Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween: Review

Fresh from the freakishly genius mind of author R.L. Stine, Goosebumps returns for another kid-friendly ghoulish adventure. This not so spooky sequel lacks the same dynamic cast and generous budget as the first outing however, with Jack Black traded in for IT's Jeremy Ray Taylor. After two friends discover the original Goosebumps book they bring a creepy ventriloquist dummy to life, causing mayhem on halloween night. 

A flat, plastic re-run of the original, this monster-mash is no graveyard-smash.  Devoid of the same creepy fun Goosebumps 2 is a fruitless rehash of the first adventure, with entertaining moments in very short supply. Made from a slight $35 million budget - the scariest aspect of this Haunted Halloween is the 90's inspired visual effects. The end product feels like a comic book version of a Goosebumps novel trimmed down to a few pages,  offering a mere slice of the real chilling adventure - whereas Goosebumps (2015) was like a bumper edition chocked-full of R.L Stine's greatest works.

This cop-out sequel replays the events of the first movie like reusing outdated sweets for this year's trick or treaters - we see the same monsters wrapped up in the same story, following the original beat for beat. Goosebumps is all about the monsters, and having been given the Abominable Snowman, Werewolf and Slappy the Dummy it still feels like you're not getting what you pay for. You could go crazy with the number of R.L Stine books there are and yet oddly Goosebumps 2 sticks to familiar territory. 

Additionally the human characters have become annoyingly corny. The three kids never break out of their stereotypical teen roles: an obsessive science nerd, a reckless best friend and a blond high-schooler experiencing heartbreak. Their development is ham-fisted and they struggle to charm and engage the audience like the fabulous kids in the first movie. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween screams Disney Channel as this adventure is clearly too small for the big screen. Slappy the Dummy is an entertaining villain but ultimately Goosebumps 2 doesn't rack up any creepiness, only cheesiness. 

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween:

Very Bad