Horrorfest 2016 Presents: Goosebumps (2015, Rob Letterman)

Look this film needed more monster blood. Come on people how do you make a Goosebumps movie and not have monster blood? Oh well at least this film was entertaining and had Slappy. Also R.L. Stine has a cameo so brief that you will miss it if you aren’t paying attention. I also loved Jack Black playing Stine because he is hilarious and it works perfectly. The film is a bit hit and miss at times but that’s okay.

Also the main trio of kids made smile. Zach, Hannah and Champ come off as normal kids who become wrapped up in extraordinary situations. Stine reveals that he not an average person after a funny egging on by Zach and Champ where they compared him to Stephen King. Plus Slappy appears and unleashes all of the characters from Stine’s books, leading to chaos in the town and monster attacks.

Despite some elements not working this was still a mostly funny and enjoyable flick. Black is great in multiple roles and the kid actors are likable and not annoying. Plus the last act owes a bit to Army of Darkness, which is fine. Too bad I didn’t bother to go see this in theaters as I love the book series and I’m hoping for a sequel.

2016 Viewing Log

It’s on again:

Top 10 of the Year:

1. World of Tomorrow (2015, Hertzfeldt)-100
2. Sicario (2015, Villeneuve)-97
3. Pleasantville (1998, Ross)-97
4. Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975, Weir)-96
5. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013, Coens)-95
6. We Are Still Here (2015, Geoghegan)-95
7. Zootopia (2016, Moore, Howard, Bush)-95
8. Spoorloos (1988, Sluizer)-95
9. The Revenant (2015, Inarritu)-95
10. Session 9 (2001, Anderson)-95

January:

1. Angel Heart  (1987, Parker)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
2. A Very Murray Christmas  (2015, Coppola)-85, Netflix Instant Viewing
3. The Crossing Guard (1995, Penn)-83, Netflix Instant
4. Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins’ Ball (2010, Pesce)-35, Netflix Instant Viewing
5. The Hunter (2011, Nettheim)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
6. The Revenant (2015, Inarritu)-95, Theater

Movie of the Month: The Revenant (2015, Inarritu)-95, Theater

February:

7. Smoke (1995, Wang and Auster)-93, Netflix Instant Viewing
8. Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead (1995, Fleder)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
9. Sicario (2015, Villeneuve)-97, RedBox
10. The Spoils Before Dying (2015, Piedmont and Steele)-93, Netflix Instant Viewing/IFC
11. I Will Follow (2010, DuVernay)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
12. The Witch (2015, Eggers)-55, Theater
13. Night Catches Us (2010, Hamilton)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
14. The Raid: Redemption (2011, Evans)-90, Netflix DVD

Movie of the Month:  Sicario (2015, Villeneuve)-97,  RedBox

March:

15. Now You See Me (2013, Leterrier)-81, DVD*
16. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016, Trachtenberg)-93, Theater
17. World of Tomorrow (2015, Hertzfeldt)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing
18. Zootopia (2016, Moore, Howard, Bush)-95, Theater

Movie of the Month: World of Tomorrow (2015, Hertzfeldt)-100, Netflix Instant Viewing

April:

19. Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988, Randel)-81, Netflix Instant Viewing
20. We’re Back! A Dinosaur Story (1993, Nibbelink and Wells)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
21. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015, Ritchie)-85, Public Library
22. The Phantom (1996, Wincer)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
23. Middle of Nowhere (2012, DuVernay)-92, Netflix Instant Viewing
24. Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (1992, Hickox)-70, Netflix Instant Viewing
25. A Life Less Ordinary (1997, Boyle)-85, Netflix Instant Viewing
26. Wet Hot American Summer (2001, Wain)-93, Netflix Instant Viewing
27. Maggie (2015, Hobson)-85, Public Library
28. Purple Rain (1984, Magnoli)-94. Theater
29. Final Destination (2000, Wong)-65, DVD
30. Explorers (1985, Dante)-75, Netflix Instant Viewing

Movie of the Month: Purple Rain (1984, Magnoli)-94. Theater

May:

31. American Hero (2015, Love)-77, Netflix Instant Viewing
32. Deadpool (2016, Miller)-89, DVD*
33. Captain America: Civil War (2016, Russo Brothers)-91, Theater
34. Spy Game (2001, Scott)-84, Netflix Instant Viewing

Movie of the Month: Captain America: Civil War (2016, Russo Brothers)-91, Theater

June:

35. Bone Tomahawk (2015, Zahler)-88, DVD*
36. The Nice Guys (2016, Black)-93, Theater
37. The Daughter of Dawn (1920, Myles)-68, Netflix Instant Viewing
38. Pleasantville (1998, Ross)-97, Netflix Instant Viewing
39. The Conjuring 2 (2016, Wan)-91, Theater Viewing
40. The Shallows (2016, Collet-Serra)-87, Theater Viewing

Movie of the Month: Pleasantville (1998, Ross)-97, Netflix Instant Viewing

July:

41. Robot vs the Aztec Mummy (1958, Portillo)-30, YouTube
42. Double Jeopardy (1999, Beresford)-70, CMT
43. Cocktail (1988, Donaldson)-60, DVD*
44. Swiss Army Man (2016, Daniels)-92, Theater
45. The Do-Over (2016, Brill)-77, Netflix Instant Viewing
46. Spies Like Us (1985, Landis)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
47. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013, Coens)-95, Criterion DVD
48. Free State of Jones (2016, Ross)-77, Theater
49. Ghostbusters (2016, Feig)-87, Theater

Movie of the Month: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013, Coens)-95, Criterion DVD

August:

50. Splatter (2009, Dante)-45, Netflix Instant Viewing
51. 22 Jump Street (2014, Miller and Lord)-93, DVD*
52. Crimson Peak (2015, del Toro)-87, Public Library
53. Coma (1978, Crichton)-85, Public Library
54. The Old Dark House (1932, Whale)-87, Public Library
55. Now You See Me 2 (2016, Chu)-77, Theater Viewing
56. The Place Beyond The Pines (2013, Cianfrance)-94, Public Library
57. Jason Bourne (2016, Greengrass)-75, Theater Viewing
58. The Legend of Tarzan (2016, Yates)-70, Theater Viewing
59. Murder Party (2007, Saulnier)-86, Public Library
60. Jacob’s Ladder (1990, Lyne)-93, Public Library
61. Hostel (2005, Roth)-90, Family Video
62. Insidious (2010, Wan)-93, Family Video

Movie of the Month: The Place Beyond The Pines (2013, Cianfrance)-94, Public Library

September:

63. Session 9 (2001, Anderson)-95, Family Video
64. Suicide Squad (2016, Ayer)-55, Theater  Viewing
65. There’s Something About Mary (1998, Farrelly Brothers)-90, DVD
66. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974, Weir)-87, Hulu

Movie of the Month: Session 9 (2001, Anderson)-95, Family Video

October:

67. Byzantium (2013, Jordan)-81, Netflix Instant Viewing
68. Castle Freak (1995, Gordon)-77, Hulu
69. Darling (2015, Keating)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
70. The Others (2001, Amenábar)-91, Hulu
71. Goosebumps (2015, Letterman)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
72. Curse of Chucky (2013, Mancini)-47, Netflix Instant Viewing
73. Holidays (2016, Directed By: Smith, Kolsch, McCarthy, Burns, Mortimer, Reid, Shore, Stuart, Widmyer)-88, Netflix Instant Viewing
74. The Hole (2009, Dante)-73
75. Demons (1985, Bava)-90, Hulu
76. Hush (2016, Flanagan)-92, Netflix Instant Viewing
77. They Look Like People (2015, Blackshear)-90, Netflix Instant Viewing
78. The Sacrament (2015, West)-85, Netflix Instant Viewing
79. We Are Still Here (2015, Geoghegan)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing
80. The Hallow (2015, Hardy)-70, Netflix Instant Viewing
81. Road Games (2015, Pastoll)-76, Netflix Instant Viewing
82. The Invitation (2015, Kusama)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
83. They’re Watching (2015, Lender and Wright)-40, Netflix Instant Viewing
84. The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962, Green)-15, TCM
85. Dale & Tucker Vs Evil (2010, Craig)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing
86. Puppet Master (1989, Schmoeller)-80, Hulu
87. Genocide (1967, Nihonmatsu)-65, Hulu
88. The Fury (1978, De Palma)-94, Netflix Instant Viewing
89. The Traveler (2010, Oblowitz)-40, Netflix Instant Viewing
90. The House on Sorority Row (1983, Rosman)-60, Hulu
91. Bad Milo (2015, Vaughan)-79, Netflix Instant Viewing
92. Stung (2015, Diaz)-75, Netflix Instant Viewing
93. Wyrmwood (2015, Roache-Turner)-80, Netflix Instant Viewing
94. Grizzly (1976, Girdler)-73, Hulu
95. Spoorloos (1988, Sluizer)-95, Hulu

Movie of the Month: We Are Still Here (2015, Geoghegan)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing

November:

96. Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015, Landon)-77, Hulu
97. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them  (2016, Yates)-87, Theater Viewing
98. While You Were Sleeping (1995, Turteltaub)-84, Netflix Instant Viewing
99. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959, Levin)-83, Netflix Instant Viewing
100. Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975, Weir)-96, Criterion DVD/Public Library
101. Dr. Strange (2016, Derrickson)-90, Theater

Movie of the Month: Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975, Weir)-96, Criterion DVD/Public Library

December:

102. The Jungle Book (2016, Favreau)-86, Netflix Instant Viewing
103. The Accountant (2016, O’Connor)-86, Theater Viewing
104. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000, Redford)-89, Netflix Instant Viewing
105. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016, Edwards)-90, Theater Viewing
106. Good Guys Wear Black (1978, Post)-45, Netflix Instant Viewing
107. The Sting (1973, Roy Hill)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing

Movie of the Month: The Sting (1973, Roy Hill)-95, Netflix Instant Viewing

Viewer Beware, You’re In For A Scare

Back when I was a kid, Goosebumps was all the rage. Everyone read the books, owned the books, and loved the books. R.L. Stine helped make reading cool, which despite his stories being cheesy or very kids oriented was still a good thing: anything that gets kids to read should be encouraged. In fact some of his tales had twists that M. Night Shyamalan wishes he could come up with. So I was happy that Netflix Instant Viewing now has the rights to the show, which channeled the books pretty well, as all four seasons have been released so far. But hey its a start and I plan to go through the show as much as possible. I started last night with the pilot, titled The Girl Who Cried Monster.

Really its merely a solid episode, yet I still enjoyed it anyways. I vaguely remember reading the book, and it has a trademark Stine twist that made me smile a bit. The creature effects are rather decent for a kids TV show that aired on Saturday mornings, and the main protagonist starts off with their narration, which was part of Stine’s books. I do plan on continuing to watch the show, and go through the rest of the series. Which I will share here as a side project to my Horrorfest, as its fitting to view a horror oriented show while also watching horror movies.