GOOSEBUMPS
Fresh updates suggests the children horror movie was soon going
to be released after all, as young actress Odeya Rush joins Jack Black in the
big screen adaptation of 'Goosebumps,' the first plot details for the movie
have been revealed.
A movie based on the long-running children's book series from R.L. Stine has been some time coming, and given the broad variety of stories told within the series it seems only right that the adaptation will be taking a somewhat 'meta' approach.
According to The Wrap, 16 year old Rush (recently seen in director Jim Mickle's US remake of Mexican horror 'We Are What We Are') will portray the niece of Black's character Mr Shivers, "a Stine-like author whose scary characters literally leap off the page, forcing him to hide from his own creepy creations."
She teams up with an as-yet uncast boy next door to combat these nightmarish creatures.
Behind the camera will be Rob Letterman, who previously directed Black on 'Shark Tale' and 'Gulliver's Travels,' as well as writing and directing 'Monsters vs. Aliens.'
All this would suggest a family-friendly fright flick - but then, that's entirely fitting given it's an adaptation of a children's book series.
This might not be the most popular viewpoint, but I personally feel that horror can work perfectly well in a family friendly context, dependant on the suitability of the material. Remaking a slasher movie as a PG-13 (e.g. 'Prom Night') is obviously inappropriate - but for something along the lines of 'Goosebumps,' why not?
I personally didn't read much 'Goosebumps' growing up, nor was I a particularly avid viewer of the TV series which aired in the 1990s, but for a great many modern horror fans these served as a valuable entry point for future interest in the genre. Much the same can be said about plenty of spooky kid's movies of the 1980s such as 'The Monster Squad,' 'Critters' and 'The Gate', or more recent movies like 'Monster House' and 'ParaNorman.'
What I like about the premise of the 'Goosebumps' movie is how close it seems that of a Joe Dante movie: 'Gremlins,' 'Small Soldiers' and 'The Hole' all feature young neighbours joining forces to defend themselves against unlikely adversaries, whilst balancing the comedic and the creepy.
Rob Letterman's track record would seem to suggest that 'Goosebumps' will lean more toward laughs than scares - but who knows, perhaps it could be another great kid-friendly comedy horror in the making.
No release dates has been set for 'Goosebumps' yet.
Mature Minds Talk.
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