Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

The second film inspired by RL Stine's children's books features a trio of teens fighting to save their town from a possessed ventriloquist's dummy, who is able to bring Halloween decorations to life. The first film was a surprise package, creating amusing and family-friendly horror spectacle. This follow-up attempts to repeat the feat through imitation, and produces diminishing results. Our heroes are less developed, and the 2015 original's focus on the love of reading is lost. What we get instead is more monsters, more quips, but little substance to make you care about any of it. Younger viewers will be happy, no doubt, provided they are able to handle the scarier moments and a creepy antagonist in Slappy the Dummy. Jack Black makes a brief return as RL Stine, an appearance that underlines the film's half-baked tone. Listless and unimaginative, Haunted Halloween is a classic "same again" sequel that does nothing to build on its enjoyable predecessor.