Goosebumps (2015)

** ½ out of ****

I wish it were possible to watch a new release at the theatre these days without having to watch it in 3D. I'm blind in one eye, so all the 3D glasses do is remove the blur – it adds no 3D effect whatsoever. All it means is I have to watch through sunglasses. With a film like “Goosebumps”, the 3D is utterly un-called-for. There is very little in the way of 3D, just heavy animation that I guess is supposed to be more fun if it appears to be possible to touch. While the theatres love it so they can charge higher prices, I think it's pretty ridiculous that I can't simply enjoy a movie the way a movie was meant to be enjoyed.

That being said, if you have a younger child (say, 8 through 10) and you're not sure sure how they'd handle a “scary movie”, “Goosebumps” is a great choice. It isn't very scary, but has some very tense moments, a few jumps, and a creepier-than-hell puppet. Good litmus test – if your kid spends the film with their face buried in your shoulder, they're not quite ready for anything that is truly scary.

Dylan Minette is Zach, the new kid in Madison, Deleware, and he's not too happy about moving there. But things perk up when he notices a cute neighbour, Hannah (Odeya Rush). It doesn't even matter that her dad (Jack Black) appears to be a borderline psycho xenophobe. Eventually we find that her dad is actually R.L. Stine, the writer of the Goosebumps series of books, and he is trying to protect the world from real-life versions of the monsters from his books. He keeps the manuscripts locked up because any time one is opened, the monster escapes the pages into the real world.

Not a new premise to be sure; there have been plenty of stories where books come to life. But the material is treated in a good-natured manner that serves it well, with Stine's literary pride being a fun sore-spot with him (you better not compare him to Stephen King). Also adding to the fun is Zach's new friend “Champ” (Ryan Lee) who is hilariously socially awkward and desperate to have some friends.

As more and more of Stine's creations come to life, we see a few that are actually a little spooky (the clown in particular may cause some anxiety amongst youngsters) but for the most part they don't have a lot of scare factor. “Slappy” the ventriloquist's dummy is the leader of the escaped characters, and they try to take over the town and destroy Stine so he can't recapture them. Overall it's a pretty fun story for a kid's movie, and although it's incredibly predicable it's still enjoyable.

Jack Black is his typical charming, overacting self, in spite of his attempt to speak in a clipped “I'm just so literary” manner. The kids all do serviceable jobs, with Ryan Lee as Champ being the one that comes off best. All of the monsters in the movie are directly from the “Goosebumps” series of books, so hopefully it will inspire a few kids to look away from their phone/XBox/iPad and actually try out some of the books. The written word has less draw than ever for kids in this digital world we live in – if this film accomplishes making a few more readers out there, it will be well served.