Reviews
“Goosebumps” Second Half Review – New TV Series Proves These Stories Still Have Life Left in Them
Like so many of the broader Goosebumps series’ nightmarish affairs, the back half of the new Goosebumps show belongs to Slappy.
It all seemed to begin in the early 1990s when young Harold Biddle was caught in a fiery inferno. As he burned, a group of teenagers ran off into the night with one of his most prized possessions. Eventually, those teenagers grew up and had children of their own.
There’s Zack Morris’ Isaiah, the charismatic football star and his best friend James played by Miles McKenna, a fun and sarcastic rich kid dealing with the pitfalls of being one of the small town’s only openly queer residents. Ana Yi Puig plays the tough, strong and socially isolated Isabella, Will Price is Lucas, who’s as lovably affable as he is occasionally idiotic, and Isa Briones is the staggeringly charming Margot, Isaiah’s neighbor, lifelong friend and on-again, off-again crush. The core group of actors is one of the show’s greatest assets, their chemistry and empathy for one another a driving force of the long form narrative.
While the first five episodes saw the core cast attempting to navigate the curse their parents had wrought, the latter five installments serve to flesh out the history of that curse’s persisting evil. The true threat was not the obvious one and in the spirit of R.L. Stine’s twisted ethos, the story evolves beyond its ghostly origins.
Starting with Episode six, “Night of the Living Dummy,” Goosebumps begins to excavate the history of the haunted objects mined from the original series featured in the first half of the season. It seems that the nefarious magic behind the bedeviled camera, cursed cuckoo clock, haunted mask and otherworldly worms was sourced from the series’ most famous sinful dummy.
Slappy is realized onscreen in a style that harkens back to the original cover of the book series’ seventh paperback while embodying the design of a doll that might have been carved to eerie life over a century prior. Real human hair was even employed as a dummy of that sort would have had at the time, providing Slappy a damned appeal that makes him feel more dangerous than ever before. Chris Geere voices Slappy with drive and menace, his English accent lending to a seriousness that has been absent from Slappy’s more recent portrayals.
The corrupting force behind the show’s many devilish goings on, Slappy is to blame for Harold Biddle’s tortuous turn and Biddle’s desire to fulfill the dummy’s mysterious wishes is at the heart of his increasingly dangerous acts of vengeance. While Ben Cockell portrays the introverted and artistic Biddle, most of his cruelty is carried out by Justin Long. Possessed by Biddle from the second episode on, Long teeters on the edge of awkward wickedness and pathetic haplessness, delivering an electric performance that never ceases to entertain and unnerve.
Episode eight concludes the Biddle storyline, bringing the past and present of the five families’ shared trauma together in one climactic scene on the edge of a mountain in a snowstorm. Tears are shed, lives saved and Slappy is cast into the snow covered chasm to languish in isolation for what can one only assume will be the rest of his sinister days.
The end… right?
As R.L. Stine reminds viewers in a cameo voice appearance on a Podcast called “Let the Write One in,” every good story has “a beginning, a middle and a twist.” It’s a testament to the writing and structure of the show that the first eight episodes create the illusion that the story is over, the many dangling threads about the evil’s true origin and Slappy’s ultimate plans far from cleanly tied.
Episode nine delves into Justin Long’s Nathan Bratt, following him from his old life to the moment he stepped into the former Biddle residence and found himself sharing his body with an aggrieved specter. Aside from bringing in Fifi the murderous poodle from the Give Yourself Goosebumps book Please Don’t Feed the Vampire, the episode finds its way back to Slappy and reveals the ventriloquist dummy to be powered by the displaced spirit of a darkly plotting warlock who goes by the name Kanduu. Here the show finally begins to draw from later Goosebumps lore, pulling from books as recent as 2022’s Slappy Beware! and the Slappyworld entry Slappy’s Evil Twin.
The first season of Goosebumps concludes with an episode called “Welcome to Horrorland,” although it has very little to do with the book from which it derives its title. It repurposes the concept of a horror theme park to that of a traveling carnival, the type of breeding ground for the macabre and the strange where Kanduu once tended to lurk. Originally an anonymous soldier in a foreign land fighting for a cause he neither believed in nor fully understood, Kanduu wound up bleeding out from a gunshot wound in a strange cave marked with the words of a forgotten language. It’s in that cave that he discovers the secret to eternal life and the magical incantations which have the power to call forth the hordes of horrors that the world had once thought lost to myth, legend and time.
Despite the epic world-building and encroaching ancient evil, the show still manages to ground itself in an emotional place. The core cast of characters caught in the thick of Slappy’s aims are fittingly poised as the only defense between their town and the same kind of fiery death and destruction that scarred Port Lawrence to begin with. With impressive production design, startling visual effects and the added kick of adrenaline the turn in the story takes in the final two episodes, the season concludes with the same unique brand of spirited energy that its premiere hit the ground running with.
For a show based on a 30 year old property that has graced thousands of pages, countless televisions and so many theater screens the world over, Goosebumps offers a fresh perspective for audiences both familiar with R.L. Stine’s milieu and the uninitiated alike. While it plays with the franchise’s most famous props, it is not afraid to reinvent, venturing further into histories, meanings and origins in ways that no Goosebumps property ever has— on the page or the screen. Moreover, the promise of the season’s final minutes is one of compelling emotion, warped joy and astonishing horrors to come, falling completely in line with the original 62 books it’s homaging while allowing for evolution in equal measure.
The perfect amalgam of humor, horror and heart, Goosebumps encapsulates everything the series represents and has always strived to be. With satisfying character arcs, engrossing mythology and a stellar cast of incredible performers along with a world-class crew, this is a show that deserves to have a tenure befitting the franchise’s history and wealth of chilling terrors.
Readers, viewers and all around connoisseurs of R.L. Stine’s particular brand of playful monstrousness need not beware, Goosebumps is more than worthy of its laughs, tears and, of course, well earned scares.
When I previously wrote my review of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, I mentioned that I was optimistic for the series to be renewed for another season, but questioned how the showrunners would be able to introduce a fresh batch of conflicts for our Millwood liars to tackle. After all, “A” had been apprehended! The main characters seemed to have found closure, and the future seemed bright and unobstructed for each of them.
And then came the summer. Summer School, that is.
As expected in any iteration of Pretty Little Liars, a new A has emerged to torment our five final girls who are stuck in Millwood attending summer school; this time in the form of Bloody Rose–a crimson soaked, knife brandishing antagonist that I would argue is much scarier than our season 1 stalker, Archie Waters. As things heat up with Bloody Rose, the summer brings a slew of new tribulations for the liars to face, including a mysterious new church group, and Milwood residents with nefarious intentions. It’s fresh, it’s campy, and while I wasn’t as blown away by the first half of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School as I was Original Sin, it still feels like a satisfying and seamless continuation of everything the first season had set up.
Editor’s Note: This review covers the first five episodes of ‘Summer School.’
For anyone craving a summer slasher romp in the vein of Fear Street or a Scream film, Summer School will satisfy. The new season feels like a love letter to horror classics similar to how Original Sin was–from a pool setting that looks straight out of the iconic scene from The Strangers: Prey At Night, to a Chuck E. Cheese-esque parlor full of animatronics that look straight from the recent Five Nights At Freddy’s movie. It continues the trend from season 1 of pivoting Pretty Little Liars completely into horror territory and proves that it can stand tall in the genre.
As previously mentioned, the new main antagonist donning the A moniker is Bloody Rose–a mysterious pursuer who lurks in the shadows of Millwood. Her design feels much more inspired than her predecessor: perpetually soaked in blood, donning what appears to be a crown of thorns, typically one eye exposed through what look like bandages on her face, the sight of her sends a chill down my spine as she pursues the liars. While her antics appear to be similar to Archie’s in terms of tormenting the girls, her influence seems to stretch further than just the five main characters, acting as a sort of Boogeyman in Millwood as its residents discuss the lore of who she is on “Spooky Spaghetti,” the PLL’s in-universe Creepypasta.
While the girls come to grips with the fact that a new stalker has emerged, they’re also still reconciling with the hurdles that they just surmounted. Having already come face-to-face with A–and on the brink of death by extension–they’ve each become hardened and cautious, embracing their identities as final girls. Without sounding too much like the meme of Jamie Lee Curtis, Summer School is an exploration of the baggage that comes with being a survivor of trauma. It’s a much more present story–Original Sin would often jump to flashbacks to show the mistakes of each of the girls’ mothers, whereas in Summer School, the mothers are essentially absent. This is now the girls’ story, and theirs alone.
The girls are constantly watching their backs and questioning the intentions of everyone around them, but have also toughened up and learned to lean on each other. It’s a refreshing expansion of what Original Sin had built–while the 1st season was tasked with providing exposition and introducing us to each character, Summer School settles in quickly and gives the characters much more breathing room. One of my critiques of Original Sin was that it felt like we didn’t get enough time with Mouse (Malia Pyles), Noa (Maia Reficco), and Faran (Zaria). We were treated to a lot of focus on Imogen (Bailee Madison) and Tabby (Chandler Kinney), who acted as the main duo of the group in that season while the others were a bit more on the backburner. Summer School quickly rectifies this: each of the main cast are given more time in the spotlight and come across as more dynamic characters as a result.
On the flipside, the pacing doesn’t feel quite as tight as the previous season. In the scenes where Bloody Rose is wreaking havoc on her chosen liar, the tension is palpable and gripping. But at times, the tension is weighed down by scenes that heavily detract from the main plot. I couldn’t help but think at times during the five episodes that I’ve watched that Mouse was the only character trying to get to the bottom of who Bloody Rose is while the focus of every other character was spending multiple scenes cozying up with their romantic interest. Romance is obviously an important facet of a summer slasher vibe, but more often than not I found my attention span wandering as the romance subplots seemed to take precedence over the murderer that was stalking the characters. Original Sin was effective at maintaining focus while knowing when to pump the brakes, while Summer School feels a bit bogged down at times.
Despite this, the mystery surrounding Bloody Rose has sunk its hook in me. Without spoiling too much, she clearly has some sort of vendetta against the liars that’s causing her to torture the group in a way specific to each of them. The introduction of a handful of new characters has me constantly rearranging my suspect list–by episode 5, I found that my main suspect up until that point had fallen completely off my radar of who the one stalking the girls could be. The essence of Pretty Little Liars has always been the audience’s participation in identifying clues throughout the show that indicate who the culprit is, and Summer School succeeds in beckoning you to do so episode by episode.
I’m also eager to see how a couple of subplots, specifically one that hints at religious fanaticism and the occult, will end up tying into the larger picture as well. Kelly Beasley (Mallory Bechtel) is a standout character–the unofficial 6th member of the main group, she’s undergone an intense character transformation and seems to be harboring some of the most complex secrets of the cast that I’m excited to see revealed. The predatory movie theater manager, Wes (Derek Klena), has also returned with seemingly nefarious ulterior motives, and it’s satisfying to see Tabby disillusioned with his friendly persona and butt heads with him.
While I don’t think the first five episodes pack as much of a punch as Original Sin, Summer School straddles the volatile line of a worthy slasher sequel for the most part. The characters feel like real teenagers (albeit with some clunky Gen-Z slang sprinkled in here and there); they’re fallible, act rashly, and make mistakes, and are endearing as a result. It’s a testament to the cast’s ability to embody final girls that are easy to root for, and I’ll be intently staying tuned to see how the mystery of Bloody Rose unfolds.
The first 2 episodes of Pretty Little Liars: Summer School will debut on Thursday, May 9, streaming on Max, with a new episode premiering weekly until June 20.
5 Deep Cut Horror Movies to Seek Out in May 2024
‘Baby in the Basket’ – First Look at Gothic World War II Horror Movie [Exclusive]
‘Flesh of the Gods’ – Kristen Stewart & Oscar Isaac Starring in ’80s Vampire Movie from Panos Cosmatos!
Limited Edition Morticia & Wednesday Addams ‘Monster High’ Dolls Releasing Next Week!
Murderous May: 10 New Horror Movies You Don’t Want to Miss in May 2024
You must be logged in to post a comment.