Goosebumps 2

RATING: C-

The first Goosebumps movie probably was good at least partially by accident. On one hand, getting Jack Black to play a fictionalized version of R.L. Stine (the author of the books) was an interesting move that worked out pretty well. But though the movie itself turned into a surprisingly delightful blend of Gremlins and Jumanji, it could have just as easily felt tired and derivative. And in principle, was a Goosebumps movie really something we needed? Maybe it could appeal to some weird "horror-for-kids" niche, but it would've been hard to get scarcely anyone else interested. But it worked. 

Although a sequel really wasn't needed, we got one anyway. In a few respects, there's almost a "soft reboot" aspect to this one. Aside from Jack Black (more on that later), the entire original cast and characters are ditched. That's not necessarily a huge loss, but the problem is the new characters (and the vast majority of the cast playing them) really aren't any good. 

Actually, even though this movie is relatively watchable for the most part, the first 20 minutes are surprisingly terrible. We get hit with boring characters, stunningly terrible writing and dialogue, and just a whole lot of nothing in general happening. At least the "protagonist with divorced parents who moves into new neighborhood" thing from the first movie was mildly interesting, even if super cliched. 

Things change a bit when two of the new main characters (Sonny and Sam) discover an unfinished Goosebumps book in an abandoned house. And out of this one comes... Slappy? Yup, the same crazy puppet dummy from the first one. And if you're wondering how he ended up in that book, forget it. It's actually not impossible this is a different Slappy entirely--only once is it hinted that he remembers the events of the first movie. Anyways, this time Slappy is concerned mostly with just causing general chaos; though this time he wants a "family" to do it with. (If you think they're making him sympathetic, think again.) Eventually he uses some weird magic to bring a whole host of Halloween decorations/costumes to life and into monsters (a family of monsters. Get it?). However, some of them just bizarrely turn into the same monsters from the last movie. If it wasn't clear, this film does a bit of rehashing. 

Slappy is actually arguably the best thing about this movie. The first half of the movie (once he shows up, anyway) is essentially just him trolling everyone, and it's pretty amusing at times. Somehow, a scene where he's playing Rocket League with Sonny and Sam and says "I'm crushing you guys and I'm not even using my powers!" is one of the most memorable parts of the movie (probably by accident). 

However, this movie does still ultimately fall well short of the mark of the first one. This is in part because particularly in the second half, it's a little too similar to the first one--and despite Slappy's over-the-top antics which amuse, it just doesn't hit the mark as well as before. Hence why the first one may have been good by accident. There's also those pretty bad first 20 minutes, which are a slog to sit through--and a pretty ridiculous sequence where our characters get attacked by Gummy Bears. I wish I was kidding. (We do get a "You'll never take me alive!" moment at the very end of it which I chuckled at--but it's not enough to redeem the scene.) 

Probably the biggest problem of all, however, is that Jack Black is basically relegated to cameo status in this one. Even though his performance was one of the best things about the first, he doesn't show up until halfway through and even then only probably has about five minutes screen time. It seems pretty clear they were working with a lower budget this time--Black doesn't even voice Slappy like he did in the first one (though Mick Wingert does surprisingly well in his stead). 

Goosebumps 2 isn't as awful as the first 20 minutes will probably make you think it is. But it's hardly anything that good either. At times, it seems like it doesn't totally know what it is--whether it wants to be a rehash of the first one, or "Slappy: The Puppet That Trolled Everyone." Furthermore, the film can't decide if it wants to be more kid-oriented or take a more grotesque approach at times than the first one did. If you liked the first one, you probably won't hate yourself for watching this one. It helps that it's quite short at only 90 minutes. At least we probably won't get a third movie.