Goosebumps

Name: Goosebumps
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy
Released: October 16, 2015
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 60
Cast: Dylan Minnette, Jack Black, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee

2015

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 167 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	Your Score
6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 167 Ratings

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Goosebumps

Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: October 16, 2015

Starring: Dylan Minnette, Jack Black, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee

Summary: 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),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. [Sony]… Expand

Director: Rob Letterman

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 103 min

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Awards & Rankings

74	#74 Most Discussed Movie of 2015
11	#11 Most Shared Movie of 2015

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Empire - Chris Hewitt (1)

Feb 1, 2016

This modern riff on Monster Squad is a very pleasant surprise, and so ’80s in spirit that it’s a shock one of the villains isn’t a giant Rubik’s Cube. Read full review

Movie Nation - Roger Moore

Oct 13, 2015

Pretty much the perfect scary movie for kids. Read full review

Boston Globe - Tom Russo

Oct 15, 2015

This feature adaptation of kid-lit author R.L. Stine’s best-selling horror-comedy series is out to thrill fans with a story that’s just as obsessively invested as they are, right down to Black’s meta casting as Stine himself. Read full review

Slant Magazine - Kenji Fujishima

Oct 11, 2015

Some of the wittier one-liners and more affecting emotional moments feel undermined by the frenzy of chaotic excess. Read full review

The Guardian - Jordan Hoffman

Oct 5, 2015

There’s a streak of old-fashioned B-movie spooky playfulness here, and when actual, motivated characters are on screen it’s delightful. Read full review

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

Oct 16, 2015

At a guess, I'd say that Goosebumps will satisfy its core audience - fans of R.L. Stine's popular children's books - and bore pretty much everyone else. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Steve Davis

Oct 21, 2015

At best, Goosebumps is a who’s who in the Stine literary oeuvre, featuring characters who were terrifying on paper but rendered toothless here. Read full review

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User Reviews

jrdacosta2002

Oct 17, 2015

Goosebumps Is Great Family Movie But Never Watch TV Show But This Movie Is Awesome This Film Release After Hotel Transylvania 2 This Film From Soby Pictures Animation

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

GamecubeLover

Jul 29, 2016

It isn't really based off the books or the tv shows only the characters or monsters. This movie doesn't deserve bad reviews only if you hate goosebumps in general.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Davrosdaleks1

Oct 17, 2018

Goosebumps is basically a children's film about a group of monsters attacking a town. In theory, this could have gone very basic. However, I was surprised by how above and beyond this went.

The dialogue is fun and the cast is really good. Jack Black steals the show as the tightly-woundGoosebumps is basically a children's film about a group of monsters attacking a town. In theory, this could have gone very basic. However, I was surprised by how above and beyond this went.

The dialogue is fun and the cast is really good. Jack Black steals the show as the tightly-wound author R.L. Stine. There are a lot of different monsters in this, and they are all pretty fun.

Only downside is that as good as Black was at playing Stine, he is kinda weak as the voice of Slappy the ventriloquist dummy. There is just something off about the voice like Black was trying to deliver something but just couldn't properly realize it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

quincytheodore

Oct 20, 2015

Just the right amount of nostalgia and campy fun.

For most movies, being formulaic would be a flaw. This is not the case with Goosebumps, it takes full advantage of the nostalgia effect and instead of going for edgy dark atmosphere, it stays within the boundary of its fun juvenile antics.Just the right amount of nostalgia and campy fun.

For most movies, being formulaic would be a flaw. This is not the case with Goosebumps, it takes full advantage of the nostalgia effect and instead of going for edgy dark atmosphere, it stays within the boundary of its fun juvenile antics. It brings mild comedy of horror with surprisingly decent visual effect as well as healthy amount of witty jokes.

The set-up itself will be a reminiscence of retro horror and 90s gimmicks. From the quiet suburban life where the sneaker-wearing teen protagonists would wander off due to boredom, the strangely oblivious adults who only realize the dire problem far too late and all the PG-13 monsters, it just reeks of nostalgia. However, the movie also balances this with a few modern touches so it would be accessible to previous and current generation.

Plot isn't complicated, the trailer or synopsis pretty much script the whole thing. Monsters from the book roam a once peaceful city and a merry band of teens must save it from destruction. There are a few developments here and there, but none too major or shocking which is understandable for family movie. Granted, there are a couple of plot holes or a few scenes where it feel too frantic, but audience would mostly be lenient considering the silly nature of the movie.

Its greatest asset aside nostalgia is the humor. The cast does a fine job delivering the timely quips and awkward situations even during chaotic danger, or rather it works from the irony of being in such danger. There's surprisingly good chemistry between them, beyond just stereotypical teen escapades. Jack Black does his usual eccentric persona. While it's not great, it's presentable, plus the movie needs a big name for push.

Goosebumps is arguably predictable and can be hectic at times, yet it has sufficient nostalgia charm and witty humor for an entertaining family oriented adventure comedy.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

DoughBoii

Mar 30, 2016

The premise of this movie was good, always been a fan of the Goosebumps books as a kid and the TV Show, this movie was okay, a few good jokes and appearances from classic goosebumps characters, Jake Black was good but other than that the movie didn't live up to my expectations, mostly due toThe premise of this movie was good, always been a fan of the Goosebumps books as a kid and the TV Show, this movie was okay, a few good jokes and appearances from classic goosebumps characters, Jake Black was good but other than that the movie didn't live up to my expectations, mostly due to the bad CGI and acting, but the worst is they didn't feature the Goosebumps theme song.... I did enjoy the cameo of RL Stine though. All in all this movie was just okay.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

danipp

Oct 19, 2015

Enjoyable and entertaining for sure. But Goosebumps misses what pleased me the most about Stine's stories: the fear. This film isn't scary, maybe in a few scenes in which Slappy appear because of his dark sense of humour. Putting all monsters in just one script, besides all clichéEnjoyable and entertaining for sure. But Goosebumps misses what pleased me the most about Stine's stories: the fear. This film isn't scary, maybe in a few scenes in which Slappy appear because of his dark sense of humour. Putting all monsters in just one script, besides all cliché characters, without any kind of real development didn't do well to the final result (we also have a few holes in the story). The comedy isn't bad but the excess of it jeopardized the terrror from the books. Goosebumps is funny, can't deny it. But it could have been much more than it was.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

TheForth6

Jan 14, 2016

Now, I know what everyone reading this is thinking. And yes, the whole concept of giving this film a dirty zero, may shock some, "may". But in all reality, I'm not merely attention seeking. Because believe me, there are many attention whores out there, lurking on this web, giving dishonestNow, I know what everyone reading this is thinking. And yes, the whole concept of giving this film a dirty zero, may shock some, "may". But in all reality, I'm not merely attention seeking. Because believe me, there are many attention whores out there, lurking on this web, giving dishonest and overall baffling reviews, especially when it comes to actual decent movies. Now, if you truly wish to continue reading this, get prepared, because I'm going all the **** out on this piece of ****ery film! And I don't give a jack **** about what you think, okay?

So, to begin on why I think this film deserves to suck on some sexy testicles sacks, I'll start with the overall concept they were trying to go for here. As you've already been informed, it's a film about the author of the original, unaltered Goosebump books. Now, I haven't actually read the books, yet. But I can tell they were mixing and searching through their best and brightest ideas, to ultimately create a classic of a film. And honestly, it could've been something to remember.
Jumanji did it much better. Here's why: it blandly panders to the teenage demographic, with frequent pop culture references and unnecessary and inappropriate jokes, that barely mix in with the actual film's true nature. For instance: the whole "new kid" on the block concept has been done in almost literally every 1980's/1990's movie. We're past this, this is 2015. Regardless, it's obviously ripping off many other films, most likely better than it.

Another bugger - Jack Black may have given it his all, and you can tell through his acting in this film. But he was still an overpaid, wasteful use in this title, only casting him because people will see it. And I did, sadly. And this, I just wanted to go back, watch all the wonders of our time. Is that truly too much to ask? Now, in truth and my current truth, we stand between the unnecessary and freaking stupid teenage society, bringing up the dumbness from our other (adult) culture. Considering everything, the CGI itself was pretty poor. Not the worse ever (cough, cough, Shark-****ing-nado), but still pretty poor. And the creatures themselves don't really get enough screen-time, well, except the giant praying mantis.

Another thing: the love story was worse than Twilight! Well, I mean, that's up for debate. Anybody wanna debate... I thought not. Anyway, you could see it coming from a mile away, about where they first mat. It's really cheesy, and just plain lazy story tale writing. With such great title recently, including decent love stories, this was a true shame and tragedy. And speak of tragedy, that "un"consensual kiss between the girl and the douchebag. So it's okay if a girl surprise kisses a dude, but not the other way around?! That's just the gateway to reverse rape! It's pretty poor morality, especially coming from a movie advertised generally by kids. It was expected, but she should've at least leaned in to show she was gonna snog him. I mean, you could obviously tell she looked like a spoiled, lousy tart! But even so, she should've have done that without giving another hint or saying first. Geez, what a dynamite whore! Terrible message. No woman on man mouth rape, thank you very much. If I were him, I'd hit that **** (Not really) But still.

Anyway, regardless of this, the movie still had some good. For example: it made you laugh unintentionally. But I'm not counting that, okay? So, what's the catch, eh? Welp. It's the principle, actually. It's a stupid teenage flick that only serves as pop culture, rather than real scars or enchantment. I was so confused with the emotions, honestly.

At the time: it was a beautiful day. There were children excited, seats all ready, as I walked into the theater. I lied back, and began watching this torture. With movies like these, directors who strive... SHOULD BE ****ING A DUCK,,,

My final verdict for this poorly advertised flick of ****ery, made by morons, for other morons who disrespect the books and bring overall shame to our modern society. This film... gets a ****ing ZERO out of ten. Class dismissed - sincerely, a pissed off 8 year old.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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