Like many other horror fans my age, I spent much of my summertime as a pre-teen devouring Goosebumps novels from prolific children’s writer R.L. Stine. My next door neighbor, Kelly, had dozens of the old books stored away from when she a horror-hungry twelve year-old herself, and I checked them out from her a few at a time; my own personal Goosebumps library just a few yards away from my front door. Looking back now, I realize that while Stine may not have sparked my initial love the horror genre itself, he did provide me with some of my very first glimpses into the literary horror world, and ignite a passion for reading scary stories before bedtime that would carry on well into my twenties. Flash forward to present day, when I am asked by my editor to review the newest film adaptation of the novels, starring the hilarious Jack Black, and I can hardly contain my nostalgia-filled excitement. Despite the questionable trailer, I head into the Jimmy Stewart screening room feeling optimistic, and open to the idea that what I am about to see might in no way resemble the books I buried my nose in all of those countless summer afternoons, hiding out from the Texas heat in the stuffy corner of my room. What I found was that although Rob Letterman’s latest effort is a fun, playful throwback to early ’90s children’s films, in the end, this monster mash just does not resemble a Goosebumps story.

Not wanting to leave any favorites out, this movie works as a melting pot of monsters. As opposed to limiting itself to one novel in particular, Letterman’s Goosebumps works around the wacky notion that all of R.L. Stine’s manuscripts contain real, tangible creatures. They are so real in fact that they literally leap off of the pages when the books are unlocked, and begin running around in our world amongst the humans. Of course, sixteen year-old Zach Cooper doesn’t know any of this when he makes the move from New York City to the small town of Greendale, Maryland. Zach’s dad passed away last year, and his mother, a high school vice principal, is looking to get away from the hectic, busy world of the big apple, and settle down in a slower, more simplistic environment. Unfortunately, what lies ahead for the Coopers is anything but simple.

Zach meets and quickly falls for the girl next door, Hannah, and begins to pursue her, despite her rigid father’s rude introductions and threats. Hannah’s dad warns Zach to stay away, but when Zach sees a shadowed argument between the two family members turn hostile from his bedroom window, he concocts a plan to break in to Hannah’s house, and make sure that his newfound crush is completely safe. However, what starts out as a simple check up to make sure everything is all right, quickly turns into a wild evening of magic and terrifying wonder, as Zach accidentally unlocks some of the books from the sacred shelf in Hannah’s home, and unknowingly unleashes all of R.L. Stine’s famous monsters unto the world.

Just like any paranormal film, this one asks its viewers to suspend belief, mainly in Jack Black’s performance. From the beginning, the attitude that an audience member takes on this film will instantly determine whether the film is enjoyable or not. Either you accept the fact that Black is nothing like R.L. Stine, get over it, and move on, or get stuck on the odd casting choice, complain that his acting is not accurate, and use it as an excuse to brush the entire feature aside and sit with arms crossed, furious, throughout the entire runtime. If you decide you can live with it, however, Black actually does provide some pretty hilarious moments, proving to be the one bit of comedy that carries throughout the entire feature, as the rest of the laughs fall away about halfway through with the casting aside of a few choice characters.

The humor itself is strange too, or at least strange for the subject matter. Despite the film’s meta and self aware nature, neither the Goosebumps novels nor the television show episodes carried much humor at all. The only real comedy that the source material occasionally displayed was in the form of tricks and bullying, and was really only funny to the bully, who usually learned his or her lesson later on in the story. This showed young readers how no crime goes unpunished, and it doesn’t pay to cry wolf. However, despite the idea that Zach is the new kid at school, he never once experiences a moment of bullying, peer pressure, or any sort of disruptance in his school life at all, aside from his embarrassment over his mother being the new vice principal, which also seems to serve no little to no purpose in the end.

I can’t help but wonder why they bothered making Zach the new kid at all, especially since Hannah, the girl next door who Zach carries a torch for, quickly states how she and her father and constantly moving from town to town, which provides an excellent setup for her to be the newest addition to the neighborhood. Not only would it make sense for Hannah to be the one moving in since she’s such a mystery, but it would have solidified the Fright Night vibes that her and her reclusive father emanated from their quiet, forbidden house next door.

Another questionable move is the choice to make Zach’s mother a widower. Aside from a brief moment of bonding between Zach and surrogate father Stine, the fact that Zach’s dad passed away a little over a year ago is almost completely insignificant by the end of the movie. It’s rarely brought up, and used as little more than a random explanation for his single parent household, a detail that’s really only in place to spark some sympathy from audience members who are forced to develop a quick connection with these characters, and winds up feeling more like a cheap trick than a useful, necessary plot device.

For all of its shortcomings, Goosebumps does exhibit some refreshingly sweet aspects that go against most modern day pop culture entries, where even films aimed towards young people can feel harsh and distant. Making the character Slappy, fan favorite from Goosebumps novel Night of the Living Dummy, the ringleader of all of the escaped creatures is both playful and clever, since the rest of the monsters embody perfect minions for his smart, sinister nature. Slappy is without a doubt the best use of an R.L. Stine creature in the film, for not only is he a funny, snarky leader, but he also serves as an appropriately forceful catalyst to get reluctant, anxiety-ridden Stine to exit his home and get involved with his peers. Slappy causes enough mayhem to draw Stine out, and once stripped of the protection of his locked home, confronts Stine about his socially awkward nature and innate distaste for most people and their happenings. As the personified skeleton from his closet, come to taunt him with the last thing he wants to hear, Slappy acts as the other half of Stine; an extension that utters all of the horrible remarks that Stine himself might think about others, but would never say out loud. The lonely little boy that didn’t fit in wrote Slappy to relieve himself of his demons, and as a result, the demon himself was born; forged into hard wood, melded with snarky comments, with a compass that points to trickery and deception. In order to defeat Slappy, Stine must first defeat the dark side of himself.

In conclusion, this long overdue full feature length adaptation of the beloved Goosebumps novels is a much better interpretation of Stine’s work then what could have been, even if the tone is a little off. It’s nice to see many of the characters we grew up loving standing side by side on screen together, with little nods to popular entries residing quietly in the background for those who notice, like the cuckoo clock in the basement, covered with dust but coveting unbelievable magic. Even if the usual dark humor that has come to characterize much of the writing is swapped out for tongue-in-cheek jokes and fast-paced debauchery, the film still serves as an enjoyable, quirky throwback to ’90s children’s films, like Jumanji, Hocus Pocus, and Casper. Its abandoned humor halfway through the film makes for a sluggish middle, but in the end, this is a sweet, nostalgia-filled film for youths and parents alike that will provide a fun trip to the theater during the fall festivities of October. It’s just not a Goosebumps movie.