I quite enjoyed Goosebumps (2015) it was silly larger than life fun based on books I certainly enjoyed as a child. I did however not expect a sequel!
Led by two very entertaining kids, flanked by the always likeable Wendi McLendon-Covey and less so Ken Jeong the movies cast is a solid one.
SFX? Ropey in places but the movie is on a big scale, monsters of all shapes and sizes so the cgi is rife.
Plot? Highly generic stuff but passable enough to kill 90 minutes with.
So where do the real issues lay? Well the tone seems rather different, this doesn't feel like a loyal Goosebumps sequel it feels like something you'd watch on a Saturday morning with your kids. It feels like Kenan & Kel Halloween special, the horror is pretty much non-existent and instead is a full on goofy family comedy. That really damaged the film for me, sure I didn't expect actual horror but a degree of threat like the first movie would have been nice and not a full on children's movie. Absolutely no parental supervision needed for this one!
I enjoyed all the wacky monsters, I liked how bright and colorful the whole thing was and how the two leads managed to be likeable despite my hatred for kids. Haunted Halloween isn't bad, it's just very disappointing and if this is the direction they're going in then I'm not fussed for any more films.
The Good:
Looks great for the most part
Cast do a decent job
Great monsters
The Bad:
CGI fails in places
Saturday morning tone did nothing for me
