Studio executives and filmmakers had struggled with the question for years. How do you bring the blockbuster book series from R.L. Stine, Goosebumps, to the silver screen? Does one tackle one of the children’s horror books? Perhaps, one of the more cinematic? The answer came from the most unusual and most inspired of places. Bring them all to life! Well, kind of…
After selling 400 million copies of the Goosebumps book series and triumphing in its big screen debut last October, the film starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine has arrived on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Yup, that’s right. The brilliant and wildly inventive way to bring Stine’s world to life in film form features Black as the famed author who has escaped the limelight to a small Delaware town with his daughter to “retire” into obscurity. When Dylan Minnette’s teenage boy Zach moves next door with his single mom, his curiosity gets the best of him. He believes that Stine’s daughter Hannah (played by Odeya Rush) is in trouble. So, he and his friend Champ (Ryan Lee) head over to save the day. Instead of doing that, they unwillingly unleash not one, but all of the monsters from Stine’s book on their small town.
They evil doers are led by Slappy, a dummy who holds a slight grudge against his creator. As embodied in the film (and voiced by Black), he is kid friendly appearing on the outside and haunting as hell on the inside and an impeccable choice to lead the monsters and mayhem that is gunning for Stine and anyone who gets in their path.
Rob Letterman directs the film and captures the fanciful nature of Stine’s books, and simultaneously brings them to a whole new level in the live action medium of film. Black could also not be a better choice to embody the author’s likeness on screen. Everyone involved is game for this unique adaptation of a beloved literary series that makes the most of unusual and most original of leaps to the big screen.
The bonus features keep that whimsical-yet-still-scary tone of the film, particularly Beginners Guide to Surviving a Goosebumps Creature. Zach and Champ stay in character and give the viewer insights into how they survived their battle against some of Stine’s most sinister foils to tell the tale. These characters from the movies bonus features are becoming more utilized and we cannot recommend them enough. Sure, we adore seeing a fantastic feature on the actors and directors and how they got into character, but this carrying the message and feel of the film to the bonus features is a welcomed addition to the home video market.
Once again staying true to the spookiness of the film itself, Minnette hosts a three-and-a-half minute bonus feature, Strange Things Are Happening, which looks at some of the more eerie things that occurred while filming Goosebumps that may have some wondering if the set was haunted. Minnette doesn’t outright say that, but we are all thinking it! Should there be a sequel, which we hope there is, perhaps having the set blessed might be a good idea.
The Alternative Opening and Alternative Ending are nice additions, but not necessary. It simply serves as a lesson that Letterman was the absolute correct choice to bring this movie to life. His cutting and story choices were clearly spot-on.
There are a slew of deleted scenes and a three-minute blooper reel that further illustrates why Black is one of the best at what he does working today.
But the bonus feature that viewers are going to want to witness again and again is All About Slappy. The puppet/dummy gives us a lesson in his history that dates back to his first appearance in a Stine book. The cast adds their two cents as to what makes Slappy so great, yet utterly terrifying and a priceless piece of the film’s puzzle.
Film: B
Bonus Features: B