Goosebumps
dir. Rob Letterman · 2015
Zach Cooper discovers that his neighbor Hannah's father, R.L. Stine, is the author of the beloved "Goosebumps" series, and that the monsters he created are very much real. When these creatures escape their pages, Zach and his friends must confront their fears and work together to restore order. Watching this film feels like a nostalgic romp through childhood fears and fantasies, where humor and adventure intertwine in a vibrant, chaotic world.
After moving to a new small town, teenage Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) meets the beautiful girl next door, Hannah (Odeya Rush). But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach's comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling "Goosebumps" series. There is a reason why Stine is so strange: he is a prisoner of his own imagination, the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town. It's up to Stine, Zach, Hannah, and Zach's friend Champ (Ryan Lee) to put all the monsters back in their books.
Talking points
- the role of fear in childhood
- the impact of storytelling on reality
- the balance between imagination and responsibility
