Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (also known as Goosebumps 2 and marketed as such on home release) is a 2018 American horror comedy film directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber, from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke. A sequel to 2015's Goosebumps, it is based on the children's horror book series of the same name by R. L. Stine and stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris, Chris Parnell and Ken Jeong, with Jack Black reprising his role as Stine from the first film.

The plot follows two young boys accidentally releasing monsters, demons and creatures from the Goosebumps franchise in their town after opening an unpublished Goosebumps manuscript titled Haunted Halloween, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night. Unlike the previous installment, Village Roadshow Pictures was not involved with the film.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was released in the United States on October 12, 2018 by Sony Pictures Releasing, under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed over $92 million worldwide against its $35 million budget.

Plot
Teenager Sarah Quinn (Madison Iseman) lives with her mother Kathy (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and younger brother Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) in Wardenclyffe, New York. Sarah is attempting to get into Columbia University by writing an essay about fear. Kathy agrees to watch Sonny’s friend Sam Carter (Caleel Harris) while his father goes out of town.

Sonny and Sam are attempting to start a garbage cleanup business, and are called after school to clean up an abandoned house. Inside, they find a locked manuscript and open it, causing Slappy the Dummy to appear. They unknowingly bring him to life by speaking magic words found in his pocket. The book is later stolen by a bully named Tommy Madigan (Payton Wich).

At home, Sonny is working on his science project, a miniature version of Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower. Slappy then reveals he's alive to Sonny and Sam, and gets their trust by using his magic to do the boy's chores and homework. Meanwhile, Sarah goes to a party to meet her boyfriend Tyler (Bryce Cass), but sees him kissing another girl. Later she arrives home and complains about him to Sonny and Sam, which Slappy overhears. Slappy then proceeds to sabotage Sonny's project.

The following day on Halloween, as revenge for cheating on Sarah, Slappy uses his powers to attack Tyler, who claims Slappy did it. No one believes him, but Sarah discovers Slappy is missing from her locker. After Sonny accidentally blows up the science lab, Sarah arrives and questions two boys about Slappy. They explain how, hearing Sarah complain about Tyler last night, Slappy was probably trying to help before realizing what went wrong with Sonny’s science project, causing the group to realize that Slappy's evil. The kids capture Slappy and try to dispose of him, but he escapes. Later that night, they find an article online about the events that happened in Madison, Delaware and try to contact R. L. Stine (Jack Black) after realizing the book they found was an unpublished Goosebumps manuscript called Haunted Halloween. Stine, now living in a cabin in the woods, hears their message and departs for Wardenclyffe.

Slappy goes to a local drug store, and uses his magic to bring Halloween costumes and decorations to life. He also transforms an employee named Walter (Chris Parnell) into a hunchbacked ogre. He then travels to the Tesla tower, using it to channel his magic.

Sarah, Sonny and Sam retrieve the book from Tommy’s house while all the town’s Halloween decorations come to life. They soon discover that the book can trap the monsters inside. However, the book is stolen and Kathy is kidnapped by the monsters.

The kids’ neighbor Mr. Chu (Ken Jeong), a Goosebumps fan who is thrilled to be trapped in a living Goosebumps story, helps them craft monster disguises to safely navigate the town. The kids head for the Wardenclyffe tower while Stine arrives in town.

At the tower, the kids encounter Slappy and Walter and discover that Slappy has turned Kathy into a living dummy. Sonny and Sam overload the reactor while Sarah fights Slappy. She defeats Slappy by kicking him into the electrified coil atop the tower, which blasts him in the sky and opens the book, combining it with the reactor's energy to suck all the other monsters into the Haunted Halloween manuscript. Kathy and Walter return to normal. Stine arrives and congratulates the kids for defeating the monsters, as well as offering Sarah writing advice for her essay.

Sometime later, Kathy and Walter start dating, Sonny wins the science fair and Sarah gets an email saying she got into Columbia University. Back in Stine's cabin, he finishes a new book. Slappy appears, revealing to have survived and wrote a book of his own where Stine is the main character. He then opens the manuscript, sucking Stine inside.

Cast

 * Jeremy Ray Taylor as Sonny Quinn
 * Madison Iseman as Sarah Quinn, Sonny's sister.
 * Caleel Harris as Sam Carter, Sonny's best friend.
 * Wendi McLendon-Covey as Kathy Quinn, Sonny and Sarah's mother.
 * Chris Parnell as Walter, the manager of the local pharmacy, who has a crush on Kathy and is turned into a hunchbacked ogre by a Haunted Mask.
 * Ken Jeong as Mr. Chu, the Quinns' neighbor.
 * Jack Black as R.L. Stine, the writer of the Goosebumps books.
 * The real R .L. Stine appears as Principal Harrison, the principal of the school that Sonny and Sam attend.
 * Mick Wingert as the voice of Slappy the Dummy, a living ventriloquist dummy from the Night of the Living Dummy books. Jack Black previously voiced Slappy in the first film.
 * Avery Lee Jones provides the puppeteer work for Slappy.
 * Bryce Cass as Tyler, Sarah's boyfriend.
 * Peyton Wich as Tommy Madigan, a bully who picks on Sonny and Sam.
 * Kendrick Cross as Mr. Carter, Sam's father.
 * Shari Headley as Mrs. Carter, Sam's mother.
 * Courtney Lauren Cummings as Jess, a girl who Tyler cheats Sarah for.
 * Jessi Goei as Maya, Jess' friend.

Production
On September 2, 2015, it was reported that a sequel to the film Goosebumps was already in the planning stages, with Sony looking for a screenwriter. On January 17, 2017, a January 26, 2018 release date was set, and Rob Letterman confirmed that he was to return as director for the sequel. On February 6, 2017, it was announced that the film's release date had been delayed to September 21, 2018, taking the date previously held by Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. In May 2017, the title was said to be Goosebumps: HorrorLand. At the time, it was also reported that Jack Black would reprise his role as R. L. Stine.

In November 2017, Rob Lieber was tapped to pen the script. In December 2017, Ari Sandel was announced as a director instead of Letterman, due to the latter being busy directing Pokémon: Detective Pikachu for Legendary Entertainment. Variety reported that two scripts had been written: one script in which Black would reprise his role, while the other would work Black out entirely. In December 2017, the sequel's release date was pushed to October 12, 2018. The film was later renamed Goosebumps: Slappy’s Revenge, and its new leading cast members were set as Madison Iseman, Ben O'Brien, Caleel Harris and Jeremy Ray Taylor (O'Brien did not appear in the finished film). Ken Jeong, Chris Parnell and Wendi McLendon-Covey joined the following month. Filming began on March 7, and in April 2018 the title was renamed again, to Haunted Halloween.

It was initially stated by Sony representatives that Avery Lee Jones, who puppeteered Slappy in the film, would also voice the character. Jack Black returned for the film as Stine, and it was later reported that Mick Wingert would actually voice Slappy.

Release
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was released on October 12, 2018. The film's first trailer premiered on July 11, 2018, the international trailer on August 16, 2018, and a third trailer on September 20, 2018. A TV spot was released on September 24, 2018, which also confirmed that Jack Black would return for the film.

Box office
As of December 9, 2018, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween has grossed $46.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $45.8 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $92.5 million, against a production budget of $35 million.

In the United States and Canada, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween was released alongside First Man and Bad Times at the El Royale, and was projected to gross $15–21 million from 3,521 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $4.9 million on its first day, including $750,000 from Thursday night previews, up from $600,000 by the first film. It went on to debut to $15.8 million (down 33% from the first film's opening of $23.6 million), finishing fourth at the box office, behind Venom, A Star Is Born and First Man. The film dropped 38% in its second weekend, to $9.7 million, remaining in fourth.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 85 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween offers a handful of treats for very young viewers, but compared to the entertaining original, this sequel is a ding dong to ditch." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A" earned by the first film.