Haunted Halloween

''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' (or simply ''Goosebumps 2'' as marketed on home release) is a 2018 American horror comedy film directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke. A stand-alone sequel to 2015's ''Goosebumps'', it is based on the children's horror book series of the same name by R. L. Stine. The new cast consists of Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell and Ken Jeong. The plot follows a pair of young boys who accidentally unleash the monsters of the ''Goosebumps'' franchise upon their hometown after opening an unpublished ''Goosebumps'' manuscript, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night.

Development of the film began in September 2015. Rob Letterman intended to return to direct, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with ''Detective Pikachu'', so Ari Sandel replaced him as director. Jack Black and Odeya Rush under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $93 million worldwide.

Plot

Teenager Sarah Quinn lives with her mother, Kathy, and her teenage brother, Sonny, in the New York town of Wardenclyffe and is writing an essay for her college application as Halloween is just around the corner. Sonny's friend, Sam Carter, is dropped off at their house to be looked after while his parents are away for the next three days.

Scavenging for items in an abandoned house formerly owned by R. L. Stine after school, they find an unpublished ''Goosebumps'' manuscript and unlock it, resulting in Slappy the Dummy appearing, who is currently inanimate. Leaving the house after obliviously reading the incantation that brings Slappy to life, they are intercepted by bully Tommy Madigan, who steals the manuscript from them. He and his friends attempt to chase the duo home, but are secretly stopped by the now-brought-to-life Slappy.

Back home, Slappy reveals his sentience to the duo, but requests them to keep him a secret from the other Quinns. Over the next few days, Slappy tries to assert himself as a member of the family by assaulting Sarah’s ex-boyfriend, Tyler Mitchell, for recently cheating on her and causing damage to one of the classrooms of Sonny’s school after sabotaging his science project, a working model of the abandoned Wardenclyffe Tower created by Nikola Tesla. Now aware of Slappy’s true nature, the duo and Sarah settle on getting rid of him, only for him to escape when they attempt to do so.

Halloween night arrives and the kids find an article online regarding events that occurred in the Delawarean town of Madison. Through some more research, they realize that the unpublished manuscript is required to stop Slappy. They then attempt to contact R. L. Stine for help, but leave a voicemail when he is unavailable. Meanwhile, Slappy visits a local Fred's and uses his powers to bring various Halloween costumes and decorations to life, some of which are ''Goosebumps'' themed, as well as brainwashing the store’s manager, Walter, to his cause using a mask.

Slappy soon reactivates the Wardenclyffe Tower and uses it to bring the town’s Halloween decor to life. As Sonny and Sam retrieve the manuscript at Tommy’s house, during which they discover it can be used to imprison anything Slappy had brought to life, it is unfortunately stolen by his forces as they then abduct Kathy. Mr. Chu, the Quinns' neighbor and an avid ''Goosebumps'' fan, assists the duo and Sarah in disguising themselves to safely navigate the town.

They infiltrate the Wardenclyffe Tower and confront Slappy, who has now made Kathy like him. After some conflict, the trio defeat Slappy as Sarah combines the recovered manuscript's power with the energy of the tower’s reactor to save the town, with Kathy and Walter being returned to normal. In the aftermath, Stine arrives at the tower, having received the trio’s voicemail only to learn that the threat has been neutralized and congratulates them for their heroism, as well as giving Sarah advice on writing her essay.

Afterwards, Kathy and Walter begin dating and Sarah is accepted after completing her application. Elsewhere, Stine is confronted by a surviving Slappy, who entraps his creator in a new ''Goosebumps'' story he himself conceived.

Cast

Production

On September 2, 2015, it was reported that a sequel to the film ''Goosebumps'' was already in the planning stages, with Sony looking for a screenwriter. On January 17, 2017, a January 26, 2018 release date was set, and Rob Letterman confirmed that he was to return as director for the sequel. On February 6, 2017, it was announced that the film's release date had been delayed to September 21, 2018, taking the date previously held by '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation''.

In May 2017, the title was said to be ''Goosebumps: HorrorLand''. At the time, it was also reported that Jack Black would reprise his role as R. L. Stine.

In November 2017, Rob Lieber was tapped to pen the script. In December 2017, Ari Sandel was announced as the director instead of Letterman, due to the latter being busy directing ''Detective Pikachu'' for Legendary Entertainment. ''Variety'' reported that two scripts had been written: one script in which Black would reprise his role, while the other had Black cut out entirely. In December 2017, the sequel's release date was pushed to October 12, 2018.

The film was later renamed ''Goosebumps: Slappy's Revenge'', and its new leading cast members were set as Madison Iseman, Ben O'Brien, Caleel Harris and Jeremy Ray Taylor (O'Brien did not appear in the finished film). Ken Jeong, Chris Parnell and Wendi McLendon-Covey joined the following month. Filming began on March 7, and in April 2018 the title was renamed again, to ''Haunted Halloween''.

It was initially stated by Sony representatives that Avery Lee Jones, who puppeteered Slappy in the film, would also voice the character. Jack Black returned for the film as Stine, and it was later reported that Mick Wingert would actually voice Slappy.

Music

Release

''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' was released on October 12, 2018. The film's first trailer premiered on July 11, 2018, the international trailer on August 16, 2018, and a third trailer on September 20, 2018. A television spot was released on September 24, 2018, which also confirmed that Jack Black would return for the film. Unlike the first film where it was given RealD 3D screenings, the sequel was not in the format.

''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' was released on Digital on December 25, 2018, and DVD and Blu-ray on January 15, 2019.

Reception

Box office

''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' grossed $46.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $46.6 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $93.3 million, against a production budget of $35 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' was released alongside '' First Man'' and ''Bad Times at the El Royale'', and was projected to gross $15–21 million from 3,521 theaters in its opening weekend.

The film made $4.9 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews, up from $600,000 by the first film. It went on to debut to $15.8 million (down 33% from the first film's opening of $23.6 million), finishing fourth at the box office, behind ''Venom'', '' A Star Is Born'' and ''First Man''. The film dropped 38% in its second weekend, to $9.7 million, remaining in fourth.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2018, and opened in third, behind ''A Star Is Born'' and ''Halloween''.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 48% based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' offers a handful of treats for very young viewers, but compared to the entertaining original, this sequel is a ding dong to ditch." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A" earned by the first film.

Bilge Ebiri, writing for ''Vulture'', said: "The first ''Goosebumps'' movie ... had wit, speed, and an imaginative spirit, throwing all sorts of rampaging, creatively designed ghouls at us. ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' can’t quite make the same claim. It replicates the template and the atmosphere of the original, but it lacks invention and emotional investment", and added: "The movie feels undercooked on every level. True, it’s all ''meant'' to be slight and charming and inoffensive — but there’s a way to make this sort of thing work, and ''Goosebumps 2'' doesn’t seem particularly interested in trying to find it."

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of ''The A.V. Club'' gave the film a grade of C, writing: "Though the new ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' gets closer to the spirit of Stine’s bestselling books, it also shares their reliance on formula, recreating the first movie’s monster mash with fewer self-referential gags." He concluded: "though Sandel relies less on exasperating, rubbery digital effects than Rob Letterman, the DreamWorks Animation vet who helmed the original, his direction of the monsters and mayhem is never more than workmanlike, racing joylessly through a shaky plot that barely holds attention."

Writing for ''The Globe and Mail'', Kate Taylor was more positive in her review of the film, giving it a score of 3 stars out of 4 and writing: "With a mere cameo from Jack Black as the reclusive Stine and fewer clever twists in the plot, ''Goosebumps 2'' risks the diminishing-returns scenario that plagues most sequels; what saves it is a climax that is fresh rather than frantic." She concluded: "the safely scary and often amusing formula holds. Meanwhile, the movie’s conclusion includes enough plot about Stine’s fate to suggest Goosebumps 3 will feature more of the elusive Black and that can only be a good thing."

See also

* List of films set around Halloween

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween
2010s children's films
2018 comedy horror films
2010s monster movies
2018 films
American films with live action and animation
American children's animated fantasy films
American comedy horror films
American monster movies
Children's horror films
Columbia Pictures films
Columbia Pictures animated films
Films about books
American films about Halloween
Films based on American horror novels
Films based on children's books
Films based on works by R. L. Stine
Films directed by Ari Sandel
Puppet films
Films produced by Neal H. Moritz
Films scored by Dominic Lewis
Films set in New York (state)
Films shot in Atlanta
Goosebumps
Sony Pictures Animation films
Original Film films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
English-language comedy horror films
Halloween horror films