This surprising movie is based on the pre-teen horror books by R.L. Stine, which from 1995-1998 also spawned a TV series.
Zach Cooper and his mother, Gale, move to Madison, Delaware from New York City where Gale will be the new vice principal at the high school. When Zach meets Hannah, the girl next door, he is warned off by her father, Mr. Shivers. One night Zach hears Hannah arguing with her father after which she screams. Worried he goes to the house but is quickly dismissed, so he calls the police. When Shivers gives the police a good story they leave, but Zach is still suspicious. He enlists his new friend, Champ, to help him find out what’s going when Shivers leaves to go to the police station. The two of them enter the house and discover a library of locked Goosebumps books.
So I grew up with the books and the TV show. It took me a while to finally watch this, 2018 I think. I absolutely loved it and it made my 10-year-old self very happy. A movie was originally going to be made in 1998 produced by Tim Burton (which would have been the best thing ever!), but it got cancelled after they couldn’t decide on which book to focus on.
Jack Black is awesome. He plays a fictional Stein, who to begin with is kind of creepy. He’s a bit more subdued than usual, but for this movie it works. He doesn’t sing either. Fun fact: The name Shivers came from the series of competing books that started just after. I have most of them and I loved both Goosebumps and Shivers. I didn’t think one was better than the other. Just throwing that out there.
Dylan Minnette, who plays Zach, is making quite a name for himself in the horror genre. He was also in Let Me In, Don’t Breathe, Netflix’s The Open House and the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. He’s good in the role. He’s relatable by being new in town, since we’re new, too. His reactions to things around him are great. It’s like a younger version of his character from The Open House.
My favourite character, though, is Champ. I want to be his friend. He’s funny and kind of cool, but in a dorky kind of way. You just know you’d have a better time hanging out with him than you would with the popular kids. His reactions are even better than Zach’s. He’s the comic relief character, but in the best possible way.
One thing I loved about this movie was all the monsters they included. It felt like they really put a lot of effort into this, and it was great being able to recognise so many characters and the books they came from. I have to say though, I don’t remember that clown… My favourite character designs were the garden gnomes. They move in such an unnatural way, and their faces don’t move. It’s a little creepy.
This is a great movie if you grew up with the books, or even if you didn’t, it’s a great introduction to them.
Where to watch: Justwatch
Linsey Loves Horror 