Goosebumps-Kids’ Movie Review

Moving to a new city can be difficult, especially for a teenage boy whose father had just passed away. Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) is upset about moving from New York City to a small town in Delaware. Though things quickly change when Zach meets his beautiful new neighbor, Hannah (Odeya Rush). Zach discovers that Hannah’s father is R. L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling “Goosebumps” series. Things get exciting when Zach accidentally releases the monsters from R. L. Stine’s novels. Now Zach’s boring small town becomes an adventurous city. Goosebumps is a thrilling Halloween film, especially for pre-teens.

Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 26, 2016
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drug and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes

Talking Points:

R. L. Stine, known as the “Stephen King of children’s literature,” is an author that kids and tweens are very familiar with. Goosebumps is a creative film, one that will most likely appeal to Stine’s fans. Parents need to be aware of the violent parts that will scare young kids.

Sexual Content: Mild

A teenage couple kiss.
Innocent flirting.

Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive

The first monster to escape is the Abominable Snowman. He destroys an ice rink’s scoreboard, a Zamboni and a vending machine. He chases some teenagers as well.
We see close-up of snarling werewolves, which may scare youngsters.
A werewolf chases a group of teenagers through a grocery store.
A praying mantis grabs a boy through a school window. Later we see him in a neck brace.
Humans fight with ceramic gnomes, smashing them to the ground.
A monster closes a typewriter case on Stine’s finger, breaking most of them.
Aliens freeze most of the townspeople.
We see a group of half-decomposed zombies at a cemetery.
A group of monsters attend a high school dance, scaring the students.

Crude or Profane Language: Mild