Goosebumps 2 Fun, Family-Friendly Goof-fest

GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN is a film that's quite obviously going to be enjoyed more by kids than by grown-ups. The horror comedy is based not on any single book of R.L. Stine's, but rather on the series as a whole, presenting them as actualities that Stine chronicles or, in this case, inadvertently creates.

The adventure begins when two friends, Sonny (JEREMY RAY TAYLOR) and Sam (CALEEL HARRIS) are hired to clean the junk out of an old abandoned house, and find a locked book in a trunk, as well as a familiar-looking ventriloquist dummy. Yes, it's Slappy, and he's looking to bond with the boys and become a brother to them. But he shows his true colors when he gets overprotective of Sonny's older sister, Sarah (MADISON ISEMAN), sending her jerk boyfriend tumbling from a tall ladder.

Rejected by the boys, Slappy decides to take revenge by bringing all of Halloween to life, with the same spell that brought him to life. And when he uses the abandoned Tesla power station -- the iconic one built at Wardenclyffe, New York -- he broadcasts his magic to bring everything related to the holiday to life: not just the monster decorations, but also people in costumes, the candy buckets, and the candy itself (allowing for a scene detailing how Gummi Bears can become a threat).

The kids all reach out to the reclusive R.L. Stine (JACK BLACK), who recognizes the story taking place as the one he never finished, "Haunted Halloween." But can he come up with an ending to the book, or will Slappy write his own "Slappily Ever After?"

The adventure is light and comedic, although the special effects were rather good for the tone of a movie like this one. If you have kids anywhere in the 8 to 12 age range, then you have the prime audience for this newest installment into the GOOSEBUMPS film franchise.