By Logan Wofford
Since the 90’s the Goosebumps series of anthology-type horror books by author R.L. Stine have been vastly popular with kids looking for a scare. Many here at El Diamante, including myself, grew up with these books and the original TV show, loving their combination of humor and scares. Just this past Friday the 13th, “Disney +” and “Hulu” released five of ten episodes of a new Goosebumps show that aims to take a different approach to the books than the original. Rather than following a different story based on a different book every episode this show tells one concise story, with each episode containing a different Goosebumps object. So, how does this show hold up on its own, especially when compared to the original?
This time in the world of Goosebumps we follow five different teenagers experiencing spooky happenings after a party at an old haunted house known as the Biddle House. In the very first scene of the show we see Biddle, the kid who once lived in the house, being burnt to death. While Biddle may have once been physically alive, his ghost remains in the house and proceeds to possess the new home owner of the Biddle House. In the first five episodes Biddle’s objective is unknown and it just seems like he’s scaring for fun, but at the end of the fifth episode it turns out there’s more to the tale than meets the eye.
As said before, the show follows five teens in a small town. Each of the first five episodes serve to bring the characters together as each character gets targeted by a different original Goosebumps object. We first meet Isaiah (Zack Morris), the kindhearted Jock of the group and his best friend James (Miles McKenna). There’s also the stereo typically nerdy character Margot (Isa Brionnes) who is neighbors and close friends with Isaiah. In the beginning we’re also partially shown the character of Lucas (Will Price) a daredevil who doesn’t care how much he damages himself doing stunts. Lastly, we meet Isabella (Anya Yi Puig) a loner who believes that nobody cares for her. At first these characters can feel annoying and even a bit cheesy at times. For example, when Isaiah asks Margot for help because of the ghost camera, (I’ll get into more detail later), but Margot just blows up in Isaiah’s face that he only cares about himself which is obviously not true. Thankfully the characters get better by the third episode and become much more likable. There’s also the lead antagonist Biddle (Ben Cockwell) who possesses the new teacher in town Mr. Bratt (Justin Long). The two together are quite fun and goofy, but sadly not seen very often in the show just yet; however, every scene with them will definitely either make you cringe (in a fun way) or laugh.
Now how does any of this have to do with Goosebumps? The Goosebumps aspect of the show comes episode to episode with what’s haunting the cast. In the first episode before the party at the Biddle House, Isaiah finds a camera and snaps a couple of photos of his friends. Many who’ve read the Goosebumps books will immediately recognize this camera as the one that appears in “Say Cheese and Die,” one of the early Goosebumps books. Much like the camera in that story , this camera takes pictures of the future. After seeing these future photos, and subsequently seeing the events they foretold, Isaiah attempts to tell anyone he can. The use of the Camera from “Say Cheese and Die” is clever in the story of the show as Isaiah attempts to break destiny when he gets a picture of himself with a broken arm. Sadly; however, I feel that the camera is a bit underplayed from the original story and overall feels less impactful–like really all the camera can do is prophesize you breaking your arm? The original could make a person disappear forever.
A better use of a Goosebumps item in the show is the worms from “Go Eat Worms” which actually terrified me in a minimally scary show. In one scene thousands of worms crawl into Lucas’ nose and mouth while he’s sleeping. If there was anything I wasn’t expecting from this show it was genuinely horrifying body horror. The other Goosebumps items in the first half of the show include the infamous “Haunted Mask”, and the wacky “Cuckoo Clock of Doom” both of which are pulled off pretty well, but no Haunted Mask will beat the original one from the original show. Also, the score in the show is the standard affair horror type, and sadly there is no original Goosebumps theme.
The new Goosebumps show is a fun “teens fight some unstoppable force in a small town” type show like Stranger Things. It might not have as good of characters or scares as Stranger Things, but I believe that so far it stands on its own as a good watch and even a fun binge for Halloween. If you love the Goosebumps books or show you’ll find a pleasant time in this show. As per usual with “Disney + ” shows, every Friday one new episode will be released with the full show coming out November 17th. So, with all that being said: “Viewers beware, you’re in for a scare.”