Goosebumps 2: A Haunted Halloween Review — Winston asks what more could you want than humor, wit and monsters?

Goosebumps 2: A Haunted Halloween has humor, wit, and monsters. What more could you ask? Even though it’s a lot like the first one, it’s even better.

The film is about two friends named Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris), who find a book that summons a magic ventriloquist’s doll, Slappy (voiced by Jack Black) into the world. Soon Slappy is bringing all kinds of monsters around. Sonny’s older sister, Sarah (Madison Iseman) has to help them make it right before it’s too late.

This sequel has a really similar plot to the original: Kids find a mysterious locked book by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine; monsters from Stine’s books, including Slappy, come to life. The real Stine makes a brief cameo, just like in the first one. The sequel even acknowledges that it’s kind of a rehash (the character Stine, also played by Black, says this has happened before). But Goosebumps 2 surpassed all of my very low expectations. It’s better than the first movie because it has a better script, better actors, and better visual effects.

It’s funnier because in the first one everything was obviously played for laughs. In this one, they had jokes that were perfectly timed. Ken Jeong was really funny because he made me think he was a nutty, yet nice, character. There are also a few jokes for adults, like when the boys advertise their junk-collection business by asking if people need their “junk grabbed.”

There are references to movies like It and it makes fun of Pig Latin. It’s also scarier than the first one because it has characters that you could root for more, like Sonny, because he’s so very smart, and Sarah, because she is trying to get into a great school. That’s something a lot of kids can relate to.

Rated PG

1Hour 30 Minutes

Goosebumps 2: A Haunted Halloween Review — Winston asks what more could you want than humor, wit and monsters?