First of all, I'm also one of the big fans of the "Goosebumps" novel out there. I basically grew up with it and these novel's have accompanied most of my childhood with cheesy (though there's a couple scary one too) stories written by R.L. Stine. So when I heard that Goosebumps will be resurrected to the big screen, I was super enthusiastic with this news.
The first Goosebumps from 2015, that's a much better quality movie and I totally love it (still do until now), though there's still room for improvement. With the great result from the first one in mind and also a hope that the sequel would be much, much better, I watched the 2nd one tonight...
...and I ended up DISAPPOINTED!!!
First, since we're talking about Goosebumps in general, this movie surely lack the element of surprise. And by surprises, I'm not saying the cheesy jump scare where you practically can see it coming from miles away, but more about the sudden appearances of certain monsters or creatures that made Goosebumps novels such a hit back then. In here, those creatures just appear TOGETHER! Are you making a halloween movie or a brawling movie, dear director???
Second, the main characters. Goosebumps 2 is really lacking the development and backstory of each characters here. It's like, you're suddenly presented with some random characters, give them some dreams and wishes, then throw them in into the story (imagine Interactive story book where you're presented with options in each pages) just as pawns of the sort to go through this scary town and experience the thrill. Oh, and you know what? The cameo doesn't help also!
Third, what the hell with the main villain? Yes, I know that "THAT GUY" is by far the most menacing of all. He got the brain, the power and even the magic in him. But why turn him into a super cheesy villain where his evilness is only to "hosed" people or make some things alive? Honestly, even though "THAT GUY" is around, but I couldn't sense the threat and evil in there... His intentions are like those coming out of children's story book.
Fourth, even though some of the special effects are great, but honestly speaking, it's not that great. In an era where movie producers can already create devastating tsunami coming, or earth cracking and splitting, or the epic fight between kingkong and T-Rex or dinosaurs roaming around earth without much problem, most the ghosts and ghouls of Goosebumps 2 really just looks like people cosplaying around while bullying the neighborhood to make a chaos (is that even a chaos?)
All in all, I'm honestly disappointed in this sequel. Feels like the director doesn't understand what makes the Goosebumps novel such a hit back there. Feels like, they are treating Goosebumps franchise as an easy money-milking property only...
I can only hope that the next sequel (if any) will be much better and darker in tone...
The first Goosebumps from 2015, that's a much better quality movie and I totally love it (still do until now), though there's still room for improvement. With the great result from the first one in mind and also a hope that the sequel would be much, much better, I watched the 2nd one tonight...
...and I ended up DISAPPOINTED!!!
First, since we're talking about Goosebumps in general, this movie surely lack the element of surprise. And by surprises, I'm not saying the cheesy jump scare where you practically can see it coming from miles away, but more about the sudden appearances of certain monsters or creatures that made Goosebumps novels such a hit back then. In here, those creatures just appear TOGETHER! Are you making a halloween movie or a brawling movie, dear director???
Second, the main characters. Goosebumps 2 is really lacking the development and backstory of each characters here. It's like, you're suddenly presented with some random characters, give them some dreams and wishes, then throw them in into the story (imagine Interactive story book where you're presented with options in each pages) just as pawns of the sort to go through this scary town and experience the thrill. Oh, and you know what? The cameo doesn't help also!
Third, what the hell with the main villain? Yes, I know that "THAT GUY" is by far the most menacing of all. He got the brain, the power and even the magic in him. But why turn him into a super cheesy villain where his evilness is only to "hosed" people or make some things alive? Honestly, even though "THAT GUY" is around, but I couldn't sense the threat and evil in there... His intentions are like those coming out of children's story book.
Fourth, even though some of the special effects are great, but honestly speaking, it's not that great. In an era where movie producers can already create devastating tsunami coming, or earth cracking and splitting, or the epic fight between kingkong and T-Rex or dinosaurs roaming around earth without much problem, most the ghosts and ghouls of Goosebumps 2 really just looks like people cosplaying around while bullying the neighborhood to make a chaos (is that even a chaos?)
All in all, I'm honestly disappointed in this sequel. Feels like the director doesn't understand what makes the Goosebumps novel such a hit back there. Feels like, they are treating Goosebumps franchise as an easy money-milking property only...
I can only hope that the next sequel (if any) will be much better and darker in tone...