Piccoli brividi

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.

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.

This is an everyday story of teenagers in their mid to late twenties who talk and behave in a way no teenager would. It's filled with every trope of the current year which aren't in any way real. So, nonsense aside, it it any good? Not really and not even close but it isn't as bad as it could be which makes it a little bit better than the crap that gets made today. In short, it's not remotely good but it exists in an amateurish world where a lot of what gets made is worse. It's difficult to imagine where they get people to write and produce this kind of stuff but until talented people turn up it provides moving images on screen which make the passage of time less boring than a sensory deprivation tank.

As someone who grew up reading the books and giving every atrocious cinematic attempt the benefit of the doubt, I am pretty pleased with this one.

I winced when I hit play, and settled back, prepared to be disappointed.

I finished every episode in two days, and am excited for the next.

It is very much a show aimed at teenagers, so it has the high school shenanigans and drama. The acting skill varies, as does the script writing. Justin Long is Justin Long (which I love. YMMV).

Every attempt at trying to exactly duplicate the stories and spirit of the books has failed miserably, so this show went in a different direction. They used a Goosebumps villain and created a framework from it, then wove different Goosebumps stories into an episodic/serialized show.

If you're looking for Masterpiece Theater, this ain't it. If you're looking for something fun inspired by delightful Goosebumps books, enjoy!

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.