Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ari Sandel
Produced by
Screenplay by Rob Lieber
Story by
Based on Goosebumps
by R. L. Stine
Starring
Music by Dominic Lewis[1]
Cinematography Barry Peterson
Edited by
  • David Rennie
  • Keith Brachmann
Production
company
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing[2]
Release date
  • October 8, 2018 (2018-10-08) (Culver City)[4]
  • October 12, 2018 (2018-10-12) (United States)
Running time
 90 minutes[5]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $35 million[6]
Box office $19.9 million[6]

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a 2018 American horror comedy film directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber, from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke. A sequel to 2015's Goosebumps, it is based on the children's horror book series of the same name by R. L. Stine and stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell and Ken Jeong, with Jack Black reprising his role from the first film. The plot follows two young boys accidentally releasing Slappy the Dummy and the Goosebumps monsters in their town, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night.

Unlike the previous installment, Village Roadshow Pictures is not involved with this film. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2018 by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $19 million worldwide.

Plot

In the fictional town of Wardenclyffe, New York, a teenage girl named Sarah Quinn (Madison Iseman) is writing an essay so she can get into Columbia University, her boyfriend Tyler (Bryce Cass) sneaks through the window to surprise her. Unfortunately, her mother Kathy (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and her brother Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) catches them and Kathy kicks Tyler out.

The next morning, a boy named Sam Carter (Caleel Harris) is dropped off by his father whose going out of town. Later, Kathy and the kids head to the drug store before Kathy drops them off at school. On the way, they see their neighbor Mr. Chu (Ken Jeong) getting his house decorated for Halloween.

After school, Sonny and Sam do their after school job called the Junk Bros. They are called by someone who wants them to clean the junk from an abandoned house. When they arrive, they find a secret switch on top of the fire place. After pushing it, they find a trunk and open it thinking there's something valuable inside. But inside the trunk is a locked manuscript, Sonny finds the key and unlocks the book. Though nothing happens at first. A few moments later, Slappy the Dummy appears, but he's lifeless. The boys find his card in his pocket, and Sonny reads the words "Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano." When the boys leave the house with Slappy deciding to keep him, they are encountered by a school bully named Tommy Madigan (Payton Wich) who takes the book and tries to take Slappy. Slappy comes alive and uses his magic to pull Tommy's pants down. The bullies chase Sonny and Sam on their bikes, Luckily, Slappy uses his magic to bring a hose to life and knocking the bullies off their bikes.

At home, Sonny is working on his science project, a miniature size version of Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe tower. He can't get it to work at first. Slappy (Mick Wingert) then reveals he's alive to Sonny and Sam, but he says he's good and wants to be their brother. Slappy gets their trust by using his magic to do the boy's choirs and homework. Meanwhile, Sarah goes to a party to hang out with Tyler, but then leaves the party in tears after she sees Tyler kiss another girl named Jess (Courtney Lauren Cummings). That night when everyone is asleep, Slappy modifies Sonny's miniature tower and he sneaks into Sarah's backpack.

When Sarah is at school the next day, Slappy goes to the auditorium where Tyler is on a ladder hanging ghosts up. Slappy then uses his magic to break the ladder as revenge for him cheating on Sarah. The fall caused Tyler to break his bones and end up in the hospital. At Sonny's school, he shows off his project, but Slappy's modifications caused the miniature tower to blast a hole in the classroom wall and Sonny gets in trouble for it.

Sonny, Sarah, and Sam arrive home and find Slappy sitting on Kathy's lap. When she leaves to answer the phone, Slappy talks again and Sarah tells Slappy that he's been eliminated from the family. Sonny tries to read the words on his card to make him go back to sleep, but that doesn't work. Kathy returns and tells them that Halloween is cancelled for the three of them because that phone call was from the school explaining how Sonny's tower blew a hole in the wall. Upstairs, Sarah hits Slappy with a baseball bat and locks him in a suitcase. The kids drive to a swamp and throw the suitcase in the water. On the way home, Slappy somehow escapes and jumps on in front of Sarah's car, pounding on the glass almost breaking it. Sarah then slams the breaks throwing Slappy off the car, but Sonny exclaims that things got much worse.

Halloween night has come and the kids are trick or treating. Back at Sonny's house, Sarah finds an article online about the events that happened at Madison, Delaware back in 2015. They then Google R.L. Stine (Jack Black) after the article about Madison mentions him and find an article that says Stine lived in Wardenclyffe from 1985 to 1991 where he wrote an unpublished Goosebumps book called Haunted Halloween. Sonny and Sam realize that book they found is Haunted Halloween. Sarah finds an add for a R.L. Stine fan club run by Robert Shivers. Sarah tries to call Shivers, but she leaves a message. They then go look for Tommy to get the book back. Stine gets the message and prepares to leave to Wardenclyffe.

Slappy goes to the local drug store, and he says the spell to bring the Halloween costumes to life, such as three witches with globe-like heads, a vampire, an alien, a swamp monster, the grim reaper, an undead pirate, blue troll, a female cyborg, the Bride of Frankenstein, and Goosebumps-themed costumes based on Will Blake's werewolf form from The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, the Abominable Snowman from The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, a Scarecrow from The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight, and the Mummy of Prince Khor-Ru from Return of the Mummy. An employee at the pharmacy named Walter (Chris Parnell) catches them, and an ogre mask flies on Walter's face, turning him into a hunchbacked ogre who becomes Slappy's right-hand man. Slappy and the monsters march out of the drug store.

The three kids find Tommy, who says the book is at his house. The Witches then drop from the sky and swoop up Tommy and the bullies in the sky. They arrive at Tommy's house. Sonny and Sam break in while Sarah watches. Luckily, Tommy's grandmother is asleep on the couch. Back at the Wardenclyffe tower, Slappy and Walter's ogre form decide to make the tower their lair and Slappy says the spell to bring the tower to life. After the tower comes to life, it causes all the Halloween decorations across town to come to life.

When Sonny and Sam get the book, Sam tries to get some gummy bears in the candy bowl, but a zombie hand in the bowl grabs Sam. He yanks it off, but the gummy bears that spilled everywhere came to life, grew, and began attacking Sonny and Sam. Kathy calls in the middle of it and says she's on her way home when one gummy bear throws a china at Sonny. He drops the book opening it, causing a few gummy bears to get sucked in. The ones that attacked Sam fuse into one giant gummy bear. Luckily, Sonny opens the book, sucking in all the gummy bears. They leave the house and the kids suck a skeleton bride and groom in the book. On her way home, Kathy encounters the Headless Horseman, but is quite impressed with it.

At Mr. Chu's house, all of his Halloween decorations where attacking Trick or treaters and their parents as well as the Witches and bat-winged pumpkins. The kids notice that Kathy is trapped in webbing caused by the giant spider decoration that Mr. Chu had on his roof. A ghost steals the book and the giant spider carries Kathy to the Wardenclyffe tower. Mr. Chu gets the kids inside his house and they tell him what's going on.

To Mr. Chu, living a Goosebumps story sounded like great news and he was excited to finish the unfinished manuscript. But first, he makes Sarah where a witch costume, Sonny a pumpkin costume, and Sam a skeleton costume in order for them to blend into the monster invasion. But before they leave, Sarah takes Mr. Chu's leather bound copy of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, pretending it's the manuscript.

The kids head to the Wardenclyffe tower and a pumpkin-headed Scarecrow who was guarding the tower falls for their disguises. Meanwhile, Stine arrives in Wardenclyffe and sees the destruction that the monsters are causing. He encounters two Lawn Gnomes, but Stine smashes them and avoids the Witches and skeletons in the process.

At the tower, the kids encounter Slappy and Walter where they discover that Slappy has turned Kathy into a dummy. The ghost gives Slappy the manuscript and proceeds to write his own ending and burn the book. Sarah managed to get the book back, but the giant spider began trying to knock it out of her hands. Sonny and Sam turn up the tower to a high level causing electricity shoot up everywhere. Sarah tells Slappy to turn her mom back to normal if she gives him the book, but the book she gives Slappy is the decoy giving her time to kick Slappy in the electric fence causing Slappy to get blasted into the sky. Sarah opens the book sucking the spider, the Witches, the flying pumpkins, and all the other monsters into the Haunted Halloween manuscript. Kathy turns back into a human and the Ogre Mask is removed from Walter's face. Stine shows up after the monsters were defeated.

Outside, Stine tells the kids that Kathy and Walter won't remember what happened. Tommy landed on the ground after bring taken by the Witches and is glad to see Sam and Sonny. Before Stine leaves, Sarah asks Stine for writing advice. Stine tells Sarah to write what she knows.

Some time later, Kathy and Walter start dating, Sonny wins the science fair where Principal Harrison (R. L. Stine) awards him. In December, Mr. Chu has his house decorated for Christmas and Sarah gets an email saying she got in to Columbia University. The family celebrates.

Back in Stine's cabin, he finishes a new book. Slappy appears after he survived that blast. During the time he was gone, Slappy wrote a book of his own where Stine is the main character. Slappy then opens the manuscript and sucks Stine in the book saying it was his turn to see what it's like being trapped in a Goosebumps book.

Cast

  • Jeremy Ray Taylor as Sonny Quinn
  • Madison Iseman as Sarah Quinn, Sonny's sister.
  • Caleel Harris as Sam Carter, Sonny Quinn's best friend.
  • Wendi McLendon-Covey as Kathy Quinn, Sonny and Sarah's mother.
  • Chris Parnell as Walter, the manager of the local pharmacy that has a crush on Kathy and is turned into a hunchbacked ogre by an animated ogre mask.
  • Ken Jeong as Mr. Chu, the Quinns' neighbor.
  • Bryce Cass as Tyler, Sarah's boyfriend.
  • Peyton Wich as Tommy Madigan, a bully who picks on Sonny and Sam.
  • Kendrick Cross as Mr. Carter, Sam's father.
  • Shari Headley as Mrs. Carter, Sam's mother.
  • Jack Black as R. L. Stine[7], the writer of the Goosebumps books.
  • Mick Wingert as the voice of Slappy the Dummy[8], a living ventriloquist dummy from the Night of the Living Dummy books. He was previously voiced by Jack Black in the first film.
    • Avery Lee Jones provides the puppeteer work for Slappy.
  • Courtney Lauren Cummings as Jess, a girl who Tyler cheats Sarah for.
  • Jessi Goei as Maya
  • R. L. Stine as Principal Harrison, the principal of the school that Sonny and Sam attend.
  • Katharine C. Lumpkin as Monster Bride
  • Kent Wagner as Undead Pirate
  • Marsha Shackelford as Female Cyborg
  • Barry W. Jerald Jr. as Alien
  • Sherri Millican as Banshee
  • Scott Millican as Red-Haired Ghoul
  • Joseph N. Hardin as Vampire
  • Alex T. Hill as Scarecrow
  • Benjamin Bladon as Royal Mummy

Calaca ladies portrayed by Iyani Gwendolyn, Cheniqua Litchmore, and Hali J. Ross. Goblins portrayed by Cody Jenkins and Joe Marri. Mummies portrayed by Mary Tricia Froedge, Robert Hunt, Martin Skyler, Grace Toso, Calvin Wickham, and Taylor Williams.

Production

On September 2, 2015, it was reported that a sequel was in the planning stages, with Sony looking for a screenwriter.[9] On January 17, 2017, a January 26, 2018 release date was set and Rob Letterman confirmed that he was to return as director for the sequel.[10] On February 6, 2017, it was announced that the film's release date had been delayed to September 21, 2018, taking the place of the release date previously held by Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.[11] In May 2017, the title was initially said to be Goosebumps: HorrorLand.[12] At the time, it was said that Jack Black would reprise his role as R. L. Stine.[13]

In November 2017, Rob Lieber was tapped to pen the script.[14] In December 2017, Ari Sandel was announced as Letterman's directorial replacement, due to Letterman being busy on directing Detective Pikachu for Legendary Entertainment. Variety reported that two scripts had been written: one script in which Black would reprise his role, while the other would work Black out entirely.[15] In December 2017, the sequel's release date was pushed to October 12, 2018.[16] The film was renamed Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge.[17] New cast members include Madison Iseman, Ben O'Brien, Caleel Harris and Jeremy Ray Taylor.[18] Ken Jeong, Chris Parnell and Wendi McLendon-Covey joined the following month.[19] Filming began on March 7, and in April 2018 the title was renamed Haunted Halloween.[20][21][22]

It was initially confirmed by Sony representatives that Avery Lee Jones was voicing Slappy in the film.[23] It was also confirmed that Jack Black will be returning for the film as Stine,[7] and it was later confirmed that voice actor Mick Wingert had replaced Jones as the voice of Slappy.[24][8]

Release

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was released October 12 , 2018. The film's first trailer was released on July 11, 2018, the international trailer was released on August 16, 2018, and a third second trailer released on September 20, 2018.[25] A TV spot was released on September 24, 2018, which also confirmed that Jack Black would be returning for the film.[7]

Reception

Box office

As of October 14, 2018, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween has grossed $16.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $3.7 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $19.9 million, against a production budget of $35 million.[6]

In the United States and Canada, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was released alongside First Man and Bad Times at the El Royale, and was projected to gross $15–21 million from 3,521 theaters in its opening weekend.[26][27] The film made $4.9 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews, up from the $600,000 made by the first film. It went on to debut to $16.2 million (down 31% from the first film's opening), finishing fourth at the box office behind Venom, A Star Is Born and First Man.[28]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween offers a handful of treats for very young viewers, but compared to the entertaining original, this sequel is a ding dong to ditch."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A" earned by the first film.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Dominic Lewis to Score 'Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween'". Film Music Reporter. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  3. ↑ Verhoeven, Beatrice; Gonzalez, Umberto (May 22, 2018). "Sony Announces Lord and Miller Animated Comedy 'The Mitchells Vs the Machines' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved July 11, 2018. Sony Pictures Animation’s slate for the year includes Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (July 13), Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween (October 12) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (December 14).
  4. ↑ {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_itJIYHXGw&t=3s |title=GOOSEBUMPS 2 Slappy Red Carpet-Haunted Halloween|website=YouTube|accessdate=October 12, 2018}}
  5. ↑ "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween". AMC Theatres. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "Jack Black Returns as R.L. Stine in New Goosebumps 2 TV Spot". movieweb.com. 24 September 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  8. 1 2 @MickWingert (October 12, 2018). "Mick Wingert on Twitter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ McKnight, Brent (September 2, 2015). "Goosebumps 2 Is Happening, Get The Details". Cinema Blend. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Evry, Max (January 17, 2017). "Goosebumps 2 Release Date Set By Sony Pictures". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Sony Pictures 2018 Schedule Shifts Hotel Transylvania, Bad Boys, Goosebumps and More". February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Goosebumps 2 Title Revealed, Plus Promo Art for More!". ComingSoon.net. 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  13. ↑ "Jack Black Will Be Back in 'Goosebumps: Horrorland'". June 12, 2017.
  14. ↑ Lang, Brent (November 2, 2017). "Sony Taps Rob Lieber To Write Goosebumps 2 Script". Variety. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  15. ↑ Lang, Brent (December 12, 2017). "Ari Sandel Will Direct Goosebumps 2". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  16. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 28, 2017). "Sony Moves 'Alpha' To Fall, Bumps 'Goosebumps 2' To October". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  17. ↑ "'Goosebumps: Slappy's Revenge' Plot Details Tease Halloween Night Apocalypse - Bloody Disgusting". Bloody-Disgusting.com. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  18. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 22, 2018). "'Goosebumps' Sequel Sets Ensemble Cast". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  19. ↑ Tyler, Adrienne (March 5, 2018). "Goosebumps 2 Casts Ken Jeong, Chris Parnell, & Wendi McLendon-Covey". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  20. ↑ Miska, Brad (April 23, 2018). "'Goosebumps' Sequel Now Titled 'Haunted Halloween'". Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  21. ↑ "2.11. Self-rated health among adults".
  22. ↑ Cavanaugh, Patrick. "'Goosebumps' Twitter Account Teases First Look at 'Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween' Tomorrow". Comic Book. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  23. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (24 April 2018). "Sony Gives New Title To 'Goosebumps 2'- CinemaCon". deadline.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  24. ↑ "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Clip - Holiday Sale". YouTube. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  25. ↑ "First Trailer and Poster for Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  26. ↑ Fuster, Jeremy (September 20, 2018). "'First Man' Expected to Launch to $20 Million Box Office Opening". TheWrap. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  27. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (October 9, 2018). "'First Man' Takes on 'Venom' and 'A Star Is Born' as October Box Office Goes Galactic". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  28. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 14, 2018). "'Sony Swings Past $1 Billion As 'Venom' Bites $35M+; 'First Man' Lands Third With $16M+ – Sunday AM". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
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