Let me begin by saying that I had extremely high hopes for this movie. I grew up reading R.L. Stine’s books, and I nearly cried when I discovered Netflix had added the Goosebumps T.V. series. Obviously, I was pumped when I heard a Goosebumps movie was being made. I walked into the theater expecting a movie as good as the books, and ended up leaving 15 minutes before the ending due to sheer disappointment. This movie is a total flop.

The movie features stars like Jack Black and Ryan Lee, which would appear to be a recipe for comedy gold. Almost all of the jokes, unfortunately, seemed extremely forced and almost cringe-worthy. The dialogue was neither clever nor humorous, instead relying on mediocre pop-culture references to deliver punchlines that, truthfully, wouldn’t have been that great anyway.

The screenplay was busy and distracting, and the pace of the movie was scattered and far too frantic for my tastes. While the fast pace of the movie is sure to keep the attraction of younger viewers, to the older R.L Stine fan, it detracts from what the movie could have been. The flashy colors and busy nature of the film was substanceless. There was never any real depth to it.

All factors considered, I give Goosebumps a D-. It was painfully obvious that Goosebumps was created for the sole purpose of profit. I expected a movie that was aimed at  Stine’s older fans, but I was given a film fit for an eight year old. If you’re into immature humor and unoriginal twists, Goosebumps may be your movie. If not, don’t waste your time or money.