Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! Yes everyone, you get two articles today! I’ve been either watching films or writing for the past four hours, but I adore doing this for you all, so I’m excited! After Monster House, I wanted to delve deep into a different kind of monster. Last year, you may even remember I covered episode one of the most recent show for this property. That’s right, Goosebumps. And let me tell you, this movie was SO much better than I was anticipating. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…

Goosebumps (2015)

Our film begins with Mother and Son, Gale and Zack Cooper. They are moving to the extremely interesting town of Madison, Delaware from the Big Apple. Just last year, Zack’s father passed, and Gale was offered a Vice Principal job at the high school in town. She thought it would help Zach to heal if he had a change of scenery. Zach and his mom reach their new home, and although spacious, Zach is still upset about his dad. His aunt Lorraine is there as well, and helps her nephew get settled in. As Zach is moving in boxes, he meets the girl next door, Hannah. They are new neighbors with each other, and a spark is there immediately. But, before the two can have a real conversation, Hannah’s father stops it. He warns Zach, saying to stay away at all costs. Zach is bewildered, but certainly obliges. (He would never admit it, but he’s very scared of Hannah’s dad.

The next day, Zach and his mom arrive at the school. Zach doesn’t want to be seen with her, so he goes in before she does. At the assembly later that day, Zach’s mom embarrassed herself in front of the whole school with a very cringeworthy speech. However, she did announce that the school dance was coming up! While there, an interesting boy named Champ introduces himself to Zach, and basically invites himself into being his friend. Champ immediately says hi to Taylor, the prettiest girl in class, and she calls him “Chump”. That’s basically Champ’s whole character. After Zach’s crazy day, he gets home, and Hannah is waiting. She takes Zach into the forest, and hits the lights. In the forest is a massive amusement park, abandoned and overgrown. (I thought this was so cool.) The two have an amazing time, and their connection grows as they sit together on the abandoned ferris wheel. Zach and Hannah get home, but as they split and almost kiss, her father appears. He reprimands Zach once more, and it gets bad.

After this happens, Hannah and her father have a massive argument in an upstairs window, an argument that Zach sees and hears. He even calls the cops, but they see nothing wrong, and are basically a joke. Zach goes back inside, saddened, but still sees the argument taking place. He calls Champ and has him come over. Champ is shocked that there are no girls, but Zach basically shushes him, and needs his help to break into Hannah’s house. Zach lockpicks the door to the basement, a skill he learned from YouTube, and goes in. On the floor are bear traps galore, and he and Champ navigate around them. Champ is a scaredy cat. Once inside the house, the two friends find a discovery, a discovery that redefines this entire movie. Sitting on a bookshelf are all the original manuscripts of Goosebumps, sitting in locked books. Every story is there. Zach notices a key, and unlocks The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, dropping it to the ground. Hannah comes out of her room, and Zach says he thought she was in danger. Hannah sees the severity of the situation, and tells the boys to leave. Zach goes to pick up the book, and opens it. From it emerges the Snowman himself, the book glowing bright and ink flowing off the page. He’s real, and he’s there to attack. He jumps out of the house, and the trio follow. As they leave, another book falls off the shelf. Night of the Living Dummy. Slappy is coming…

The Trio chase the snowman to an ice rink, where they battle it. However, it’s just too strong. As the Snowman closes in, a book opens from behind it. The only way to destroy these monsters is to put them back in the books they came from. As the Snowman goes back into the book, we realize that Hannah’s father was their savior. This man is R.L. Stine! After this shocking revelation, he takes the kids in the car and drives. He is very agitated by a joke Champ makes comparing him to Stephen King. Stine made his monsters when he was very young, and eventually imprisoned them within their manuscripts. When the group arrives back home, Slappy is there. He taunts his creator, and burns the manuscript he came from. He’s free, there is no way to contain him now. He teleports away, bringing all the manuscripts with him. He drives through the town, wildly throwing the books everywhere. The group goes to leave, but are attacked by the Gnomes from Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes. After a hard fought battle, they trap the gnomes inside the basement, and the group jumps back in the car. It’s time for a long night!

The group drives through the town, and sees the destruction Slappy has caused. Even Lorraine is attacked by a monster. The people of the town are frozen, but Zach comes up with an idea. He tells Stine to write a new book, featuring all of his monsters, and use this new manuscript to trap them all once and for all. Stine is apprehensive, but doesn’t have any better ideas. However, there’s one big problem. Stine needs his typewriter, which is currently on display at the school. Yes, the same school that has a dance going on, and is a hotspot for a monster attack. Great! On the way there, the group is chased down by a giant mantis, and hides in a supermarket. However, the fun doesn’t end there. The Werewolf of Fever Swamp launches an attack on the group within the supermarket, but is stopped by Lorraine running him over and launching him into the garbage. Once her eyes meet Stine, another love connection is formed. Since the mantis destroyed Stine’s car, the group uses a shortcut through a graveyard. While there, the full moon hits Hannah, and she glows blue. Zach doesn’t say anything, but he knows. Hannah isn’t real. Hannah is Hannah Fairchild from The Ghost Next Door. At the school, after an encounter with the ghouls from Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls in the graveyard, Stine and Zach have a heart to heart about this. Hannah has no idea she isn’t real.

While there, they get into the nitty gritty of the book and the plan. It has to be a REAL Goosebumps story. It needs the twists and the turns, and only then will it be able to banish the monsters. The group splits up to buy Stine as much time as they can. Stine grabs his typewriter, and finds a room to type in. In a scene which I died laughing at, Stine walks in, and the stage is decorated as The Shining. Stine sighs, and gets on stage, beginning to write. The trio gets into the dance, and Champ begins to try and warn everyone. As Zach joins to try and help, no one believes them. This is, however, until the Mantis attacks. The Battle of the High School Begins. Champ gets his big hero moment as he saves Taylor, the girl he had a crush on, from the Werewolf. He earns a kiss for this! The students are almost immediately overwhelmed, as Slappy lets loose every single character from every manuscript he stole. He finds Stine, and breaks his fingers with his typewriter, only two pages away from the ending of the book. Stine knows they want him, and Zach activates a plan. He sends a dummy with a bomb driving a school bus, and it lures all the monsters away. The group takes another one, and books it to the Amusement Park. The bomb explodes, slowing down the monsters. They don’t get far before Slappy finds them, releasing The Blob that Ate Everyone. It swallows up Stine, but not before he talks to Zach. Zach has to finish the book. It’s the events that are happening all around him. He. Has. To. Finish. It. Champ, Hannah, and Zach all climb up the Ferris Wheel, as Zach types and types. Zach finally finishes the story, writing the words, The End. Suddenly, the Mantis attacks, and the wheel starts rolling through the forest. The friends get out, battered but not broken, and Zach is terrified to open the manuscript. Hannah reveals that she knows she isn’t real, but Zach needs to open it anyway. When he still can’t, she takes it, knowing she will disappear too. She opens the book, and all the monsters flood in, as a beam shoots up into the sky. (I got Goosebumps during this bit 😉 …). Zach and Hannah say their goodbyes, and they finally get the kiss they both wanted. Champ closes the book, and it’s all over. Stine arrives, comforting Zach. They won…

But it’s not over yet! A few weeks later, School is back in session. Stine works as a substitute English teacher, and is well liked and well known. He says that there are three parts of a story. The Beginning, the Middle, and the Twist. Stine walks with Zach, saying how they both miss Hannah. However, Stine points behind Zach, and she’s there. She’s real. Hannah is back! Stine confesses that he wrote just one more book, and sets it ablaze. Hannah is here to stay. The two kiss, and Stine walks off. He was right about the twist after all. Stine walks through the hallway, and finds his typewriter. But, something’s wrong. The Invisible Boy is in there, writing a story called The Invisible Boy’s Revenge. Stine screams, and our movie comes to an end.

Thank you guys so much for reading!!! I absolutely adored this movie, and did legitimately get Goosebumps at several parts during it. I loved everything it went for, and it pulled it off so well. Thank you all for reading once more, and I shall see you tomorrow! But, before you go, remember this. Goosebumps are our defense mechanism. They always have been. When you feel them, be warned…