R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls

I was amazed by this movie. Thought it was gonna be just another cheesy kids horror movie, but I was surprised that it wasn't! The movie had a good plot and the "twist" in the movie was unexpected to me, which made it even better! Visual effects weren't that bad. The makeup could've been done better, but for budget wise was pretty good. Surprisingly, the guy behind the camera did pretty well! The direction of the film had some good shots but mostly just basic film capturing. Dove Cameron and Ryan McCartan were the two actors I recognized in this film. Their acting was pretty descent. I think Dove Cameron was the better actress out of this film. It seems like she works with her role and makes her character the best she can! Anyways, I really would take a shot on this film before turning it down. I really think this movie will surprise you, but probably won't scare you!

I'm a big horror nut but sometimes I like the soft stuff. I've read a few R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" novels and they're always an enjoyable read. I feel like he captures teenage life quite nicely and he creates likable characters who you root for. He's been well served by the television medium as his "Goosebumps" TV series is quite well done and I've just began watching his "The Haunting Hour" show and so far so good.

"The Cabinet of Souls" is, likewise, a very solid TV offering of light horror aimed (mainly) at kids and adults alike. The setting is good; a traveling house of horrors with a mysterious owner who collects the souls of customers and feeds off of them. It could very well be a premise for a full out gory R-rated film but it manages to generate a few creepy moments and is always entertaining.

The cast is likable and their characters as well. They do possess qualities that are admirable and that's a nice thing for a parent to know if they'd like to sit down with their kids for something a little bit on the scary side. Bad language is nicely sidestepped without the film feeling corny or something like that.

"The Cabinet of Souls" is an all around decent flick which many age groups can enjoy.

If you have nothing else to watch and this is the only thing on TV, watch it I guess.

The biggest problem I had was with the weird camera-work. Almost everything is blurred at the edges and I am guessing they were trying to give it a fairy-tale look with the blurring, but it just looks silly.

The second problem is that the lead male and female have no chemistry. The Hunter guy has more chemistry with the lead female and mostly because they actually are a couple in real life.. so yeah.

In the end, acting is fine, girls are fine, mood is light and I was kinda hoping for all that. But unlike Goosebumps, this movie wasn't very entertaining. Teen problems mixed with campy horror. Meh!

So all the goth kids' souls are stolen, boo oo stay away from everyone with black nail polish. Dove Camerln carried the movie, it was okay but if you prefer actually scary horror movies, this is not for you.

I really like this movie! It's got a wonderful message about friendship and a cute love story, with some horror tied in. I typically hate anything horror related but this was a bunch of fun. The music was good, the directing was nice, and the acting was great. Sure, it's not a perfect movie but it's one of the better movies out there. It's pretty great!