R.L. Stine – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I would accept this one as part of the vampire team.

Vampire Bat: There can never be a pumpkinhead vampire.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein had once created a creature out of a pumpkin.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein can create only be a creature and can create none.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein can only be a creature of supreme intelligence.

Vampire Bat: Do not transform him into an alien now.

Vampire Owl: He is not of this realm, and therefore he is an alien, the smartest among them.

Vampire Bat: He is not worthy enough for any designation.

Vampire Owl: You are talking about the greatest scientist of twelve realms.

Vampire Bat: He is the one pseudo-scientist that I would avoid.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of kadak tea].

What is the movie about? :: A thirteen-year-old boy named Sam (Bean Reid) who was forced to leave his friends and relocate from New York City to a small village with a seemingly perfect and peaceful farming community called Redhaven with his family. The story of the village points to Palmer (Kevin McNulty), who is known as a generous, friendly old farmer who is the descendant of those agriculturists who saved the town by creating agricultural success out of nowhere at a time when everything was failing in the land and crops were dying. The people of the village have been spreading the word that it was achieved through hard work and advanced farming techniques and the villagers celebrate the same through a harvest festival. During this festival, Redhaven’s unmatched prosperity in compared to the area around them continues to be celebrated as the award-winning crops which are sold in bulk and at high prices throughout the neighbouring villages are remembered in Palmer’s lands. But Palmer keeps people away from his farmhouse, which he keeps away from the village folk, but everyone surrounds the area around the farm where he has kept the celebrations alive.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Angry about his move to the strange place which seems to have nothing for him, and chased away from the farmhouse by Palmer while looking at a strange pumpkin, Sam decides to steal a massive pumpkin from the farmer’s restricted area just to make the man feel bad about it. The police begin to start searching about the same as a case was registered, and the farmer who was held at high regard by the village gets all the condolences. Sam’s elder brother Finn (Seth Isaac Johnson) finds out about the same, and with hope for the best about the family’s relationship with the village where they have to spend rest of their lives decides to return in back at that night itself, even though Sam remains unhappy about the people of the village and its lack of facilities compared to every place he had stayed before. But Finn who reaches the farmhouse is attacked by some unknown force, and some vines which capture him, take him right into the sand.

And what more is to follow here as things seem to show tendency to get further complicated? :: The next morning, as he cannot find his elder brother anywhere, Sam keeps searching for Finn, but is not able to find him. As he keeps searching for him, he remembers that he was going to Palmer’s house to return the pumpkin, and with his only friend from the area which he had just found, Becka (Adeline Lo), he goes on searching, only to be thrown out of the farmhouse by Palmer. As he tells his mother Cassie (Kendra Anderson) about his elder brother going missing, but he discovers that she does not remember Finn and according to her, such a person never really existed in their memory even as an acquaintance. He brings photos of them together, but she does not see her elder son and asserts than Sam is her only child and they came to the village as a group of two in their car. Becka tells him that children have gone missing from the village before, and none of the adults seem to remember them. She tells him not to waste time with adults of the village anymore, and only an outcast named Rusty (Matty Finochio) might be able to save them. At the same time, the scarecrow in the field seems to look at them. Can they find the secret behind the missing children soon enough or will more of them go missing?

The defence of R L Stine’s Pumpkinhead :: The movie’s biggest point is the scarecrow monster itself, which brings effective scares. The creature’s unnatural and unsettling movements create genuinely unsettling visual scares, and rises a long way above CGI using an actor. The idea of children being erased from the memory and even proof of their existence disappearing makes a scary point here further away from the usual horror. Despite the scares, this one remains a horror which stays within its borders, making it watchable for everyone, and still does enough justice to the genre. The presence of ancient evil makes sure that a high level of danger is always there to unleash chaos into unsuspecting people. The kids do a great job, and the pairing of the leading children works effectively, and the final villain reveal also blends in well. The visuals are nothing less than stunning, as the autumn imagery and the small-town harvest festivals with pumpkins, all with that orange shades provide a stunning look here, and in this case, even the night view has a certain charm as much as the horror that stays. The climax twist feels classic and should inspire a sequel.

The claws of flaw :: This is that kind of a movie which we had not heard about until it was released on Amazon Prime Video, and when something goes unnoticed by the horror enthusiasts, that feels strange. Some of the acting in the beginning does feel like a struggle, especially with the first few moments never really bringing much of an interest. The weak beginning might decrease the number of people who watch movie to its more interesting parts. The main character if written better, would have helped the process in those early stages, and the protagonist being a little more likeable would have surely served the purpose better. The people who look for strong and extremely terrifying moments will be disappointed, as the movie never really goes for something huge. One would also feel if something other than the scarecrow and some vines within a farmhouse could have been added to extend the strength of horror, as the idea of an ancient evil rooted on Earth and nature would have endless possibilities. The supporting characters are not given enough according to the situation either, and our hope to see the pure evil unleashing itself is lost.

How it finishes :: R L Stine’s Pumpkinhead stays different from other horror movies as a work on screen which can be watched by the whole family, never really taking it to the next level – it can be a good thing of something bad, as it limits the movie, but keeps it accessible to everyone. The scares are still effective enough, and staying within a drawn line of control, it can still call for all kinds of audience. Its power as a highly effective, atmospheric gateway horror movie cannot be questioned at all. It balances the spooky nostalgia of 90s horror with modern style, making it a perfect entry point for younger audiences who are looking for horror entry while remaining entertaining enough also for those usual horror fans. It can also be said that the horror here is not just physical, but psychological as the memory of a loved one disappearing also adds on here. The feeling is more or less like folk-horror as centuries-old ancient horror comes out of nowhere with unsuspecting people playing along with the evil plans. Now we will see what can come in this franchise if there is a sequel – there should be more evil to unleash here.

Release date: 17th October 2025
Running time: 90 minutes
Directed by: Jem Garrard
Starring: Bean Reid, Seth Isaac Johnson, Adeline Lo, Kevin McNulty, Bob Frazer, Matty Finochio, Troy James

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: Movie adaptation of children’s horror fiction? What is this? We are the ones who are supposed to scare the children, not some random novels.

Vampire Bat: Not everywhere. There are regional people of darkness who have acquired the opportunity; for example, the rights for the same in Kerala were bought by Sir Kokachi.

Vampire Owl: But I wish to scare kids! I really want to really frighten them! It is my special skill!

Vampire Bat: Well, with Hotel Transylvania’s second part around, may be we will have to retire after all. I hope that this movie can support our cause.

[Gets the tickets with some cheese popcorn].

✠ This was recently posted by me at Kiagia.com: http://www.kiagia.com/index.php/current-film-releases-movie/1146-goosebumps-movie-review

Goosebumps is the name for a series of children’s horror fiction works written by Robert Lawrence Stine in the 1990s in the US. Among many such works from the American author, this particular series happened to be the most popular. There were also various spin-off series which emerged out of these works. These stories had the characteristic of being funny along with being scary. A television series was also brought to the fans based on the stories. Even though an attempt was made to create a movie on Goosebumps in the year 1998, it didn’t happen. After many speculations by the fans, on 16th of October 2015, the idea was finally brought to the audience in the form of a movie.

Zachary Cooper (Dylan Minnette) has moved from New York to the small fictional town of Madison with his mother Gale Cooper (Amy Ryan). As he begins his schooling there, his mother joins as the vice-principal at the same educational institution. The new place seems to be calm and quiet, and almost everything seems normal except for their neighbours. Even though Zachary quickly becomes close to the friendly neighborhood girl Hannah (Odeya Rush), her father (Jack Black) doesn’t approve of it, and he doesn’t even like anyone else coming near his house. As he tries to keep everyone away, Zachary only wishes to somehow get closer to the neighbours.

Zachary feels that Hannah is being mistreated by her father, and he calls the police. But that doesn’t go on as planned, with the police officers ending up warning him instead. But another day, he breaks into the house with his newly found friend from school, Champion (Ryan Lee) hoping to find her. In there, they find the girl, but it turns out that she and her father are not just normal people like everyone in the town. There is a mystery hidden in the bookshelves and they will end up unlocking them; it surely won’t do the town any good. A new adventure begins with an abominable snowman and a dummy as they unleash something which they can’t seem to stop.

The movie is sure to provide a good dose of nostalgia to those who have grown up reading the books and watching the television series. The impact will still depend on how people consider the way in which this movie shows the creatures related to their childhood memories. The creatures are all good, the most notable ones being Slappy the Dummy, the abominable snowman, the werewolf and the giant praying mantis. The others including the walking dead, vampire bats, ghost-like creatures, vampire-like monsters, the invisible boy, a circus clown and a number of humanoid creatures – all make a nice combination as they come to life from the books. There is a huge group of them, and fans will surely recognize them better.

Goosebumps is never even close to being scary, and the audience needs to keep that in mind. But it is fun, and the monsters are nice to watch on the big screen in 3D. As a horror comedy, this will prove to a fine watch for family audience. The comedy is good, and there are some memorable funny moments in this one, even though viewers might still ask for more. There is nothing new in the story either, and the movie doesn’t even bring a special sub-plot here. As most of the viewers might have guessed a lot earlier, monsters are all from books written by the author of the original series of books, and these main characters need to team up to get them back into the book before the whole town is ruined and everyone around ends up dead.

Jack Black effortlessly carries this movie as the main character and the only person who is in any manner related to these monsters, and holds the key to getting them back into the books. The audience will find that he blends easily into his character as expected. Dylan Minnette has done good work here in the role which can be categorized into that of the male lead. Ryan Lee has his moments completely on the funny side. Odeya Rush does her job really well, and some might find her somewhat a younger version of Mila Kunis at times. Amy Ryan and Jillian Bell manage to contribute well with the next two significant roles. R.L. Stine, the author of the works, also makes a very small cameo appearance as the movie gets near the end.

Even though people should find Goosebumps very much enjoyable, it does remind us of so many movies from the past. Inkheart had the characters from a book coming to life, while The Cabin in the Woods was a movie which had all the popular horror characters coming together as part of a huge, secret plan. Jumanji had the dangers of the board game coming to life to haunt the players, and Zathura dealt with a similar premise. So, the audience won’t find anything new in these creatures coming to life. But they will surely find Goosebumps to be a nice and interesting because of the way in which it is presented, with nostalgia also having a role to play for a few fans.

Release date: 30th October 2015 (India); 16th October 2015 (USA)
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Rob Letterman
Starring: Jack Black, Odeya Rush, Dylan Minnette, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell, Halston Sage, Ken Marino, Steven Krueger, E. Roger Mitchell, Timothy Simons, Amanda Lund, Keith Arthur Bolden, Benjamin Papac, R.L. Stine