Many people who grew up in the 1990s remember R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” books from their own childhoods. The author understood how to focus fear and thrills in works aimed for tweens. He masterfully incorporated humour to keep the plot aspects from being overly serious. A literary sensation, Stine’s books gave rise to two blockbuster films starring Jack Black in the middle of the 2010s and a hit TV show in the 1990s.
Disney+/Hulu is attempting a new “Goosebumps” series, which promises some of the same iconic characters and experiences for a new generation, with “Goosebumps” feature film director Rob Letterman onboard for the pilot. The 10-episode first season was supposed to be scarier than fans had ever experienced, but it’s much more tedious than interesting.
The theme of the show is on how teens are being adultified by their terrible parents. This causes viewers to focus on the self-centered mistakes of dull adults and moves the series away from the struggles and joys of adolescence and Stine’s work.
Goosebumps Plot and Review
The fictional coastal community of Port Lawrence serves as the setting for the first episode of the series in 1993. One evening, Harold Biddle, a teenage lad, is home alone and spending time with his pet worms and a notebook of Polaroids. Harold is startled out of his alone when the doorbell rings, and he rushes to answer it. He slams the door shut after finding no bone on the other side, causing a candle to fall to the carpet. Harold is still outside when the house quickly catches on fire.
Five students are focused on an upcoming Halloween party, around 30 years after Harold’s tragically early death, as they walk through the halls of Port Lawrence High School. Even though Isaiah (Zach Morris) is the standout quarterback, the strain to succeed in council football and additional pressure from his father, Ben (Leonard Roberts), are starting to get to him. Isaiah has a cool friend named James (Miles McKenna). James is a fun-loving, dapper guy who is preoccupied with being likeable, especially when it comes to getting the girl he likes to pay attention to. Isaiah’s next-door neighbour is Margot (Isa Briones). Even though the two have long been musketeers, Isaiah’s girlfriend’s animosity has complicated things.
Margot worries that her parents, Colin (Rob Huebel), the academy guidance counsellor, and Sarah (Lexa Doig), who is increasingly gone from home, are hiding information from her. The resident videographer at the high academy, Isabella (Ana Yi Puig), gets frustrated because she doesn’t feel noticed. While Nora (Rachael Harris), Lucas’ mother, is becoming increasingly stressed out because Lucas (Will Price), who is still grieving the loss of his father, can’t stop performing risky acts to get attention.
Although the teens are known to one another their worlds do not truly converge until the Halloween circus at the abandoned Biddle House. Even though Nathan Bratt (Justin Long), the new owner of the property and a new English teacher in Port Lawrence, ends up breaking up the party, long-buried monsters are let loose. Isaiah, Margot, James, Lucas, and Isabella’s lives start to spiral out of control after that catastrophic night.
The opening scene of the first five episodes of “Goosebumps” takes place on the day of the Halloween party, and each chapter follows a different teen as they make their way through the day. During the party, the audience learns more about their motivations, personal lives, and potential discoveries on the Biddle estate. But the opening and second episodes of the series, “Say Cheese and Die!” and “The Haunted Mask,” which follow Isaiah and Isabella, are strange and disturbing. The third episode of “Goosebumps,” “The Cuckoo Clock of Doom,” which is narrated from James’ point of view, is where the movie finally finds its footing despite its numerous narrative points and characters.
Goosebumps Cast
The cast of the 2023 Goosebumps series is as follows:
- Justin Long as Nathan Bratt
- Ana Yi Puig as Isabella
- Miles McKenna as James
- Will Price as Lucas
- Zack Morris as Isaiah
- Isa Briones as Margot
- Rachael Harris as Nora
- Rob Huebel as Colin
- Leonard Roberts as Ben
- Rhinnan Payne as Allison
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