horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...

Ari Sandel Ari Devon Sandel (born September 5, 1974) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the short film ''West Bank Story'' (2005), which won the 2006 Academy Award in the category Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Sandel was bor ...

Darren Lemke Darren Lemke (born ) is an American screenwriter who has been active in the film industry since the late 1990s. His first major screenwriting credit was for ''Shrek Forever After'' (2010), which he wrote with Josh Klausner. Lemke directed the thri ...

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

R. L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor. Stine has been referred to as the "St ...

Wendi McLendon-Covey Wendi McLendon-Covey (née McLendon; born October 10, 1969) is an American actress and comedian. She is known primarily for her work in comedic and improvisational roles. Since 2013, McLendon-Covey has played the role of Beverly Goldberg, a fami ...

Madison Iseman Madison Iseman (born February 14, 1997) is an American actress. She is known for playing Charlotte in the CMT comedy television series ''Still the King'', She is also known for playing Rain Burroughs in ''Fear of Rain'', Bethany Walker in '' Jum ...

Jeremy Ray Taylor Jeremy Raymond Taylor (born June 2, 2003) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ben Hanscom ''It'' is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. ''It'' was his 22nd book and his 17th novel written under his own name. T ...

Caleel Harris Caleel Harris (born April 19, 2003) is an American actor. Career He joined Nickelodeon in 2015, and voiced AJ from '' Blaze and the Monster Machines'', then later in 2016, he provided the voice of Clyde McBride on ''The Loud House'' until season ...

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

Rob Letterman Robert Thomas Letterman (born October 31, 1970) is an American film director and screenwriter. Letterman made his directorial debut as co-director of the animated comedy film ''Shark Tale'' (2004), for which he received a nomination for the Annie ...

Ari Sandel Ari Devon Sandel (born September 5, 1974) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the short film ''West Bank Story'' (2005), which won the 2006 Academy Award in the category Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Sandel was bor ...

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...

Odeya Rush Odeya Rushinek ( he, אודיה רושינק; born ), known professionally as Odeya Rush (), is an Israeli actress.Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (commonly known as Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Wardenclyffe Tower Wardenclyffe Tower (1901–1917), also known as the Tesla Tower, was an early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Tesla on Long Island in 1901–1902, located in the village of Shoreham, New York. Tesla inten ...

. Slappy then reveals that he is alive to Sonny and Sam, and gets their trust by using his magic to do the boy's chores and homework. Meanwhile, Sarah goes to a party to meet her boyfriend Tyler Mitchell (Bryce Cass), but sees him kissing another girl. Slappy later overhears Sarah talking about Tyler and sabotages Sonny's science project. The following day on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

, Slappy uses his powers to attack Tyler, and Sonny accidentally damages the school science lab with his sabotaged project. Sarah questions Sonny and Sam about Slappy. The group realizes that Slappy is at fault for everything. They arrive home, and they find Kathy with Slappy and try to warn her about him but she doesn't listen and receives a call about Sonny's incident at school and grounds the trio. Kathy expresses her disappointment in Sarah. The kids capture Slappy and try to dispose of him in a lake, but he escapes. That night, they find an article online about the events that happened in Madison, Delaware and try to contact

R. L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor. Stine has been referred to as the "St ...

after realizing the book they found was an unpublished ''Goosebumps'' manuscript called ''Haunted Halloween''. Stine, now living in a cabin in the woods, hears their message and departs for Wardenclyffe. Slappy goes to a local drug store and uses his magic to bring ''Goosebumps'' character costumes and Halloween decorations to life. He also uses the haunted mask to transform an employee named Walter into a hunchbacked ogre. Slappy travels to the Wardenclyffe tower, and uses it to amplify his magic. Meanwhile, Sarah, Sonny and Sam retrieve the book from Tommy's house while all the town's Halloween decorations come to life. The trio discover that the book can trap the monsters inside. However, the book is stolen and Kathy is kidnapped by the monsters. The kids’ neighbor, Mr. Chu, a ''Goosebumps'' fan, helps them craft monster disguises to safely navigate the town. The kids head for the Wardenclyffe Tower while Stine arrives in town. At the tower, the kids encounter Slappy and Walter and discover that Slappy has turned Kathy into a living dummy. Sonny and Sam overload the reactor while Sarah fights Slappy. She defeats Slappy by kicking him into the electrified coil atop the tower, which blasts him into the sky. Sarah opens the book and combines it with the reactor's energy to drag all the other monsters back into the ''Haunted Halloween'' manuscript, while also returning Kathy and Walter to normal. Stine arrives, congratulates the kids for defeating the monsters, and gives Sarah advice for writing her essay. Sometime later, Kathy and Walter start dating. Sonny wins the science fair and Sarah gets an email saying she got into Columbia University. Back in Stine's cabin, Slappy appears. He reveals that he has survived and has written a book of his own where Stine is the main character. He then opens his manuscript, sucking Stine inside.

Cast

Calaca A calaca (, a colloquial Mexican Spanish name for skeleton) is a figure of a skull or skeleton (usually human) commonly used for decoration during the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, although they are made all year round. Description Tracing t ...

ladies portrayed by Iyani Gwendolyn, Cheniqua Litchmore, and Hali J. Ross.

Goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...

s portrayed by Cody Jenkins and Joe Marri. Mummies portrayed by Mary Tricia Froedge, Robert Hunt, Martin Skyler, Grace Toso, Calvin Wickham, and Taylor Williams. A scene briefly shows toys of Ryu and

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

from the ''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'' series using voice clips from the games.

Production

On September 2, 2015, it was reported that a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the film ''Goosebumps'' was already in the planning stages, with Sony looking for a screenwriter. On January 17, 2017, a January 26, 2018 release date was set, and

Rob Letterman Robert Thomas Letterman (born October 31, 1970) is an American film director and screenwriter. Letterman made his directorial debut as co-director of the animated comedy film ''Shark Tale'' (2004), for which he received a nomination for the Annie ...

confirmed that he was to return as director for the sequel. On February 6, 2017, it was announced that the film's release date had been delayed to September 21, 2018, taking the date previously held by '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation''. In May 2017, the title was said to be ''Goosebumps: HorrorLand''. At the time, it was also reported that Jack Black would reprise his role as R. L. Stine. In November 2017, Rob Lieber was tapped to pen the script. In December 2017,

Ari Sandel Ari Devon Sandel (born September 5, 1974) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the short film ''West Bank Story'' (2005), which won the 2006 Academy Award in the category Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Sandel was bor ...

was announced as the director instead of Letterman, due to the latter being busy directing '' Pokémon: Detective Pikachu'' for

Legendary Entertainment Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that two scripts had been written: one script in which Black would reprise his role, while the other had Black cut out entirely. In December 2017, the sequel's release date was pushed to October 12, 2018. The film was later renamed ''Goosebumps: Slappy's Revenge'', and its new leading cast members were set as

Madison Iseman Madison Iseman (born February 14, 1997) is an American actress. She is known for playing Charlotte in the CMT comedy television series ''Still the King'', She is also known for playing Rain Burroughs in ''Fear of Rain'', Bethany Walker in '' Jum ...

, Ben O'Brien,

Caleel Harris Caleel Harris (born April 19, 2003) is an American actor. Career He joined Nickelodeon in 2015, and voiced AJ from '' Blaze and the Monster Machines'', then later in 2016, he provided the voice of Clyde McBride on ''The Loud House'' until season ...

and

Jeremy Ray Taylor Jeremy Raymond Taylor (born June 2, 2003) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ben Hanscom ''It'' is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. ''It'' was his 22nd book and his 17th novel written under his own name. T ...

(O'Brien did not appear in the finished film).

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

,

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...

and

Wendi McLendon-Covey Wendi McLendon-Covey (née McLendon; born October 10, 1969) is an American actress and comedian. She is known primarily for her work in comedic and improvisational roles. Since 2013, McLendon-Covey has played the role of Beverly Goldberg, a fami ...

joined the following month. Filming began on March 7, and in April 2018 the title was renamed again, to ''Haunted Halloween''. It was initially stated by Sony representatives that Avery Lee Jones, who puppeteered Slappy in the film, would also voice the character. Jack Black returned for the film as Stine, and it was later reported that Mick Wingert would actually voice Slappy.

Release

''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' was released on October 12, 2018. The film's first trailer premiered on July 11, 2018, the international trailer on August 16, 2018, and a third trailer on September 20, 2018. A television spot was released on September 24, 2018, which also confirmed that Jack Black would return for the film. Unlike the first film where it was given RealD 3D screenings, the sequel was not in the format. ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' was released on Digital on December 25th 2018 and DVD and Blu-ray on January 15, 2019.

Reception

Box office

''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' grossed $46.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $46.6 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $93.3 million, against a production budget of $35 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' was released alongside '' First Man'' and ''

Bad Times at the El Royale ''Bad Times at the El Royale'' is a 2018 American neo-noir thriller film written, directed, and produced by Drew Goddard. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullm ...

'', and was projected to gross $15–21 million from 3,521 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $4.9 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews, up from $600,000 by the first film. It went on to debut to $15.8 million (down 33% from the first film's opening of $23.6 million), finishing fourth at the box office, behind ''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

'', '' A Star Is Born'' and ''First Man''. The film dropped 38% in its second weekend, to $9.7 million, remaining in fourth. The film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on October 19, 2018, and opened in third, behind ''A Star Is Born'' and ''

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

''.

Critical response

On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' offers a handful of treats for very young viewers, but compared to the entertaining original, this sequel is a ding dong to ditch." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A" earned by the first film. Bilge Ebiri, writing for ''Vulture'', said: "The first ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

'' movie ... had wit, speed, and an imaginative spirit, throwing all sorts of rampaging, creatively designed ghouls at us. ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' can’t quite make the same claim. It replicates the template and the atmosphere of the original, but it lacks invention and emotional investment", and added: "The movie feels undercooked on every level. True, it’s all ''meant'' to be slight and charming and inoffensive — but there’s a way to make this sort of thing work, and ''Goosebumps 2'' doesn’t seem particularly interested in trying to find it."

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky Ignatiy Igorevich Vishnevetsky (; russian: Игнатий Игоревич Вишневецкий; born September 5, 1986)Vishnevetsky, Ignati''Time Indefinite'': "A Talk with Sergei Loznitsa" ''Mubi'' is a Russian-American film critic, essayist ...

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave the film a grade of C, writing: "Though the new ''Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'' gets closer to the spirit of Stine’s bestselling books, it also shares their reliance on formula, recreating the first movie’s monster mash with fewer self-referential gags." He concluded: "though Sandel relies less on exasperating, rubbery digital effects than

Rob Letterman Robert Thomas Letterman (born October 31, 1970) is an American film director and screenwriter. Letterman made his directorial debut as co-director of the animated comedy film ''Shark Tale'' (2004), for which he received a nomination for the Annie ...

, the

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...

vet who helmed the original, his direction of the monsters and mayhem is never more than workmanlike, racing joylessly through a shaky plot that barely holds attention." Writing for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', Kate Taylor was more positive in her review of the film, giving it a score of 3 stars out of 4 and writing: "With a mere cameo from

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...

as the reclusive Stine and fewer clever twists in the plot, ''Goosebumps 2'' risks the diminishing-returns scenario that plagues most sequels; what saves it is a climax that is fresh rather than frantic." She concluded: "the safely scary and often amusing formula holds. Meanwhile, the movie’s conclusion includes enough plot about Stine’s fate to suggest Goosebumps 3 will feature more of the elusive Black and that can only be a good thing."

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween 2010s children's films 2018 comedy horror films 2010s monster movies 2018 films American films with live action and animation American children's animated fantasy films American comedy horror films American monster movies Children's horror films Columbia Pictures films Columbia Pictures animated films Films about books American films about Halloween Films based on American horror novels Films based on children's books Films based on works by R. L. Stine Films directed by Ari Sandel Puppet films Films produced by Neal H. Moritz Films scored by Dominic Lewis Films set in New York (state) Films shot in Atlanta Goosebumps Sony Pictures Animation films Original Film films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

Reception

Box office

Critical response

References

External links