“How do we get you to stop with this ghost nonsense?” This line, which comes relatively early on in the rebooted Disney+ and Hulu series Goosebumps, is one that feels more revealing than it perhaps intended to be. Already a lightly supernatural drama and less of a genuinely spooky series that makes the most of its origins, this proclamation further feels like it is tipping off what the story is most interested in. Specifically, it somehow attempts to channel the charm of author R.L. Stine while also creating a more Stranger Things-esque reimagining. The youths in this story are all plenty endearing, but the shift to trying to make this into a sincere drama ultimately falls flat. While the original show from 1995 was an anthology series and the 2015 film was a somewhat meta-comedy, this plays it much more straight in a manner that is to its ultimate detriment. Even with a largely engaging cast of totally real teenagers exploring the supernatural, this Goosebumps never rises above being sporadically entertaining, increasingly stepping away from the fun, so-called “ghost nonsense” in favor of regular old nonsense.
What Is ‘Goosebumps’ About?
Primarily setting itself in modern-day Port Lawrence, a fictional harbor town with plenty of secrets, we get to know a variety of young people who soon uncover something dark lurking beneath their community. Margot (Isa Briones), James (Miles McKenna), Isabella (Ana Yi Puig), Lucas (Will Price), and Isaiah (Zack Morris) are all well-acted enough to mostly avoid falling into what could otherwise come across as stock teen drama characters. As each of them begins to encounter strange occurrences surrounding the death of Harold Biddle (Ben Cockell), they’ll have to come together in order to get to the bottom of why they’re being targeted. Also in the mix are their parents, who seem to have some sense of the answers to these questions based on a tragedy from when they too were teens. Humble horror icon Justin Long also features as teacher Mr. Nathan Bratt who, after his perfectly chaotic and cruel performance in last year’s Barbarian, seems like he could be positioned well for another such turn. Alas, Goosebumps is defined by missed opportunities that it never connects on as often clunky effects and storytelling get in the way.
While there is initially some fun resemblance to the anthology style of storytelling early in the season, honing in on individual characters dealing with their own unique brand of peril, that soon gets lost in the straightforward arc of the story. It is one of those odd instances where recommending that someone watch the first handful of episodes to get a feel for it would be somewhat deceptive; unfortunately, these are the best bits, and it goes downhill from there.
There is what initially seems like a sincere attempt at striking a balance between what older viewers may have liked about the original Goosebumps and an update for younger viewers who fall more into the Stranger Things crowd. Unfortunately, this starts to fall out of balance and becomes much more forced into the conventions of the latter category. For all the wacky elements the show starts with, including one unexpected explosion at the end of Episode 2, it soon wanders away from them. There are still plenty of needle drops that seem aimed at an older demographic, but Goosebumps clearly wants to introduce these stories to a new audience. It isn’t a bad idea on its face, but the way this series repackages itself doesn’t work as often as it needs to.
Justin Long Is the Best Part of ‘Goosebumps’
With all that in mind, bless Justin Long for bringing as much life as he can to Goosebumps. It isn’t that any of the other actors are bad, but none feel as committed to the bit as he does. Without going into too much detail about what happens to his character, he is able to go from cringey teacher to a more menacing force and back again with ease, a bit of a dork to absolutely deadly in the blink of an eye. Some of the best scenes come when he is bouncing off of the younger characters as it feels like there is something actually interesting to be found in their interactions.
The trouble is, while Long is integral to where the series all goes, too much drama revolving around the other adults drags the whole story down. There is a fundamental deception playing out, but there are also some other half-hearted wrinkles to their storylines that never grab you. Instead, they just feel like tacked-on ways to pad out the narrative. One episode almost entirely devoted to their backstory remains unnecessary in how it grinds the series to a halt just to fill in everything we already know, a particular low point that the season struggles to come back from.
If you’re looking for a more purely episodic style of storytelling, you’d be better served by watching the original series. If you want a more drawn-out teen supernatural drama, this isn’t the best version of that type of story either. The biggest problem is that, in trying to please everyone coming to the series and their respective expectations of what Goosebumps should be, this newest incarnation remains trapped in a limbo of its own creation that it can’t break free from.
Rating: C
The Big Picture
Goosebumps premieres October 13 on Disney+ and Hulu.
