Home Show Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween

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For 431 of these things, welcome.
My name is the executive, I make sure I should tell you my name, my name is Rob, I am the
executive producer of the clubhouse podcast and I like fall but I'm not a big Halloween
guy.
I mean it's been very well documented, I live by a code, I have a policy, but I'm not alone
for this particular episode.
Joining me in the co-host chair for this particular episode is the newest member of the cast
and a man who gets goose bumps every time his lady walks in the room.
He is Alex.
Welcome, sir.
That's mostly out of fear.
Well, you're good.
I got you.
Sounds hollow.
But yeah, no, that's mostly out of fear because I'm pretty sure I get something wrong.
He's joking, shot.
I'm not.
Whatever we do one of these, it is to review something this is no exception.
We're going to talk about the latest film from director Ari Sandel.
It is called Goose Bumps 2 and before we get moving, we want to thank everybody over
at Fonz PR for taking care of us, got to see us on a Saturday morning.
There's a really cool stuff going on, there were some face painting.
There were people in costumes, they were having pumpkins, there were a lot of pumpkins
that people were decorating.
Oh, that's no in your audience right there because they have definitely a kid's feature.
Oh, they had a photo booth with some inflatable gummy bears which plays a role in the film
as you've seen in the trailer.
So this is not really a, it's a sequel kind of sorta, but it's also not.
So it's a sequel and name only for the most part.
It's more of like, it's like a continuation of the story without being a sequel.
There is something I wanted to look up as we get moving because this takes place in a
different city.
The first one is referenced in it.
Okay.
But it's not, it doesn't, I hate to say the phrase.
It doesn't really play a role, but it kind of does at the same time.
Well is the role crucial to the story or is it just coincidental?
One gets you to the other, I guess you could say.
This one takes place in a separate town with a separate family.
Wendy McClendon Covey, who you know I'm a huge fan of, the mother from the Goldbergs.
She plays Kathy Quinn the mother, her daughter Madison Eisman, who you might remember from
Jumanji, welcome to the jungle, is her daughter, she has a son named Sonny, played by Jeremy
Ray Taylor, and then he has a buddy named Sam, who is played by Khalil Harris.
So mom's working doubles at this nursing home.
Daughter has to take care of the son of the son's friend because the son's friend goes
out, her parents go out of town for the weekend and so they're all stuck together.
So we have adventures in baby settings as well?
Kind of sorta.
They are starting their own business where they clear junk out of people's houses or
the junk brothers.
I will tell you the slogan off air, so they're dehorters, kinda sorta.
So they get their first call from a spooky looking house, because of course, yes and in
this house they find a secret room and in the secret room is a chest and inside the
chest is a book.
All of a sudden there's a book.
Is it a particular type of book or is it not a call back to something else?
It is.
It's a particular type of book.
I'm just making sure it's not the necronomic, it's not an evil dead thing.
So when they open up the book, it's an unfinished story.
The unfinished story produces the dummy from the first one.
Alright.
And that's the dummy that Jack Black does voice, correct?
Correct.
Okay.
So the boys think it's just a regular ventriloquist dummy and they just move on.
But what they find out is that the dummy has powers, supernatural powers and all he wants
is a family.
But he wants it in the darkest of kind of ways.
So when they shun him, he goes nuts and decides he's going to bring all of his scary friends
to life, thus making the haunted Halloween, which turns out to be an unfinished story by
R.L.
Stein.
Okay.
And then things ensue.
But also in this, their neighbor, the great Ken John, oh, always great, is in this
as well.
Chris Parnell has a role in this.
Jack Black has a very small role physically, because again, he's the voice of the ventriloquist
dummy.
Right.
This runs about an hour 40.
Did it feel like an hour 40?
It was well paced for a film of its ilk.
Okay.
So it's, you know, true and popcorn, moving along.
Yeah.
There's not a lot of, there's not a lot of fluff to it.
So here's the story.
Here we go.
I know you need to keep your attention.
So let's do this.
And there was a lot of kids at the screening we went to, again, on a Saturday morning,
which is always interesting, but there wasn't a lot of squirming in the theater.
I thought this was really good.
Good.
I mean, I'm not the target demo for this.
It's goosebumps.
You know what I mean?
Because I wasn't the target demo when it was popular, because this was after my time.
Right.
This was right in my way.
I was going to say, was this in your wheel?
This, this was exactly when I was in middle school heading into high school.
So we were definitely the target demographic.
And it's, it's well documented on the show that there was a bit of an age gap between
the two of us.
Just a bit.
So I mean, I don't care.
I mean, I don't, I don't embrace it.
So again, this was a little bit behind my time, but I know how popular this thing was.
Oh, it was everywhere.
You couldn't take five steps without somebody reading a goose bumps book because it was
like, oh, it's more adult because it's scary.
It's like, no, no, no.
And the thing about a film like this is you can't, I can't wear my critic hat for this.
Because this is not a film for critics.
Well, it's one of those.
It's like, we know we're not winning awards, but we're going to make money and have some
fun.
Right?
Yeah.
So it's basically what I like to call the fast and furious model.
Let's blow some stuff up.
Have a good time.
Cash and check.
Right.
I mean, it's, and they have, and it's, it's fun.
Yeah.
You know, this is just, it's, it's meant for kids and preteens.
Is it though?
I mean, I, I don't know how far it is.
That's, I mean, to go to the, to me, that's the demo of this film.
Okay.
It is, I would say the seven to 13 range, okay, early development as far as getting into
the more scary things.
Not necessarily the YA crowd.
Right.
But, you know, and, and this is, of course, this Halloween time is going to be a Halloween
self film.
It's got, it's scary in almost that way that the haunted mansion at Disney is scary.
The only if you don't expect it.
It's more like these are scary things, but they're not meant to be horrific things.
Okay.
So it's more along the lines of this is in the horror theme, right, but we're not trying
to make you pee yourself.
Right.
Gotcha.
Okay.
So as we all know, I have a policy out of my code.
Mm-hmm.
Don't do scary movies.
But this is a family film.
I mean, it's PG.
I mean, PG-13.
Yeah.
There's a couple of references that probably could borderline on PG-13.
It's one of those tongue and cheeks for the parents.
Yes.
Okay.
But I really enjoyed this.
Visually, it was weird to see Sony Pictures Animation's name on this, even though there
are CGI elements to it.
Well, what's funny is, is you think about it with Sony Pictures Animation, I was just
looking up, this is their fifth live-action movie.
Yeah.
So you go from animation to live-action to, well, maybe there's enough animation to consider
it in that wheelhouse.
But visually, the effects are great, which you would hope in an Animation Studios team.
So I say, well, Sony's really kind of been coming along slowly, but surely catching up
to the big boys.
But I've really had a good time with this.
Great.
I had a friend of mine that Donna was with me.
She brought her son so we could look at his, his ass.
How was his, how was his, I mean, you know it?
He's probably, he's a teenager.
Oh, okay.
And he wasn't like, scrawling like, when has this been me over?
Like, we had a good time.
Good.
And that's one of my major things.
It's like, look around me, if what's going on.
I mean, there's, there's, of course, being what it is, there's certain plot, especially
like, okay, you know, this is gonna happen, this is gonna happen.
You're right.
This will play a role later.
You see the call back set.
I will, this is a, I'll hold on, let me get the little thing, so we can say this.
Because what I'm about to say is, it's a minor spoiler, but still in that spoiler territory.
Three, two, one.
One of my favorite moments in the film is when Jack Black finally shows up in this little
town after he's gets a phone call and he's looking around and he realizes this is unfinished
story.
And he sees a red balloon and he goes, I knew I did it first.
I was like, I see what you did there.
I see what you did there.
Just hearing the, that's one of those things, because sometimes things don't translate
when you try to explain it.
That's perfect.
Yes.
Oh, that's gonna be a great one for years now.
And again, that's for, for the adults would get the reference.
Some of the kids mind, but there's a little, you know, if they have terrible parents.
Right.
Or they snuck in.
But again, I enjoyed this film.
There were certain moments where I was like, I see what you did there.
Yeah.
You know, I never felt like, because I have to look at this through the eyes of its target
demo audience.
You know, if I'm a kid, what I stay engaged with this, and I totally would.
And it's a good family film that everybody can watch it together this time of year.
And parents don't have to worry about dealing with the kids freaking out later and things
of that ill.
You mean paying for therapy?
Right.
Got it.
Good.
Kids.
I hate to say scary movie, but it's a good kid's Halloween movie to watch.
So you would call it a Halloween movie, not a horror movie?
That's, yeah.
That's about right.
Okay.
It's a Halloween film.
So it's an, it's an, it's an, it's an, it's an, it's in the Hocus Pocus, not the
Halloween horror stream.
But I didn't find anything real wrong with this.
I mean, it's not one that I would be, that just, you know, it didn't set my world on fire.
Yeah.
It's not earth shattering, but it's enjoyable.
Yeah.
It was enjoyable.
That's a good time.
That's all I want to cover.
So we get to the final analysis.
Right.
And the way we do the final analysis on the show, we're not going to give you thumbs up, thumbs
down.
We're not going to give you a letter of grades, numbers, anything like that.
There's two questions involved.
One is, what I see this again, if the answers know them, we're done here.
But if the answer is yes, how far would I be willing to go to see it again?
From the top of the best to the bottom of the best, full price of the theater, down to
a twilight showing, down to a matinee, down to early morning on a weekend, down to
the second one at the dollar theater, down to actually leaving my house to get it from
Red Box, down to streaming it on Netflix, down to cable.
Now Rob, would you see this movie again?
I would.
I really believe that I would see this again.
So how far are you willing to go to see Goosebumps, too?
See, that's the weird thing.
I don't know that I'd go out of my way to see it again, just because it's not really
something I'm into.
But if somebody who had a family asked me, is this worth taking the kids?
I would take them to a matinee show, allowing you to try and put a little spin on this.
So you do know, friend of the show, Chelsea Bailey, I do, does have a couple of young children.
How old are they?
They are, I believe Brody is three and one is relatively new.
Would that be two young?
Three definitely.
Three is two young?
Yeah.
Well, the other one is younger than that.
So would you say someone who has a seven year old, what do you think they should go
through with it?
I would have them watch the first one first and see how they react to that.
And before you spend money on the theater experience, okay, let's say that they had
a good experience.
The kid was good.
Yeah, take them to a matinee show.
A matinee.
Because that way you're not leaving after dark in case there's any issues.
You know, it's still a, it's a fun movie.
And I think that it's a movie that the entire family can enjoy.
Excellent.
So Ari Sandal, directs Goosebumps, too, haunted Halloween, and again, we want to say thank
you to Fonz PR.
We love our vendors.
They let us see movies and stuff ahead of time so we can talk to you guys about them so
you can spend your entertainment dollar wisely.
That being said, let's do the plugs.
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So until next time for Alex and the Empire, I'm Rob.
Clubhouse is closed.
Brittany Palmer, you could put her in this.
Come on man.