Saturday Sequel Presents Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween

By Paul Anthony

Let’s be honest, if you wee a kid in the 90’s growing up you know you read a Goosebumps book and even watched the show, heck to this day I still read the books and watch the show and I was even pumped to learn the show was coming back, which the wait is just getting longer and longer because of this virus but as a fanboy I have to say I was super excited when I heard about a movie that was being made. At first I was wondering if they would do the books in order which they would have tons of material for, however I was wrong, when the first film was released it was about the goosebumps book monsters coming alive, after the release I finally got behind that film and even the ending had set up a good plot for part 2. I knew there would be a part 2 because the film made 158 million from a budget that was around 84 million, with a story in place, we got a stand alone sequel that barely had any ties to the first. The film had a budget of 35 million and grossed 93 million which was basically on par with the first film. The movie went through 2 title changes, when it was first announced it was called Goosebumps: HorrorLand then got changed to Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge, only to get changed to Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween. Though this was a stand alone sequel it more felt like soft reboot with only mentioning that Slappy was involved in another situation like this.

The film starts in a small town in New York, here we meet the main characters of Sarah, whose trying to get into college and her brother Sonny and his best friend Sam. One day as Sonny and Sam was picking up trash in which they want to start garbage cleaning up service, they stumble on a book and Slappy without knowing they read a few words from this unfinished book that awakes Slappy. At first Slappy appears to be nice to them calling them his family but begins to use his powers to cause problems and harm around the people that are close to Sarah including her boyfriend. At this point Slappy heightens his powers to bring the monsters of Goosebumps alive and pretty much all Halloween decorations alive and turn them into monsters as well, story basically comes out that Slappy plans to Sarah’s mom into a dummy like him so he can have a mother who won’t abandon him like his father who it’s revealed to be R.L. Stine himself. Much like the first film the key to stopping Slappy is the unfinished book to catch him with. Unlike the first film Stine doesn’t need to finish the book to catch him, they just need to open the book and it will suck him in and of course the battle begins but the kids managed to save the day but when Stine returns home he see’s Slappy waiting for him and use the book on Stine which sucks Stine into the book leaving Slappy with the last laugh.

I did enjoy the movie but would have enjoyed the movie more if it was the first film. The fact that this film did feel like a soft reboot and nearly ignored all of the events of the first film only to reword the plot felt lazy to me. When you considered that nothing was explain on how Slappy got to New York and Stine not having his daughter with him and everything. The rumor was that there was two scripts with this film one with Jack Black and the other without him, I feel like they decided to mix the two scripts because Black was hardly in the film and was pretty useless in the film. This may have not been a reboot but it felt like one. In the end though I am giving it B for a grade it had it moments and potential to be even better but someone got lazy.

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