Goosebumps

Hey it's been a few month since I reviewed a TV show. Lets take a look at Goosebumps. The show is based on the series of books of the same name by R. L. Stine. I read a few of the books and they're pretty good. Now this show doesn't have a story line, each episode has different characters a different plots and different monsters so I will pick three random episodes and review them. Also Instead of doing the "SPOILER ALERT" thing I normally do I will right the ending in italics. Oh, and I also wasn't able to find the actor names in this one because it doesn't have returning characters so sorry. So let's start my review of Goosebumps.






Cuckoo Clock of Doom: (I did not make that title up) We meet a boy named Michael  who has an annoying sister named Terra. Michael's father buys a antique Cuckoo Clock and displays it in the living room. That night Michael decides to break the Cuckoo Clock and blame it on Terra because Terra just ruined his Birthday Party. Michael turns the head of the bird in the clock backwards. Then Michael wakes up but it is his 12th birthday again. Everything happens exactly as he remembered it including Terra trips him causing him to splatter cake all over his face. He goes to bed thinking it's all a bad dream but he wakes up on his birthday again. The writer then realizes he is ripping off Groundhog Day. So Michael wakes up on his birthday only it's his 6th birthday. This time he goes to the antique shop but his father brings him home and Michael goes back to sleep. This time when he wakes up he is a baby and he can't talk. But his father takes him to the antique store. While he is there he fixes the Cuckoo Clock at the store which makes to go forward and he is back in the present. But while fixing the Clock in the past Michael accidentally knocked off the year 1988 which was the year Terra was born which means she never existed. Michael says he will find a way to bring back Terra.....eventually (evil laughter). The End.



This episode is okay. The idea is a a really good one. But the special effects and acting are....meh. I think the best actor in all of this is the baby. So overall I semi-recommend this episode.




Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes: (I can't makes these up). We meet a boy named Joe Burton whos parents are obsessed with gardening and lawn ornaments. Joe's dad brings home some ugly looking Lawn Gnomes. The next day Joe's neighbour Mr. Mackall accuses Joe of destroying his garden. Joe claims he never destroyed the garden. But Mr. Mackall says he will keep an eye on Joe. The night after Joe stays up and sees that the Lawn Gnomes come to life and ruin Mr. Mackall's garden. Joe tries to stop them but he triggers an alarm and spot lights. Mr. Mackall comes out and talks to Joe's father and they both agree that Joe has to do garden work for Mr. Mackall. The next night Joe wakes up his sister Mindy and they both follow the Lawn Gnomes into Mr. Mackall's yeard where they set off the alarm, but this time they leave and Mr. Mackall is left alone with the Lawn Gnomes. The next day it is the day of the Garden Competition but the judges notice a Lawn Gnome that looks out of place...a Lawn Gnome that looks like Mr. Mackall (evil laughter). The End.




This episode is...silly. Evil Lawn Gnomes aren't exactly scary and the actor playing Mr. Mackall is really over the top. So if you want a goofy over the top episode this is for you.



Attack of the Jack-O-Lanturns: (nope still the real title) Two kids named Walker and Drew are getting ready for Halloween. Drew runs into her old friends Shane and Shauna who Drew introduces to Walker. Meanwhile two other kids named Tabitha  and Lee pull a prank on them. After Tabitha and Lee leave Shane and Shauna say that they can help get revenge. Drew and Walker agree with Shane and Shauna. The next day is Halloween but Drew's mother is worried because four people recently went missing. They go out anyway and find Tabitha and Lee but they can't find Shane and Shauna. They run into weird Pumpkin creatures who say they can take them to a better place. They follow the Pumpkins to a neighborhood full of candy. But after an hour or two of trick or treating they decide to stop. But the Pumpkin Creatures want them to stay forever. They try and escape the Pumpkin Creatures but they catch Drew and Walker. Tabitha and Lee get away. The Pumpkin Creatures reveal that they are Shane and Shauna and that it was a prank. They also reveal that the reason they manged to set up such an elaborate prank is because they are aliens. They also say that they eat people and they are the reason for the four missing people. Shane and Shauna board their UFO and leave...until next year (evil laugh). The End



I think this one is the worse one I reviewed so far. The acting in this isn't so good and the effects are really bad. I'm not interested in the characters or the story. The twist ending makes zero sense because there was no evidence showing that the twist could happen. So I would not recommend this episode to anyone.



So now that I reviewed Goosebumps, how is it as a show? Well there are really good episodes like The Haunted Mask, but their are also really bad episodes like Ghost Beach. The tone of the show is really stupid, silly, campy, and over the top. The special effects are on par with amateur YouTube videos and a lot of the time the acting isn't too good. Also a lot of the twist endings make no sense or are just plain ridiculous. What makes a twist ending work is having it be a surprise but having evidence lead up to it so that the puzzle pieces click together in your brain when it is time for the big reveal. This show doesn't do well in the twist department most of the time. But if you want some campy Halloween fun for the family, I think you would like this show. This has been another instalment of Keaton on Films. See you next time where I review Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

"OH NO I FORGOT MY CARTOON AGAIN!"