Goosebumps 2 : Haunted Halloween review

Growing up I was always a fan of Goosebumps. From the books to the TV show I used to love watching and reading about the wonderfully weird and sometimes scary stories from R.L. Stine. And after what was a rather impressive first movie can it's sequel keep the that trend going?? well yes and no. You see Haunted Halloween pretty much follows the same story from the previous movie. Two young kids unknowingly help unleash an ungodly amount of monsters and must fight back to return them to the book or R.L. Stine. It's a pretty basic set up and even though it was fine in the first movie here it just feels so repetitive to the point where you question if you're watching the same movie all over again. Almost like it's been copy and pasted from 2015 and touched up with a few tweaks to improve it. The characters aren't even as likable apart from the main lead actress who steals the show in my opinion. The performances are lackluster and quite frankly boring at times. It's not a chore to watch by any means though as the second half of the movie really ups the Goosebumps feeling as all creatures of Halloween are unleashed.

Jack Black returns as R.L. Stine which was great but he's underutilized here. I've read that he was busying filming another movie at the same time as this so maybe that's why he's so restricted here but it's a real downer as he was one of the best parts of the first movie. Slappy the dummy makes a sinister return and besides Black he is the real star here. He's animated really well for the most part and actually offers a pretty good threat throughout.

With some issues aside Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween is a worthy if at some points flawed follow up to the 2015 original. It has some high moments and a some lows but if you're like me and enjoyed the first movie then this is certainly worth checking out if you want some Goosebumps nostalgia.

★★★