by jellydonut25 » Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:14 am
I was down with the concept, I was down with the tone, I was ready to have fun with a family Halloween/horror movie.
Unfortunately, this just isn't GOOD. Black is kinda just THERE as Stine, and in fact, everything in this movie is just kinda THERE. The pacing is SO frantic, and we just rush from one spot to another so rapidly, that there's never ANY context given for anything at all. Why is Slappy the baddest of the bads? Why are Slappy and Stine so similar? Did Stine base Slappy off himself? Or perhaps a version of himself that he fantasized would stand up to bullies? Why can the typewriter bring monsters to life and why is Stine the only one who can do it and why does it have to be a full story? Surely there could have been some mumbo jumbo explanation thrown together that might have been interesting, right? What's the end game? If Stine ISN'T needed to write the book (or is it just his hands that aren't needed? Is it still his words that are required?) then why is there such a big deal about killing him? Shouldn't Slappy be more concerned with the typewriter? We're supposed to just accept everything on the face of it and it really seems kinda lazily cashing in on a property that isn't even that popular anymore. Where was Monster Blood? Where was The Haunted Mask? Those I know for SURE are absolutely ICONIC Goosebumps stories with multiple sequels that aren't represented here. I honestly don't remember The Invisible Boy (aside from the story Let's Get Invisible, which I thought was a different kind of story) and I certainly don't remember him being a prankster type. Was the mummy in this at all? I don't remember. Deep Trouble sea monsters?
It was so slapdash and lazy and pandering...I really WANTED to like it but it left me cold. And this isn't an "I'm an adult now and don't get kids horror anymore" thing. I watched almost exclusively family friendly Halloween/horror movies this October and had a BLAST doing so. This particular one just isn't very well-done.