Chair de poule

One of those rare films that looks bad based on all empirical evidence, but is actually enjoyable… for the most part.

While Black doesn't physically resemble the actual Robert Lawrence Stine, he nevertheless creates an effectively droll character, combining a pair of heavy-rimmed black glasses, Orson Wells-type literate tones and a spiteful vanity that makes Stephen King the bane of his existence.

Directed by Rob Letterman, Goosebumps is a fun time at the movies. If you like horror, but you desire something to bring the family to, this is not a bad choice.

Young audiences are in for an early lesson in disappointing cinematic literary adaptations with Goosebumps. This first big-screen spin on R.L. Stine's popular kid-lit series - which already inspired four seasons of TV - turns an endearing collection of silly, spooky stories into a busy, noisy, soulless eyesore

Black stars as author (and monster hunter) R.L. Stine in a silly, rollicking adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Nothing about Goosebumps is revolutionary - at a certain point you may realize that it's as if Nickelodeon produced Cabin in the Woods - but it's a never-boring trip to a world, where stories and imagination are powerful tools, that just might inspire kids to do the scariest thing of all: pick up a book. 

In any event, all the creatures, which range from the tiny robots to looming freeze-gun toting aliens to a giant mantis, are rendered very nicely in realistic computer animation, while the live-action cast is always engaging and often very funny.