Goosebumps is a 2015 American fantasy computer-animated live-action horror comedy film directed by Rob Letterman, based on the best-selling children's book series of the same name by author, R.L. Stine. The film stars Jack Black as R.L. Stine, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Amy Ryan, Halston Sage, and Jillian Bell. The film was released in theaters on October 16, 2015 by Columbia Pictures. The film received mostly positive reviews by critics, and was a success at the box office. The digital version was released in the United States on January 12, 2016, while the Blu-Ray, 3D Blu-Ray, and DVD was released on January 26, 2016.
Synopsis[]
After moving into a small town of Madison, Delaware, a teenage boy named Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) meets Hannah (Odeya Rush), his new neighbor. Hannah's father, R.L. Stine (Jack Black), author of the Goosebumps novels, keeps all the ghosts and monsters in the series locked up in his books. When Zach unintentionally releases the ghouls and the monsters from their manuscripts, Zach, Hannah, and Stine team up in order to put the monsters back where they came from, before it's too late.
Plot[]
Teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) and his mother Gale (Amy Ryan) move from New York to the small town of Madison, Delaware. His new neighbor is a girl named Hannah (Odeya Rush). They introduces themselves to each other, then her father, Mr. Shivers (Jack Black) tells Zach to stay away from them. That night, he watches a video of him and his dad playing baseball, Zach's dad died last year.
The next day, Gale starts her new job as the vice-principal at the high school, Zach is a student there himself. The day skips to an end of school assembly, where Gale tells everyone about tomorrow's fall dance. A boy named Champ (Ryan Lee) sits next to Zach and befriends him, giving him his contact information so he can give him a call if he wants to go to the dance with him as part of their plan to get dates.
That night, Zach takes out the garbage, then Hannah says hi. They go to an abandoned amusement park, and climb to the top of the Ferris wheel. They talk to each other for a while, and Zach is happy that he found a friend, and he may like Hannah more than a friend. When they arrived home, Shivers warns Zach again to stay away from them.
On the very next night while Zach is doing his math homework, he sees Hannah and Shivers arguing in the window, followed by Hannah screaming. He rushes over to make sure she's okay, but Shivers tells Zach that there was no scream. Zach calls the police and Officer Stevens (Timothy Simons) and Brooks (Amanda Lund) arrive at Shivers' door. He explains that Hannah went back home with her mom in London, and the scream was from a horror movie that he was watching on his HDTV which has surround sound. Officer Stevens and Officer Brooks end up telling Zach the penalty for filing a false police report. When Officer Brooks quotes "three years," Officer Stevens quotes "Yeah, close. It... actually, it's a written warning." When Gale leaves to chaperon the dance, she asks her sister Lorraine (Jillian Bell) to watch Zach, after being grounded for calling the police on Shivers.
Later, Zach sees Shivers talking to Hannah in the window, knowing that he was right after all. He tells Lorraine not to go in his room because he has a test to study for. This is a cover-up as he is actually going to sneak in Shivers' house and save Hannah. He calls him pretending to be a cop and asks him to come to the station for further questioning. Zach meets up with Champ, after calling him and making him believe they were actually going to the school dance tonight when actually he needs his help, who goes with him in Shivers' house. When they make it to the office upstairs, they see a bookshelf full of manuscripts, each one is titled a different book in the Goosebumps book series. Champ grabs the one titled, The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, and wonders why this one, and all the others, have locks on them and questions if there is some sort of key that unlocks them. Zach finds the key near by on the desk and unlocks it to prove a point. When Hannah comes in the room, wondering why they're there, Zach explains the situation, and grabs the book by the cover, having dropped it when she was try to attack them, mistaking them as Buglers, accidentally letting the book open. The real Abominable Snowman pops out of the pages, then smashes through the walls of the room, leaves the house, and escape into town, knocking the other manuscripts to the ground, the one titled, Night of the Living Dummy is unlocked as well.
Zach, Hannah, and Champ follow the Abominable Snowman to a local ice rink, where it attacks them. Luckily, Shivers sucks it back into its book. On the way home, Zach finally realizes that Shivers is actually R.L Stine, the author of Goosebumps. Once back at home, Stine tells Hannah to start packing, but Hannah doesn't want to move since she's grown attached to Zach. Zach comes back in, with Champ, asking Stine for an explanation on what's going on. So Stine explains to the kids what's going on. He says that when he was a kid, he had suffered from terrible allergies that kept him indoors. The other kids would make fun of him, so he created his own friends, monsters, demons, and ghouls that he imagined would terrorize all the neighborhood kids that made fun of him. But then one day, They all became real and unstable, so Stine wrote the Goosebumps series to lock them up inside their own Manuscripts from where they came from and made harmless copies to sell around the world, making him a famous author. While picking up the books, Stine realizes that one is missing. Sitting in the chair is Slappy the Dummy (voiced by Black) from Night of the Living Dummy, who was angry about being imprisoned. He burns his manuscript, and flees the house with the others. He opens the book The Haunted Car that releases the titular car and then releases the Lawn Gnomes from Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes. Zach, Hannah, R.L. Stine, and Champ battle them, but the gnomes come back together, the Group realizing that the monsters can't be destroyed, so they escape from the gnomes by going through the basement, that Zach had earlier picked the locks on the door so he and Champ could break into the house, and escape to the outside and began to search for Slappy after seeing more burnt manuscripts.
Slappy begins rampaging through Madison with The Haunted Car and opens You're Plant Food! releasing E. Ville Creeper's Plants which destroys the telephone towers. Then he opens six more books and throws them in different locations around town. The Body Squeezers from Invasion of the Body Squeezers: Part 1 and Part 2 freeze Officer Stevens, Officer Brooks, and the entire Madison Police Department where they accompany Slappy into the building. Fifi the Vampire Poodle from Please Don't Feed the Vampire! attacks Lorraine. While looking for Slappy and seeing that everyone in town has been frozen by The Body Squeezers, Zach tells Stine that maybe they could capture all the monsters if Stine wrote one story. Stine says he can only do it with his special typewriter, which is at the high school on display. While driving to the school, they get attacked by Brent Green (also voiced by Black), the Invisible Boy from My Best Friend Is Invisible, and then The Giant Praying Mantis from A Shocker on Shock Street. Will Blake's werewolf form from The Werewolf of Fever Swamp follows and chases them through the grocery store. Luckily, Lorraine hits the werewolf with her car where she's covered in poodle fur after escaping from Fifi. Zach tells her to get help. Lorraine goes to the police station to tell the cops to go to the school to help Stine and Company, where she gets frozen by the Body Squeezers after Slappy finds out, having been there the whole time listening.
R.L. Stine, Zach, Hannah, and Champ cut through a cemetery, where Hannah gets caught on a statue and Zach sets her free. They were about to kiss when Zach sees Hannah glowing ghostly blue in the moonlight, revealing her to be a ghost. Before he questions Hannah, the four get chased by the Graveyard Ghouls from Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls. They barely escape and make it to the high school. Once alone without Hannah around, Zach privately questions Stine about this and he tells Zach that Hannah is not real, but a Goosebumps character created because he was so lonely, and thought having a daughter would make him happier, most likely Hannah from The Ghost Next Door. Hannah comes along to tell them that She and Champ found the typewriter. Stine grabs the typewriter and goes to the auditorium to start writing the story, while Zach, Hannah, and Champ warn everyone.
Zach warns the students, the School Staff, and his Mom about the monsters. At first, they don't believe him. Someone jokes about how monsters are taking over, everyone laughs, and then the person says a giant praying mantis is coming and they finally do believe Zach when the Giant Praying Mantis takes the student close to the window. Zach tells the Whole School to calm down since he is in charge of helping protect the students and tells them that they have to barricade the doors to protect the school and not let the monsters come inside while R.L. Stine finishes writing the new story to capture all the Monsters. Outside on the football field, Slappy and the Lawn Gnomes release almost every monster in the "Goosebumps" series including Murder the Clown, Carly Beth Caldwell's Haunted Mask form, the Bog Monster, the Scarecrows, the Creeps, the Mummy of Prince Kho-Ru, Nila Rahmad, Madame Doom, The Pumpkin Head, and many more. They all have a bonfire of the burning books while Slappy tells them that the only way they'll be free forever, is if they kill R.L. Stine and charge an attack towards the School.
The principal speaks over the intercom for all students to get to safety. In the library, Zach battles the Bees from Why I'm Afraid of Bees and the rest of the monsters get in the school with the help of the Annihilator 3000s from Toy Terror: Batteries Included. In the hallway Taylor (Halston Sage) and Davidson (Steven Kruger) are attacked by the werewolf. Davidson abandons her, but then Champ saves Taylor from the werewolf by biting it with his silver teeth fillings. Taylor repays Champ by hugging and kissing him and becoming his new girlfriend, but the Plants and the Giant Praying Mantis are still attacking the school.
After realizing that there is just too many of the Monsters attacking at once and they are out numbered, Zach and Hannah go to the auditorium to try to find and warn R.L. Stine that the monsters are in the school. In the auditorium, Slappy finds and breaks Stine's fingers, by slamming the typewriter's case shut on his fingers preventing Stine from finishing the story as Zach and Hannah arrive to help save Stine from Slappy and as the students run from the monsters having finally entered the school. Hearing an Announcement, from the principal, that the monsters have Invaded the school, Zach, Hannah, and R.L. Stine make a break for the Gym, with the rest of the School, when they are attacked by E. Ville Creeper's Plants. After beating the Plants and making it retreat back to the outside, The Moon comes by and Hannah starts glowing again, but With Champ and Taylor to witness it. Champ asks Zach about that, saying that he already knows.
Zach, Hannah, R.L. Stine, and Champ leave Madison High on a school bus, and the monsters then start following them, after Stine realizes that Slappy and the Monsters are only after him, luring them away from the school, and now the students and staff are safe. The mantis knocks the bus over, and the Werewolf and the Abominable Snowman open the door, but Stine isn't driving, it's a tackle dummy which is triggered to a bomb causing the Monsters, but Slappy and The Haunted Car, to blow up to buy Stine and the Gang time to write the story.
Stine and the kids were actually on a different bus and They go to the abandoned amusement park, and Stine tells Zach what to write because the Story has to be Fully Complete in order to work, but then Slappy finds them since the werewolf tracked their scent, and Slappy opens the book titled The Blob That Ate Everyone. Once the Blob came to life, it devoured the fun house, where they were hiding and Stine tells the kids to climb to the top of the Abandoned Ferris Wheel and finish the story while he distracts the monsters. The Blob swallows Stine, but he's still alive as Slappy watches and begins tormenting Stine, saying that being trapped in the blob is like being locked inside Stine's manuscripts, then Slappy notices that Stine doesn't have the manuscript that's going to defeat them, and sees that Zach has it, Slappy then sends the monster army after them. Zach, Hannah, and Champ, having climb the Ferris Wheel, avoiding the monster army below. Zach finished the story and put the final page of it in a leather bound manuscript. The mantis chews the bolts, causing the wheel to roll down the hill and crash, luckily, they survive. As Zach, who is about to open the book, he realized that if he did, all the Monsters, Including Hannah will be sucked in too. Hannah then tells Zach that she knew she wasn't real after all and she opens the book herself. All of the monsters are then sucked back to the book one by one. When the Blob gets sucked in the book, it spits R.L. Stine out. Slappy then begins to strangle Stine only for him to kick Slappy into the vortex. Slappy vanishes saying "See you in your dreams!". As Zach holds onto Hannah, she accepts her fate. Zach and Hannah kiss goodbye, then she lets go of him. Hannah was sucked in the book as well, and Champ closes the book.
Sometime later, Madison High School is seen being repaired and reopens. Stine gets a new job as the new English teacher, as well as him now dating Lorraine. Zach and Champ have Stine's class the last period of the day and he gives them his first lesson about how Every story ever told, including Goosebumps, can be broken down into 3 very notable parts: The Beginning, The Middle, and Finally, The Twist. After class, Zach walks with Stine in the hallway. The School's New drama teacher Mr. Black (portrayed by the REAL R.L. Stine) says hi to Stine and he says hi back. Zach asks Stine if he misses Hannah. Then Hannah appears in the hallway. Stine told Zach that he wrote her back into existence with another book. He then sets her book on fire and puts it in the trash so Hannah doesn't have to go back in it. Zach and Hannah kiss and leave school holding hands. Stine just stares at them and smiles. A few minutes later, Stine grabs his suitcase and is about to leave school himself, but then he suddenly sees the typewriter typing by itself, writing "The Invisible Boy's Revenge". It turned out that Brent Green had evaded capture as he quotes "You forgot about me!". Brent's hand print appears on the cabinet glass while Brent maniacally laughs as Stine screams in horror.
Cast[]
- Jack Black as R.L. Stine
- Jack Black as the voices of Slappy the Dummy and Brent Green
- Dylan Minnette as Zach Cooper
- Odeya Rush as Hannah Stine
- Avery Jones as Slappy the Dummy (puppeteer and voices him in the, "All About Slappy" special feature)
- Amy Ryan as Gale Cooper
- Ryan Lee as Champ
- Ken Marino as Coach Carr
- Jillian Bell as Lorraine Conyers
- Halston Sage as Taylor
- Steven Krueger as Davidson
- Timothy Simons as Officer Stevens
- Amanda Lund as Officer Brooks
- R.L. Stine as Mr. Black (credited as Hallway Player)
- Nate Andrade as Bog Monster (credited as Monster #1)
- Melissa Brewer as Clarissa (credited as Monster #2)
- Sheldon Brown as the Muglani (credited as Monster #3)
- Marshall Choka as Murder the Clown (credited as Monster #4)
- Melissa Cowan as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #5)
- John Deifer as Professor Shock (credited as Monster #6)
- Everett Dixon as Body Squeezer (credited as Monster #7)
- Brian Gabriel as Mummy of Prince Khor-Ru (credited as Monster #8)
- Kevin Galbraith as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #9)
- Maryann Gorka as Countess Yvonne (credited as Monster #10)
- Clare Halstead as Carly Beth Caldwell wearing the Haunted Mask (credited as Monster #11)
- Devin Hampton as Body Squeezer (credited as Monster #12)
- Rory Healy as Count Nightwing (credited as Monster #13)
- Vivian Kyle as Snake Lady (credited as Monster #14)
- Drew Lamkins as The Lord High Executioner (credited as Monster #15)
- Charlie Leach as Body Squeezer (credited as Monster #16)
- Katie Lumpkin as Brenda's Creep Form (credited as Monster #17)
- Larry Mainland as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #18)
- Lucky Mangione as Ricky Beamer's Creep Form (credited as Monster #19)
- Justin Natic as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #20)
- Josh Phillips as Cronby (credited as Monster #21)
- Mickie Pollock as Madame Doom (credited as Monster #22)
- Steve Quinn as Captain Long Ben One-Leg (credited as Monster #23)
- Ashley Jo Sizemore as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #24)
- Jeff Tenney as Body Squeezer (credited as Monster #25)
- Jennifer Trudrung as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #26)
- Ashton Lee Wolden as Wart's Creep Form (credited as Monster #27)
- Coleman Youmans as Graveyard Ghoul (credited as Monster #28)
- John Bernecker as Will Blake (uncredited)
- John Herndon as Scarecrow (uncredited)
- Kumail Nanjiani as Mover #1 (alternate opening)
- Luka Jones as Mover #2 (alternate opening)
- Ella Wahlestedt as Anna (alternate ending)
- E. Roger Mitchell as Mayor of Madison (uncredited)
- Benjamin Papac as Seth (uncredited)
- Nick Stanner as a Pumpkin Head (uncredited)
Crew[]
- Music by Danny Elfman
- Costume designer: Judianna Makovsky
- Editor: Jim May
- Production Designer: Sean Haworth
- Director of Photography: Javier Aguirresarobe
- Executive Producers: Tania Landau, Bill Bannerman, Ben Waisbren, Bruce Berman, Greg Basser
- Based on the Goosebumps book series written by R.L. Stine
- Story by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
- Screenplay by Darren Lemke
- Produced by Deborah Forte, Neal H. Moritz
- Directed by Rob Letterman
Monsters and Villains[]
The following monsters and villains appear in this film:
- Slappy the Dummy from the Night of the Living Dummy Saga
- Hannah Fairchild from The Ghost Next Door
- The Cuckoo Clock from The Cuckoo Clock of Doom (seen as a decoration in Stine's basement)
- The Abominable Snowman from The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
- The Haunted Car from the book of the same name
- The Lawn Gnomes from Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes and Planet of the Lawn Gnomes.
- E. Ville Creeper's Plants from You're Plant Food! (referred to as the "Man Eating Plants")
- The Body Squeezers from Invasion of the Body Squeezers: Part 1 and Part 2, and Revenge of the Body Squeezers (referred to as the Bug-Eyed Aliens in the movie)
- Fifi the Vampire Poodle and Countess Yvonne (referred to as The "Vampire Bride") from Please Don't Feed the Vampire!
- Brent Green from My Best Friend Is Invisible (referred to as the "Invisible Boy" in the movie)
- A Giant Praying Mantis from A Shocker on Shock Street
- Will Blake in his Werewolf form from The Werewolf of Fever Swamp (Referred to as his book title in the movie)
- The Graveyard Ghouls from Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls (Referred to simply as, "Ghouls" in the film, however, they are referred to as, "Graveyard Ghouls" in Night of Scares and the Movie Books)
- The Creeps (Ricky Beamer, Wart, and Brenda) from Calling All Creeps!
- Carly Beth wearing the Haunted Mask from The Haunted Mask, The Scream of the Haunted Mask, and Goosebumps Wanted: The Haunted Mask.
- The Scarecrows from The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight
- Madame Doom from Revenge of the Living Dummy Help! We Have Strange Powers! and Weirdo Halloween
- Professor Shock from The Creepy Creations of Professor Shock
- A Pumpkin Head from Attack of the Jack-O'-Lanterns
- The Annihilator 3000s from Toy Terror: Batteries Included
- The Lord High Executioner from A Night in Terror Tower and Return to Terror Tower (referred to as The Executioner)
- The Mummy of Prince Khor-Ru (referred to as "The Mummy") and Nila Rahmad from Return of the Mummy
- Mummies from The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
- Murder the Clown from A Nightmare on Clown Street
- A Muglani Witch Doctor and Cronby the Troll from Deep in the Jungle of Doom
- The Shrunken Head from How I Got My Shrunken Head (two of them appeared on the Muglani's staff)
- The Swamp Monster from How to Kill a Monster (referred to as the Bog Monster in the movie and accidentally identified as a Mud Monster from You Can't Scare Me! in the Goosebumps Activity book Slappy's Revenge and the Monster Survival Guide)
- The Bees from Why I'm Afraid of Bees
- Captain Long Ben One-Leg from Creep from the Deep
- Clarissa (referred to as "The Witch") from Be Careful What You Wish For...
- Count Nightwing (referred to as "The Vampire") from Vampire Breath
- The Snake Lady from Escape from the Carnival of Horrors
- The Blob from The Blob That Ate Everyone (Referred to as the name of it's book)
