Goosebumps

A very enjoyable comedy spectacle, light as a feather, quite imaginative, with nice effects, a passable Jack Black (he and director Letterman have definitely improved since Gulliver's Travels) and an excellent score by Danny Elfman. Yes, of course, the comparison with Jumanji also occurred to me, but unlike the others, I do not think that Goosebumps lost significantly in the "duel". For a number of scenes, I thought that at least it had the atmosphere that the new Ghostbusters should have. (17/08/2016)

Goosebumps is an unpretentious family film that is brisk, moves along nicely, features some purposefully funny scenes and has nice visuals that don't hurt your eyes. The cast is mostly likeable, although I am not a big fan of Jack Black, the role of the geeky writer suited him quite well. Besides that, the film has one intelligently delivered story twist, which pleasantly surprised me personally. All in all, a decent horror fantasy flick with a (in a sense) charismatic main antagonist, perfect for a free evening to unwind. (03/02/2016)

If you know you’ll get a new Jumanji, i.e. unpretentious entertainment for the whole family, instead of black comedy-horror like An American Werewolf in London, you’ll be satisfied. With the exception of the opening minutes, where it just piles cliché upon cliché, this is a very nicely directed and acted (the annoying guy with an overbite has some of the best moments) fantasy that delivers diverse and visually compelling monsters and a pleasant teen romance at a decent pace, so that in the end the exaggerated attempt at cool entertainment and the predictable plot without any major twists and turns fits in somehow naturally. I think the two and even one star ratings are very exaggerated and unfair. For me, a decent 3*. (08/04/2016)

This film is missing a lot to perfection, and the two young male heroes annoyed me so much that I was hoping they would die, which of course is not possible considering the genre. But Jack Black was excellent here, exactly what the role needed, and the overall concept was absolutely outstanding. I hope to finally read something from Stine in the future. (13/12/2015)

I admit that at a second viewing, this film feels far friendlier than when I first saw it. For the first time, I was mainly annoyed by those brats, which didn’t change that much. On the other hand, I must admit that I felt the same way as when I watched Jumanji as a kid. And that’s why the movie grew on me in the end. Goosebumps might not be the best fantasy horror comedy, but it’s still something that they don’t film anymore. Most importantly, there’s even occasional jokes (especially the cops), beautiful effects, inventive story and Jack Black. (11/11/2016)