Say Cheese and Die!

I feel the biggining episode is an interesting start to the new siries, the teen drama is very accurate to the modern day. But I think there's too much at play here, and really should of been less. And more of the story. There's also too much stuff that happens, so there is really no time to settle down and have an introduction to are characters. Which is the episodes BIGGEST downfall, as the plot is convoluted due to many things taking place in this episode, a 2 parter might of worked better. But the episode isn't all bad.

The similarities from the 90's Siries, is the cheesy storyline at times, which works well here. The sporting scene is from "Don't go to sleep" and "Chillogy" which wasn't from the original book siries, but they didn't know what book to turn into an episode, so they decided to do an original Goosebumps episode, it's a three parter in siries 3 of the original show. And I like some of the similarities on display here, because there was None in the other episode I've seen. And I mean absolutely nothing. So I am glad this episode has differences but also some similarities. This is the episodes best attribute.

The dialogue isn't great, but it's not terrible, for me it's just Mediocre. Nobody really stands out here. But if you do compare it to the original the acting is at it's best. The old siries is renown for it's bad acting, I mean just watch "Ghost Beach" or "My Hairest Adventure" for example, if you don't believe me. The acting is laughably bad. Both episodes can be seen on YouTube, all 4 seasons, if your wondering. And want to see the old show again. I wouldn't blame you.

I like the darker tone to the siries, with some cheesiness added to the mix, which works for the newer siries. The effects for the most part is great. The darker more grounded approach to the siries really works with the effects.

These tick ✅ the boxes are getting on my tits though, at the cost of good character development or creating a good character for the new siries. And that really let's this show down. It was a poor and lame attempt by Disney and is a bizarre decision. When you consider the fact great siries are mostly down to great storytelling and character growth. This siries is let down big time by not having that.

The Episode "Say cheese and Die" is an instant Classic, so starting of the siries with this episode is a good choice. The older episode also features a young Ryan Gosling. Say cheese and Die...AGAIN!, Is the second part to that story. Incase anyone who hasn't seen it wants to watch it, it's also up on YouTube, both these stories. And ALL episodes are on there. Apart from Siries 2's two parter with Slappy, Not sure why. Now time for my verdict.

Verdict,

5/10 Not good but not terrible.

As a kid I loved goosebumps, both the books and the 90's TV show. Both were scary for kids, but most the time goofy enough to only be slightly spooky for teens and adults. The stories ranged from bad to surprisingly good. I still watch the original Night of the Living Dummy episodes every Halloween. However, this is not Goosebumps. Like every modern retelling of an old franchise, its something entirely different but with the characters slapped on for marketing.

The Good: I thought at some moments the episode knew it was being corny, and that worked. Like the scene where the main character was juking out demons on the football field, that felt like a chillogy episode. However, this never lasts for too long. Also, Justin Long is cool.

The Bad: Its completely different, and doesn't even accomplish what its trying to do. The vibe goes to completely serious then to very corny. The characters are definitely what 40 year olds think kids act like. It focuses so much on the boring teen story that the actual story of "Say Cheese and Die" is a backdrop to its own episode. The music is also terrible, with just modern pop and rap songs sprinkled in for no genuine reason other than the titles of them are "Unholy" and "Goosebumps". Also its going for a PG-13 feel, so slightly more serious and edgy, but still only accomplishes to have a few cheap scares with mostly corny bad cgi demons. Just not good.

Conclusion and rant: This is just bad. I get they are trying to spice it up for the new age, but this is just slightly insulting to the property. No one if going to be watching this show out if nostalgia in 10 years, because its just not good at all. I would not recommend to anyone. Its not goosebumps, and what it's attempting to be is done way better in other shows and movies.

Spends a lot of time trying to make it modern. The original story is mostly lost. Not enough scary too much teen drama. The original story is mostly lost. The addition of subtly not subtly "trendy" redirect in an attempt to appeal to a mature audience falls flat. This episode scared me the most as a child but the convoluted story makes little sense. References to real-world things are not accurate. Most of the story feels like filler and is monotonous. The narrative tries too hard to prey on teen anxieties. I have no idea how R. L. Stone signed off on this garbage. Makes the 90s TV series shine as gold in comparison. This is a poor start to a beloved book and TV series.

I honestly don't get why this episode is rated so low compared to the others because it was a really solid start to the show! I guess my one criticism would be that the core story, the whole haunted camera plot from the book this episode is named after, doesn't even really start until 30 minutes in and essentially lasts just 15 or 16 minutes. Maybe that was more of an issue for others than it was for me though.

The thing is that everything else about the episode was surprisingly good! Like, well above what I possibly could have even expected for an edgier reboot of Goosebumps. The writing was great, characters well developed, and I personally really enjoyed a lot of the dry, awkward humour from Zack Morris as Isaiah, Miles McKenna as James, and Will Price as Lucas.

Plus, Justin Long is great as always, especially with his signature Justin Long charm, and he's excellent as English teacher Mr. Bratt. The episode's ending also gives me a lot of hope for where they may be taking his character in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, this was a fun watch and if the rest of the series is anything like it then I'm absolutely in for for this new take on Goosebumps!

Well arguably not the worst episode of the season this just didn't feel like goosebumps. It felt like some other teenage horror series and honestly just gave goosebumps its name to attract viewers to Disney+. The worst part of it wasn't even the continuous references to adult themes that weren't necessary at all is was the screen time of a goosebumps bad guy. The story started off pretty lacking... the camera had barely any screen time and it is considered a classic goosebumps villain. At the conclusion it left me wondering do I have to watch another? But I pushed on as a life time fan of goosebumps...