Goosebumps (1/26/2016)

Rated PG for scary and intense creature action and images, and for some rude humor.

Starring Jack Black, Odeya Rush, Dylan Minnette

Directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale)

Goosebumps pays homage to the “Goosebumps” books…and to the joy of reading.

Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange… he is a prisoner of his own imagination – the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach, and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.

Goosebumps feels a lot like Jumanji meets Gremlins. We see our heroes running all over the place trying to out smart a lot of fictional monsters. The ace up its sleeve is that Goosebumps is really quite funny, and surprisingly not because of Jack Black. I mean he’s great as R.L. Stine and even better as the psychotic Slappy. But it is Dylan Minnette, Ryan Lee and Odeya Rush that all give great performances; and even Amy Ryan and Jillian Bell are used in strong supporting roles.

It’s clear that director Letterman understands the writings of Stine. So if you haven’t read any of the “Goosebumps” books you may not be able to appreciate it as much…at least that’s what my wife tells me.

A film like this relies heavily on special effects. And it’s not that the effects are technically flawed—the monsters actually look great, and the destruction left in their wake is just as impressive. The film’s greatest flaw, is the amount of CGI. I can only handle so much digital creatures flattening things at a relentless pace. Goosebumps is so warm in its first half, but it devolves into CGI overkill quickly.

This family-friendly horror movie is fun and definitely worth the “Rental.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
This is a PG film, but some of the monsters will be too scary for younger viewers.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. What were some of the scary moments for you?


2. What are some things that you are afraid of?

Read 2 Timothy 1:7

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.


3. Instead of fear, what should our lives be filled with?


4. How can you love others in a practical way this week?


5. What areas of your life need self-control?