Season One:
As someone who watched at least some of the original Goosebumps series in my youth, though have admittedly forgotten most of the storylines, I was surprisingly hooked from the first episode's cold open. Where the season progresses thereafter manages to deliver genuinely intriguing reveals, one after another. This is most of all thanks to the great source material, R. L. Stine's various cursed objects setting the stage for a lot of scary fun. Unfortunately, without going into too deep of detail, the writers simply did not know how or where to end the season. The eighth episode serves as a natural send-off to these characters, albeit feeling rushed, but the season persists with an additional two episodes that are quite forced and just wholly unnecessary.
That said, the characters here, particularly our central cast of teens, are fairly well-written and so likable enough, even if their personal drama is not all that interesting. I would be remiss, however, not to highlight Justin Long's pure excellence in his role as Mr. Bratt, as well as Chris Greere's eerie voice performance of Slappy (who yes, of course, is in this series).
On that note, I appreciated Slappy's perfectly evil look and the excellent puppeteering behind him, matching his devilish personality. While the visual effects are not quite as flawless, I found them more than up to par for what this series is going for.
Despite its faults, I would recommend this season. Goosebumps fans in particular should enjoy what it offers.
Season Two:
While I definitely have issue with certain elements of this second chapter of Goosebumps anthology, I do enjoy a great deal of what the season offers. Undeniably nailing the scary fun that Goosebumps is and should be, the overall storyline here delivers a lot of thrilling moments and reveals, particularly in its finale that fortunately sticks the landing. On that note, I do narrowly prefer this season, even though the first season's story was a fair amount more impactful, at least until its lackluster ending. Anyways, adding to the excitement of this season are similarly freaky visuals, monsters and body horror alike.
Despite a fairly well-written overarching plot, the characters here in of themselves are quite lackluster, and so where this version of Goosebumps goes wrong. The central cast, mostly comprised of teenagers, are simply written without real care, failing to provide an interesting or emotionally-inclined vehicle to journey through the scares with. From their unconvincing relationships to their sometimes unlikable personalities, it's difficult to invest in the fate of any of these characters. That is, at least, beyond David Schwimmer's role, which admittedly does a lot of the leg work to maintain the story's intriguing elements, including the still largely overlooked emotional aspect to the plot.
Most attempts at humor are also ineffective, and combined with a soundtrack consisting of very current, very out-of-place hits, there's certainly an ill-advised focus on capturing the zeitgeist.
Still, thanks to a very intriguing story that largely encapsulates the Goosebumps spirit, I would recommend this season to fans of the franchise.
