‘Goosebumps’ the most fun you’ll have in a theater this year

Goosebumps is the most fun I’ve had in a theater all year.

Jack Black plays real life kid’s horror writer R.L. Stine. He and teen daughter Hannah live in seclusion in an old white house. Zach and his mom are their new neighbor. For Hannah and Zach, it’s like at first sight. Black, looking a lot like Truman Capote, plays R.L. Stine as an overprotective dad and discourages contact.

One night, Zach hears violent noises from Stine’s house and calls the police. Stine denies anything is wrong. The police believe him. Zach does not and calls his new friend Champ, and they break into the house to rescue Hannah. The rescue causes the inadvertent release of all of Stine’s monster creations who are alive and kept under control in his original manuscripts.

Led by Stine’s most popular character, Slappy the Dummy, chaos ensues in Gremlin’s-like fashion as the creatures creatively trash the town and give chase to Stine, Zach, Hannah and Champ.

This film is a great “kids” movie that is a blast from opening note to the closing credits. Writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who penned Big Eyes, Man on the Moon, Ed Wood and a couple of other classics, pack the movie with funny lines that will have adults howling. Director Rob Letterman (Monsters Vs. Aliens) keeps kids glued to their seats with plenty of action, mayhem and slapstick.

Enjoy.

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘Goosebumps’ the most fun you’ll have in a theater this year."