Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Movie Review: Colorful Fun
Take your family and BFFs to the theater for tame fun.
Kidzworld saw Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. Will this colorful sequel be one of your fave Halloween films or seem too tame in the frights department? Check out our movie review.
By: Lynn Barker
In Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, tween friends Sonny (Jeremy Rae Taylor from It) and Sam (Caleel Harris from TV’s “Castle Rock”) find an old chest in an abandoned house and they open the weird book inside. Poof! Slappy (voice of Jack Black) the ventriloquist’s dummy from the first film comes to life claiming he can use his magical powers to make the boys’ dreams come true. Instead the power brings to life all the town’s Halloween decorations. There are a ton and they aren’t friendly!
The boys have a junk collecting businessCourtesy of Sony Pictures
Junk Business
In Wardencylffe, New York, it’s Halloween weekend and middle school buddies Sam and Sonny try to start a junk removal business going around the neighborhood cleaning up houses and gathering up junk they can sell. Sonny’s older teen sis Sarah (Madison Iseman) is having a hard time writing an essay to get into college and is upset that boyfriend Tommy (Peyton Wich) has betrayed her.
Sarah would like to get rid of SlappyCourtesy of Sony Pictures
New Buddy?
Sonny and Sam go inside an old, abandoned home that once belonged to author R.L. Stine (Jack Black). They find an old chest, open it and inside is a book called “Haunted Halloween”. Of course they open it and “evil” ventriloquist dummy Slappy appears. He seems friendly enough. He can make the boys’ dreams come true and get rid of their enemies but there may be some violence involved. Using his powers, Slappy happily injures highschooler Tommy who hurt Sarah and bullied the boys.
The kids find Slappy in the old Stine houseCourtesy of Sony Pictures
Lonely Slappy
Slappy is secretly lonely, wanting a family of his own. When the boys take him home, he wants to turn Sonny’s mom Kathy (Wendi McLendon-Covey) into his own puppet mom and plans to animate all the town’s many Halloween decorations into his personal army. When the boys reject him, he goes into a drug store and brings all of the Halloween masks and other toys for sale inside to life. There are spider-legged skulls, witches with green globe heads and masks that grow creepy bodies. This is only the beginning of his plan.
Lonely Slappy has evil methodsCourtesy of Sony Pictures
The Plan
On Halloween night, Slappy will animate all of the town’s Halloween decorations to destroy all those who ever dissed or didn’t accept him. He uses Sonny’s school science project to create a huge electrical tower that will boost his power enough to accomplish a town-wide decoration awakening! Crazy, Halloween fan neighbor (Ken Jeong) has an overkill, over-decorated lawn that comes alive. There is a headless horseman and giant balloon spider, fire-spitting jack-o-lanterns and weird, at first harmless-looking Gummy Bears that can stick together into large, angry, sticky bear-monsters with big teeth.
Next door neighbor decorates to the maxCourtesy of Sony Pictures
Outcome?
Can the boys and sis Sarah stop the chaos, save mom, defeat Slappy and turn everything “off” and back to normal before the Halloween army destroys everything?
Will all these decorations come to life?Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Wrapping Up
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is cute but more so for younger kids than older tweens and teens. If it were out on video now, it would be fun to run during your Halloween party. The CGI monsters are very creative, very Halloween-related and fun to watch but not really all that scary. I don’t know why but Slappy and all ventriloquists’ dummies, just creep me out… not in a good way.
The kids take Slappy homeCourtesy of Sony Pictures
The actors do a great job and there are action-filled sequences that will keep your attention but the story isn’t new and is predictable. Sadly Jack Black as R.L. Stine only appears briefly toward the movie’s end.
At least pumpkin carving is normalCourtesy of Sony Pictures
Although entertaining, this Goosebumps sequel won’t be super memorable. We can go 3 stars.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Movie Rating: 
Courtesy of Sony Pictures
See Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween in theaters now!
Tell Us What You Think
Did you read the R.L. Stine novels? Did you like the first movie and look forward to this one? Are you more into scarier Halloween films? Who is your fave Halloween movie villain? Tell everyone with a comment below or write about it on your Kidzworld profile page!
