Chair de poule

I am 38 years old, the original Goosebumps books and TV show were in my prime. I enjoyed them and Fear Street as I got older. I didn't mind the movies that came out a few years ago but nothing has been "Goosebumps" to me. This attempt is the same. Is it a halfway decent show that I can watch with my son to pass some time over the weekend. They definitely called it "Goosebumps" to get more viewers but it is not really Goosebumps. They took some inspiration from some of the books and wrapped it into 1 series. I do have to say that as a gay man, I am finding the "check boxes" to get a little old. It is nice to see characters who resemble everyone, the gay kid with a straight best friend combo was cool BUT the stereotypes are getting a bit old. Not every gay kid is androgenous or flamboyant. It would be nice to see these characters but with a little less of the stereotypes. Aside from that, I've definitely seen worse things on TV.

...but I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. The first two episodes are not the best I didn't really know why. The acting is overdone sometimes and the jokes don't land but somewhere in the 3rd or 4th episode this switches. The humor is actually landing and we get modern humor with some pop culture references but also some throwbacks to the x-files and of course MANY of the old goosebumps episodes/books.

Each episode has it's own "monster" but they are all connected through the friendgroup. At first I thought I would prefer stand alone episodes and different actors but I actually prefer it this way.

The CGI looks great even though the scenes sometimes give CW energy. Overall the Storytelling overways everything and it feels so good to be back in the goosebumps world.

The soundtrack is AMAZING too, straight up bangers in every outro.

If you are a Boomer at heart even though you grew up with goosebumps: you probably already wrote a review about how much this is a woke cashgrab that's unoriginal, but somehow your comment is. This is not for you.

This is for the people that learned the core values of shows like goosebumps and can still have fun and actually like diversity and that everyone gets a seat at the table. Don't take this show too serious because it really doesn't take itself that serious either and then you will have a great time!

Update after completing the show: No spoilers; It's still good, I still miss the old intro, it diverts expectation which I like but the PACING.. the show really needs to work on that. Some episode are just filler (episode 5? And 9).. absolutely boring. 90% talking 10% plot. We need a better balance between slow moody teen drama and action fantasy novel. Because right now the balance is off. Otherwise pretty good like I said. I'm going to lower my score from an 8 to a 7. It didn't wow me in the end but it was nice. Soundtrack is also really good.

Before you read this review I'm only two episodes into this series. However, right away a decision they made has kind of ruined the entire thing for me. It is not single one off stories, they are combining a bunch of books into a continuous arc about characters spanning one season.

A season long arc doesn't really work for Goosebumps. They might want it to because it makes it easier to create sequel episodes if they can keep bringing the same characters back, but it doesn't work with this. Each book was an entirely different vibe, some had more elements of comedy, some had elements of family, all had a horror twist thrown into the mix.

Making this a season long arc doesn't seem like it will work to me. This is just a forewarning to anyone looking to check out this series. I have no idea if they're able to pull it off well, but it seems destined to be at best mediocre to me.

I'm not sure why they decided to use the "Goosebumps" brand for this series, but I imagine they thought they'd get a lot more views playing the nostalgic reboot card. Had they just given it an original name, there wouldn't be as many reviews from viewers who are incapable of separating the style and format of the original series and accepting this new one. There would also be fewer viewers claiming this new show ruined their childhood, not because the show is bad, but because they grew up to become idiots who refers to everything that doesn't fit into their narrow-minded per views as woke. The good news is, if you're a decent, functioning member of modern society who can look past the fact that not every character is straight and white, and how those characters actually speak and act like people of their age in 2023, you might enjoy the creepiness and sometimes genuinely gross and chilling aspects of this series. More so, if you're intelligent, too, you might appreciate the smart writing and the metaphors woven into the specific storylines featured in each episode. As much as I'm enjoying it, I have some issues with it being derivative (Nightmare On Elm Street), predictable (I figured out what happened in the past in episode 2), and having a major plot hole (why doesn't one character's kid and their friend back up their story and prevent them from having to be taken away?) Aside from these small gripes, it's an enjoyable series, especially if you like the horror genre and you're looking for something new to watch around Halloween.

Everything has to be redone, reimagined and recycled these days. Unfortunately goosebumps is not off-limits even though we just had two movies within the last 10 years as well as Fear Street spin offs on Netflix. No, but here we get a series that tries some new things, but just can't escape the absolutely unnecessary and forced tropes amongst the casting, the plotting, and the overall product. Justin Long being the bright spot, of course and some of the Visual horror aspects. Otherwise, I can already tell it might be difficult to make it through more than a few episodes. I'll stick with the classic books and the classic TV series.