classic, this one is just okay.
Still, if you're looking for something more family friendly and you haven't yet seen it, you could do a lot worse. But you could do a damn sight better, too. As such, I can only give this one the mildest of recommendations, I'm afraid. 😐
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