Gänsehaut (2015)

Gänsehaut: Directed by Rob Letterman. With Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee. A teenager teams up with the daughter of young adult horror author R. L. Stine after the writer’s imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware.

“Anyone who was a kid or had a kid over the past twenty years knows what Goosebumps are, and R.L. Stine finally gets an upgrade from the small screen to a major motion picture by Sony Pictures, and weu0026#39;re satisfied.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA teenage boy Zach and his mom move to Delaware, where Zach promptly runs into his next door neighbor Hannah and her odd father. When Zach thinks Hannah is in danger, he springs to be savior, but things arenu0026#39;t quite what they appear. Her dad is hiding a secret, and when Zach and his new friend Champ disregard the fatheru0026#39;s warnings, amazingly scary things come to life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGoosebumps the film is made for the kids, this isnu0026#39;t the type of film that is trying to bridge the age gap at being universally beloved. Lucky for the film, its makers know their market and the children in my theater loved it, and for this kid at heart, we liked it too.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of the smartest decisions the filmmakers made in making an R.L. Stine film adaptation of the beloved book series Goosebumps was casting Jack Black as the token u0026#39;adultu0026#39; in the film. While we know Black has aged in real life, he is one of the few men in Hollywood who hasnu0026#39;t lost his wonder, and that transcends the big screen. He may put on a funny accent for the role of R.L. Stine but he has the right sentiment and that is obvious to audience members.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe rest of the cast is equally wholesome and approachable, with each of the three teens (Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush and Ryan Lee) being equally effective in their roles. The characters they portray arenu0026#39;t anything extraordinary or new, but they are archetypes we know and enjoy. The stand out among the three would be Odeya Rush and scenes where the kids are interacting with one another.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGoosebumps does one thing that we wish wouldu0026#39;ve been a bit bolder, and that is stray away from the horror and air more on the side of family adventure comedy. Itu0026#39;s like Jumanji with zombies instead of a stampede of African wildlife. And that is also where it loses points for originality, as adult film goers will see the same plot line in a different skin, which is a tad disappointing for something as creative as the Goosebumps book series.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are scares, especially for those ages 12 and under, almost all u0026#39;jump scaresu0026#39; of the fun variety. And that is the type of tone Goosebumps is aiming for, fun and entertaining. Of course, being a fan of the series when I was a kid, I hoped for the creatures from the pages of the books to be a bit more eerie, but alas.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnyone who says this film is a complete disappointment must have lost their inner child ages ago. They are probably the type that says Santa Clause doesnu0026#39;t exist either or that monsters under the bed arenu0026#39;t real – and we all know those things are true. Goosebumps gets our seal of approval for popcorn, feet up, enjoyment.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePlease check out our website for full reviews of all the recent releases.”