Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018) User Reviews

Needed more Jack Black

[cguldal · 6/10 · 3 November 2018]

This sequel is not as good as the first one. I think Jack Black was sorely needed, not necessarily because the acting was lacking, but the script seemed a bit too flat at times, characters stating the obvious after the fact, etc. The involvement of the store clerk was unnecessary and was only there to later connect with mom, who seemed more like an extra (again, not because of the acting, which was good). The young actors and the neighbor were successful and did a good job with the lines, I thought. The meta stuff about the plot turns and elements was funny. The bullying stuff was OK, but really stale by now, as it seems to be in every single movie involving kids in school, where the bully is just a stupid, book-hating idiot, and the kids being bullied are just nice, smart kids (and I would argue being bullied would not make anyone nice, at least...) As for the main plot with Slappy, I felt like there was no real mystery, no real drive. Slappy wants a family, OK... And he will try to get it... OK. But at no point do we feel the drive, understand his motives. But then again, I am probably expecting too much from a dummy.

Overall, en enjoyable film, especially for the fans. But I'd have liked smarter dialog and plot, and more Jack Black. The special effects were great, no complaints there. The few kids in the audience seemed engaged, and they were scared at times, but not too much.

Its passable for very young kids but nowhere close to its predecessor.

[Fella_shibby · 6/10 · 23 April 2020]

I revisited this yesterday with my nephew n daughter. This one is a stand alone sequel n apart from Jack Black in a tiny role, none of the cast from the previous film returns here.

This time two young boys gets hold of an unpublished n unfinished Goosebumps book titled Haunted Halloween. How the book is kept in the dilapidated n abandoned house is never explained. They also find Slappy n brings it to life by speaking magic words found in the dummy's pocket. So a lil confusion here. Slappy is found aft opening the book but he comes alive aft the magic words. Also Slappy brings all the Halloween monsters to life including the Werewolf n Snowman, albeit in a tiny role n that too without opening any book.

Fun little movie

[geordieswin · 6/10 · 1 December 2019]

Not as good as the first one,but still a fun movie with a decent cast.. perfect for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and for the kids.

Amusing

[boblipton · 6/10 · 1 November 2020]

In the second Goosebumps Cinematic Universe, some kids (of course) have some issues. There's Madison Iseman, who's terrified she's not going to be able to finish her essay on fear and get into an Ivy League University; there's her kid brother and his best friend, who are bullied in school. The boys run a business carting away old junk for free, figuring they'll find some stuff worth reselling in the trash. When they're called on to empty the attic of an abandoned house, they do: Slappy the demonic ventriloquist's dummy. He proceeds to turn half the town into monsters.

Like the earlier movie, Jack Black plays R.L. Stine in the second half of the movie -- the real author gets a cameo near the end. It's juvenile, of course, and rather silly, but there are some of the anxieties that kids really experience, and the humor is deliberate and the special effects good.

kiddie horror

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 21 April 2019]

Aspiring writer Sarah Quinn (Madison Iseman) is struggling with her college entry essay. Her boyfriend just wants to have fun. Her nerdy brother Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) annoys her. He and his best friend Sam Carter (Caleel Harris) have started a junk business. They are called to clean out the abandoned childhood home of R.L. Stine (Jack Black). They find Stine's book. Ventriloquist dummy Slappy suddenly appears and Sonny unknowingly brings him back to life. Slappy wants to be a part of his family unleashing chaos during Halloween.

This is pretty good for a TV Goosebumps movie on a kiddie channel. As a theatrical offering, it doesn't have the grandeur or the scares to cross over into adult or teen market. In addition, it's tough to sell parents to take their little kids to a horror movie. It's stuck somewhere in no man's land. It needs to be a little darker and a little more theatrical to get the teens. Jack Black phones in his fifteen minutes and delivers one good joke. The kids are fine but nothing that special. The writing misses a few things. Sarah needs to physically write in the book with a pen to wrap up that aspect of the story. Slappy is interesting and could deliver more sequels. The franchise is unlikely to break out and is probably on a declining trajectory. It's stuck in kiddie horror land.

Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween: Saturday morning entertainment

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 11 January 2019]

I quite enjoyed Goosebumps (2015) it was silly larger than life fun based on books I certainly enjoyed as a child. I did however not expect a sequel!

Led by two very entertaining kids, flanked by the always likeable Wendi McLendon-Covey and less so Ken Jeong the movies cast is a solid one.

SFX? Ropey in places but the movie is on a big scale, monsters of all shapes and sizes so the cgi is rife.

Plot? Highly generic stuff but passable enough to kill 90 minutes with.

So where do the real issues lay? Well the tone seems rather different, this doesn't feel like a loyal Goosebumps sequel it feels like something you'd watch on a Saturday morning with your kids. It feels like Kenan & Kel Halloween special, the horror is pretty much non-existent and instead is a full on goofy family comedy. That really damaged the film for me, sure I didn't expect actual horror but a degree of threat like the first movie would have been nice and not a full on children's movie. Absolutely no parental supervision needed for this one!

I enjoyed all the wacky monsters, I liked how bright and colorful the whole thing was and how the two leads managed to be likeable despite my hatred for kids. Haunted Halloween isn't bad, it's just very disappointing and if this is the direction they're going in then I'm not fussed for any more films.

The Good:

Looks great for the most part

Cast do a decent job

Great monsters

The Bad:

CGI fails in places

Saturday morning tone did nothing for me

Part two is more for kids. Little kids.

[reyienal-5-975525 · 6/10 · 1 November 2018]

The first goosebumps movie that came out in 2015 was fun, dark, and deffently for all audiences. This one felt like a rip off from modern movie IT, or stranger things. The actors at times got on my nerves and frankly Slappy as the main bad guy felt boring and I feel he is being over used. Also all of the monsters being out at the same time felt like a repetition of part 1 except the cast was younger and more annoying. 1. Would I see it again? Yea 2. Was it worth buying a ticket? No 3. Was the acting good? No 4. Was the music good? No 5. Costumes and fx good? Yes 6. Would I see it with a friend? Yes 7. Will I buy it on disc? No 8. Should you wait for it on DVD? Yes 9. Did i have fun? Yes 10. Is it a good movie? Yea...ish.

Watching this after the first movie just made it worse

[redgirl_book · 4/10 · 2 September 2019]

Stand alone, this could make up as a pretty good children's halloween movie, it even has some morals kids would normally get in a kid's movie. BUT The first Goosebumps movie was enjoyable for almost all audiences despite some jokes being to childish and I expected so much

I think the actors did a good job but the characters that they had to give life to were just poorly imagined and too flat.

Also, Jack Black's appearance although we would have wanted more was clearly unnecessary and was treated as a narration or explanation if you haven't watched the first movie. It would have been better without him if they were just going to let him do that.

Fun sequel

[moviegeek86-934-730840 · 7/10 · 14 October 2018]

The original Goosebumps movie took me by surprise when it came out in 2015. It had fun likable characters and a great villain in Slappy the evil dummy.

Fast forward 3 years and here's the sequel. 99% of the cast from the original is missing and the new characters aren't as interesting. They're serviceable but kind of forgettable. The story is also not as well paced as the original and is too fast for its own good coming in as a little too short. It needed about another 10 minutes or so in its last act.

But I can't hate it because it's still a lot of fun. Once again Slappy steals the show and there's some surprisingly creepy scenes involving him early on in the movie. The other Goosebumps monsters are fun too and the halloween setting puts a smile on my face. I also really dug the musical score by Dominic Lewis.

If you have kids I highly recommend taking them to this one. Although there might be a few scenes too scary for the younger ones it's the perfect horror movie for them to watch during the Halloween season.

Buy a ticket, some popcorn and a soda and have fun.

Another bland and boring cashgrab

[buttsnarkety · 3/10 · 4 November 2018]

Uninteresting characters Sub par story Meh villain Predictable ending Not worth watching just watch the originals. Verdict: MEGA CASHGRAB

family fun!!!

[bradykid-26060 · 9/10 · 15 October 2018]

We took our 10 year old daughter to see it. Perfect for the Halloween season.

Slow start, fun for the kids

[phil_doucet · 7/10 · 20 October 2018]

This movie started off a little bit slow but the end product was a good one and the kids (aged 9 and 14) left excited, scared of ventriloquist dolla and ready for Halloween. Very minimal role by Jack Black in this movie but we were entertained throughout and got us in the mood for Halloween next week! Worth a Friday night.

Goosebumps 2

[joelparrish · 3/10 · 29 October 2018]

I never read the books but was expecting much more given the books are successful and the tv series is pretty good. The movie kind of dragged on and it was good 45 minutes before anything remotely interesting happens. Not much horror and the action non existing even for a kids movie. The asian guy from the hangover movies is in this for comic relief but is really obnoxious and an idiot. Jack Black is in it for the last 5 minutes but is really a waste of time and talent. I half fell asleep in the last 20 minutes and this movie seemed to drag and the villain never really had a decent motive. Story and plot didn't make sense and was kind of lame.

Not as good as the first, but fun

[iamjacksmoviechannel · 7/10 · 13 October 2018]

So last week after Venom I said that nobody at Sony would know what going dark was if it licked them in the ass with a giant symbiote tongue. This week, I take it back.

Goosebumps isn't going to wow you with what it has to say, nor does it have much to say in the first place, but this totally understands what it wants to be.

Like the books it's based off of, it's the scary movie starter kit for kids. You get your halloween fright monsters, you get some mild jump scares, you get inspired lunacy and funny references, some for kids, some clearly aimed at adults.

This movie is everything the first movie was and everything that House with the clock in the walls wanted to be.

If you're reviewing it, sure, you can come up with the problem that the plot is pretty much the same from the first movie but the first movie generally was just the creation of a playground to workout zaniness and frights anyway so as long as those work...

Here two kids find a book from R.L. Stine. It winds up bringing Stine's dummy Slappy back to life. Slappy in turn decides he wants to complete the story of one of Stine's earlier works and unleashes a bunch of monsters on the small town in order to do that.

The whole thing is a bunch of fun and nobody is having more of it than Jack Black. He voices Slappy with Crypt-keeper like precision, especially the laugh. He later shows up in person as Stine, full of hillarious mock arrogance.

Slappy is also sure to be the best character here, one who even at his most tame is really mischievous and at his most menacing is enough to make you fear for whoever he's around.

This is also another marvel for Sony Pictures animation. The visual effects, from the costumes in the halloween store that come to life to haunted pumpkins, to demonic gummy bears.

Every once in a while the mom from the Goldbergs or Ken Jeong will come in for some comedic support. The kid actors are fine too and there's a nice message about facing fears.

Really if I was 10 i'd think this was a great movie but even as an adult, I laughed at its absurdity while admiring how it balances being wacky, frightful, and also kid friendly.

If you like this, check out Craig James Review on Youtube for more

Fun Family Film, But Feels More Like a TV Movie

[lord-of-the-lez · 7/10 · 21 October 2018]

This is a fun movie with an atmosphere that just oozes Halloween. I love the idea of Halloween decorations themselves being the monsters and there were a lot of really cool designs used for the various monsters. And I like that we see more monsters in this one than in the first one, as the first Goosebumps movie needed a lot more monster mashin' goodness.

However, it was not nearly as funny as the first Goosebumps. The plot was a bit slow and not that suspenseful or exciting. And despite Slappy being featured more in this sequel, he actually was not as creepy or menacing as he came across in the first movie.

While the first Goosebumps movie felt more like a love letter to the franchise, this movie's recipe felt more like a TV movie that tried its hardest to use the Goosebumps books as inspiration only to be just lightly Goosebumps flavored (and heavy on the Halloween candy).

Very fun, very Halloween-y, but...not that Goosebumps-y.

Decent sequel to a decent adaptation of the popular franchise

[lisafordeay · 5/10 · 16 February 2020]

Goosebumps 2 is the sequel to the 2015 Horror Family Comedy of the same name and this time a pair of siblings Sonny and Sarah have to stop Slappy the dummy (who came back to life again as Sonny ended up opening the book up with his friend Sam) from bringing back former Halloween charcthers to life by magic. Will they stop him? Overall it was a decent film. Not as good as the original but still watch it on a rainy day.

Keep an eye out for Jack Black who plays R.L Stine in the original film.

Fun Family Movie

[geraldkweesar · 7/10 · 14 October 2018]

Not as bad as the critics says,i actually enjoyed the movie.Love the joke and the characters

Almost the same as the 2015 "Goosebumps" movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 5 January 2019]

I decided to watch "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" because I did actually thoroughly enjoy the previous "Goosebumps" movie from 2015. And based on that movie, then I actually had high hopes for "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween".

While "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" definitely was a visually pleasing movie, then it was just a very unnecessary sequel. Why? Well, because it was essentially the exact same as the 2015 movie, just changed the scenery, the monsters, and the characters. But the essence of the storyline and the outcome was the exact same thing. So that felt very anti-climatic and very much like a slap to the face with a cold, dead fish.

If you haven't already seen the 2015 "Goosebumps" movie then this sequel will be a good movie to watch. However, if you already did see the 2015 one, then there virtually is no need to watch "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween". I am not kidding.

The CGI department definitely did not fail to deliver, because the CGI in the movie were quite good, just as they were in the previous movie. And that is actually the selling point to "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween", sad to say.

This is very much a sequel in the very definition of a sequel. So it was soup being boiled on watered down broth.

Surprisingly good family Halloween fun

[amesmonde · 20 October 2018]

Two friends unknowingly bring Slappy the Dummy to life and the evil dummy goes about giving life to all Halloween creatures.

Based on the original promos, with a slashed production budget at first I was convinced this was to be a TV straight to DVD affair, how wrong I was. Director Ari Sandel delivers Impressive ghost and ghoul effects which are as impressive as the acting.

GooseBumps 2 may not have the scale or execution of the first but Sandel along with writers Rob Lieber and Darren Lemke offer just as much fun and it has just the same if not more PG eerie scares.

Whether it's was a marketing ploy or Jack Black wasn't going to return it was a pleasant surprise to see him return in the final film with an extended cameo. Also the real R. L. Stein also briefly appears.

The leads are likeable, Jeremy Ray Taylor as Sonny and Madison Iseman as Sarah Quinn carry the film well. Notable is Caleel Harris as Sam Carter, Sonny's best friend. Ken Jeong is humorous as the Halloween obsessed neighbor. However, Slappy is wonderfully realised and steals the show. Thankfully, with what look like for the most part as practical effects.

Overall, surprisingly good solid instalment, welcomingly setting up another outing.

Slappy's storybook.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 7/10 · 18 December 2018]

With a friend telling me that her daughter is a big fan of the first Goosebumps movie,I quietly started to hope that a second one would be made. Looking for a flick to watch with her and the kids before X-Mas,I was thrilled to find the second one on DVD, which led to me turning the pages of this new Goosebumps.

View on the film:

Whilst ending with a delightful 30 minute mad-dash "greatest hits" final similar to the first film, the screenplay by the returning Rob Lieber and Darren Lemke displays a more focused approach here,with the choice to have the film be largely based around one monster (Slappy) allowing for the friendship between Sarah, Sonny and Sam to be given space. Taking over from Lieber directing the first movie, director Ari Sandel & cinematographer Barry Peterson do really well at giving this family-friendly Horror a creepy atmosphere, thanks to the stop-start puppet motions of Slappy. Bringing R. L. Stine's most famous monsters for the final, Sandel gives them a brightly animated look, which gives all the the creatures a lively vibe as they haunt the town. Facing off against Mick Wingert giving a wonderfully sinister voice to Slappy, Jeremy Ray Taylor,Madison Iseman and Caleel Harris each give very good turns as Sarah, Sonny and Sam, due them balancing the friendships between the frightful and the brave,as they fight to shake off the goosebumps.

Worst waste of my time and money

[marc_hp · 2/10 · 20 October 2018]

Was a fan of the series but this played like a really bad TV movie of the 80's . The acting was wooden , the writing lazy , plot predictable and cliche with only one chuckle for King fans . Don't worry about being too scary for pre schoolers as they will likely laugh at those parts . I'm a middle aged dad that likes to go to the movies with his teen age son oncec a week and only reason I didn't walk out is that I'm in a wheelchair . Any glowing reviews are written by trolls wanting you to waste your time and money or by the Studio staff .

Loved it!

[stellamalfoy · 10/10 · 12 October 2018]

Wonderfully done! I loved all the ghouls and creatures in the film.

Pay attention to the last few minutes of the movie before the credits and you can spot a certain person making a surprise cameo!

Halloween fun!

[Darth_Osmosis · 7/10 · 14 October 2018]

It's obviously not really scary, but it has that "Scooby-Doo Scary" vibe nailed! It's fast paced, fun and has a lot of Halloween themed action. The whole movie has a sort of 90's type TV feel to it, in a good way. The acting is fine and the Villain is very enjoyable.

Below average

[idodags · 4/10 · 11 December 2018]

Just like the book, you can't expect more from it. It's just another cheeky teen movie, just come from more popular source. That's it.

Not as Many Goosebumps In This installment, but Fun Nevertheless

[rgkarim · 7/10 · 12 October 2018]

The book series that got me hooked to reading many years ago has tried to keep its relevance as up-to-date as possible. With the first installment doing pretty well, it's no surprise that they made a second film and yours truly is ready to dive in and figure out what lies in the latest book of R.L. Stine. Can this family friendly horror keep things spooky enough to warrant a theater visit? Robbie K here with a review on the latest silver screen sensation:

Movie: Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)

Director: Ari Sandel Writers: Rob Lieber (screenplay by), Rob Lieber (story by) Stars: Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jack Black, Madison Iseman

LIKES:

Family Friendly: The Goosebumps books have been a solid intro into the world of horror that brings kids into the fold of literature. This movie sticks to those guns and adds that kid friendly element to warrant a try for a family outing. Is it dark? Yes, but the studio managed to dilute the darkness to be manageable (for the most part) that kids should have a laugh at it. Case in point a three-year-old did very well in my viewing.

Good Pace: Short and to the point, this movie was a quick, fun adventure that did little to slow the antics down. From the get go, you'll be immersed into the adventure at hand, as what can be describes Stranger Things, meets a Disney vibe and is executed well. The fact that time seems to fly by is a good sign that this will be fun for most. Plus, 90 minutes is a good target goal in my opinion.

Creature Design: While certainly not as epic as Stine's descriptions in his book, the crew in the movie studio have done some decent research. The new creatures that inhabit the screen have got some flare to them, and while not the most realistic, at least have that same Stine vibe to them to still be easy for the little ones to handle.

The Use of Slappy: Slappy in the last film was not as utilized as I expected, reserved for a few jokes and that was it. The sequel though really brought him out in spades, using him to establish a bit ,ore of the horror element, while also grounding the story down. Slappy was much more himself in this installment, his malicious side mixed with his deceitful antics bringing back memories of the horror that was Slappy in his books. A solid antagonist to support the story, I enjoyed this character much more.

DISLIKES: Under Utilization of Characters: The kids get center stage and do well, but the older cast members not as involved as I was hoping. Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ken Jeong were reduced to a few short sequences, still bringing their tricks to trade, but not getting involved in the story like I had hoped. As for Jack Black, he's there, but not much more I can say . They really diluted "Stine's" part in this film and left me a little bummed with my Haunted Halloween treat.

Not as Much Nostalgia: Part of the fun of the last movie was all the references to the books and trying to find the cameos in their involvement. Sadly, this film short sheeted us in this factor. Yes, there are a few nods, but Haunted Halloween is trying to go a little more original than its predecessor. Nothing wrong with that, it's just I missed the find your childhood reference component from the first film.

More Creature involvement: Design might be good, but Haunted Halloween 2 didn't use their creatures to their full potential either. Many creatures get their kicks for a few seconds before being reduced to background images and occasional sound effect. Such a step down in this design, Haunted Halloween didn't have quite the spectacular impasses they wanted to bring in, and that left me feeling a little bored in terms of suspense.

Predictability/Trailer Spoilers: My friend Tim has shared wisdom of be careful what trailers you watch. These words are very applicable to this movie, as watch enough of the trailers and you have 80% of the movie. Haunted Halloween has little in terms of grand surprises, and by watching these trailers, you can skip this film in the theater.

The Story Component: It's not that the story was bad, but it was much less involved than the first installment. Very straightforward, very cliché, and very piecemeal that it feels like an unfinished manuscript. Slappy may have tied things together and made one heck of an antagonist, but their execution of his skill set was just missing something. Some of the antics, gimmicks, and threats were very lighthearted, and due to the kid atmosphere, I feel they threw some punches to not go too extreme to leave nightmares.

The Verdict:

Goosebumps 2 has some fun little quirks that will be very appropriate for the family atmosphere of the movie. With good creature design and pacing it shows some promise to being the horror movie for the young and young at heart. However, the originality factor took a little from the adventure I enjoyed in the first installment, primarily at how disjointed this movie felt in integrating all its characters and creatures. It's a step back in quality overall, and you can skip this one due to the trailers, but not the worst movie to come out overall.

My scores are:

Adventure/Comedy/Family: 7.0 Movie Overall: 5.5