In October of 2015, I reviewed the three part "Goosebumps" from the (coincidentally) Third Season of the show "Chillogy" that wasn't based on any of R.L. Stine's books, or was even written by him. Well now I think it would be a good time for me to finish reviewing the entire Third Season of...
SHOCKER ON SHOCK STREET
Erin and her best friend Marty sneak inside their favorite horror movie studio to check out the special effects department that her Father creates for their horror films. After being caught by Erin's Father, instead of punishing her, he joyfully gives the two the opportunity to be the first kids to experience a theme park ride based on the "Shock Street" horror films. Everything starts out promising for the two, until the ride suddenly breaks down as the kids find themselves being attacked by animatronics that are modeled after the many monsters that the studio has created.
The premise is awesome! I love the whole idea of two kids experiencing a ride that's based off of horror movies where they find themselves being attacked by the monsters. It'd be like going on a Universal Studio tour where monsters like the Shark from "JAWS" or King Kong would actually come alive and kill you, rather than it being staged. It's a very amusing concept. I also love that we're not just seeing the kids explore the ride; we see them explore many other places such as the special effects room where costumes and animatronics start to move, and walking on the set for "Shock Street" itself where some of the monsters lurk. And the sets and designs for some of the monsters are colorful and creative.
Speaking of monsters, while there are a decent amount of original monsters made for the episode, you'll also see a few other monsters that were in the previous episodes of the show. I'm sure a good half of viewers out there would call it lazy, but personally I don't mind it as much considering that there are some new monsters in the episode, where these appearances (at least for me) feel like Easter Eggs (that I'll admit aren't hidden well). The only reference to the "Goosebumps" universe that I felt was way too obvious and hammered in is when one of the monsters from the ride tells the riders to "beware" because "they're in for a scare". It just felt way too phoned in considering that we hear the slogan for the show all the time in the intro.
As good as the episode is, there are still a few issues that prevent it from being one of the greats of the series. The acting (aside from the enjoyably over the top performance of the actor portraying Erin's Father) sounds staged, and at times bland when the actor's deliver their lines (especially the actress who plays Erin). Effects like the bats on strings, and the poorly made CGI fire look incredibly fake. The scares are hardly ever scary (especially when the kids are being attacked by a monster that moves in slow-mo). And the twist at the ending (and the best acted part in the episode), as interesting as it is, doesn't make much sense.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode is pretty much how I feel about one of my favorite episodes from the Second Season "The Headless Ghost". Its premise is great, some of the monsters and sets look interesting, and the performance from the supporting character are fun to watch. But most of the acting is hokey, some of the effects are laughably cheesy, and it’s very little with scares. However, as bad as some of the other stuff in the episode is, the good things that it has to offer are still good enough to make it a fine start for the Third Season.
MY BEST FRIEND IS INVISIBLE
Sam lives with his scientist parents who are conducting a top secret experiment in the basement (never seen that before), and is constantly being dragged along by his adventurous friend Roxanne to sneak inside a haunted house that he lives right next door too, so that they can capture footage of the ghost that haunts the place. After having an encounter with the ghost inside the house, the ghost goes to Sam's house to be his invisible ghost friend. But all the ghost does is accidentally makes Sam's life miserable.
The acting from our stars, while not good, it’s definitely not the worst, or feels as staged as the previous episode. It's serviceable at best, and I do buy the majority of the kid's reactions when he's interacting with the ghost, even if it is a little too over exaggerated. But as passable as the acting is, the characters are pretty much the generic stereotypes that we keep seeing on the show. You have the protagonist who's always petrified, the female best friend who's rebellious and snarky, the scientist parents, the snobby teacher, and the bully who bullies our lead for no reason at all. The only character who comes across as interesting is the ghost, since we have no idea of how he died, or what he looks like since he's invisible. And watching him accidentally humiliate Sam, while nowhere near as funny as seeing a comical character like Clarissa mess up a wish every time a character makes one in "Be Careful What You Wish For", is still fun to watch. The reveal of the ghost does lead to a very intense ending, and when the episode ends, you still find yourself wanting to learn more after discovering this shocking piece of information that the ending throws at you.
The effects for the ghost lifting things up, do at times look very digitize, but I think they handled the effect for the most part well in terms of effects that TV shows for kids were given to work with. They at least look fun to look at if not scary. The only scary scene involving the special effects is in the last scene of the episode. And without giving away the ending, as cheap and basic as the effect is that any Youtuber can easily do it, it still manages to come across as unsettling. The scenes where the characters are inside the house, or when the ghost is stalking the kid at his house in the middle of the night, from the way those scenes are shot and are drenched with shadows look like they could be as horrifyingly atmospheric as a nightmare, but the pacing for these scenes are done so quickly as all the cool shots seem to immediately cut away before you can admire them that it kills the overall mood. As a matter of fact, the whole episode seems to feel rushed by its pacing. It has a great story that you can still easily follow, but it hardly takes it's time for you to feel the suspense, or laugh at some of the mishaps that happen to Sam.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode is practically just as hit and miss as the previous one. The story is captivating, but the pacing feels rushed. The acting is slightly better from the acting in the previous episode, but the characters (aside from the ghost) are the same old stereotypes that we keep seeing on the show, that are pretty boring. Most of the visuals and effects are fairly decent, but they're not that scary (at least not until the end) or fascinating enough to suck you in to its environment.
THE HOUSE OF NO RETURN
Three kids, who have formed their own club called "Danger Incorporated" for brave kids only, wish to have a new member join their club for how boring it is. So they try to get kids in the neighborhood to join their club if they will stay inside a local haunted house for an hour, but none of them pass the initiation test. Things seem hopeless for their chances of gaining a new member until a new kid named Chris moves into the town trying to make new friends. But he refuses to be part of the club since he gets spooked easily. So the kids desperately trap him inside the house so he can pass the test and have a new member, where Chris witnesses’ some strange paranormal activities going on.
Unlike most Goosebumps episodes where we get characters who are so black and white, and cliched to the point where they mostly all feel the same, these characters aren't generic. You have the new kid in town (though I don't see that too often in the series itself), and the kids who act like jerks that will eventually get what's coming to them, but they aren't as boring as you think they would be. The trio of kids, despite that they do crazy things, they aren't as goofy as the other characters in the series who share a similar trait like the kids in "You Can't Scare Me" or Todd in "Go Eat Worms", they do feel like actual kids, who just do crazy things, and are acted pretty well (given the show's standards that is). The kid Chris, I will admit does fall close in being a standard character of the series with his socially awkward behavior that's resembles previous characters like Walker in "Attack Of The Jack-O'-Lanterns" and Duane in "The Headless Ghost". But what separates him from the two is his action in the ending (which I won’t spoil) that makes him a character that you shouldn't underestimate, despite that he seems like an easy push-over.
Much like the previous episode, we don't see the ghost in his full form until the ending. But what separates in making this episode feel like a re-trend of the other episode is we aren't constantly with them. We don't see them start doing paranormal stuff until the episode is at least 5 minutes away from ending. And even then we don't hear their voices that much until the ending of the episode is near. The whole episode is just build-up to their appearance as we are treated to a grim back-story (even if it is a bit cliched) and gaze at this dark house that makes weird noises. And once Chris gets trapped in the house there's a good level of claustrophobia and paranoia going on from the way its shot and paced, which is exactly what the previous episode should have been like. The effects for the ghosts moving stuff, while not pitch perfect, do look less digitize compared to how the effects in the previous episode looked, which I think a lot of that has to do with the shadowing, and occasional use of practical effects. When we finally do see the ghosts materialize, their personalities come across just as classy and excessive as the characters that the Addams Family have, and yet they still come across as creepy, which I think a lot of that has to do with the twist.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode is one of those rare grim ones that doesn't play too much on the show's camp like most of the other episode's do. It has a nice dark haunted house setting, the characters are interesting, and the build-up and suspense is heavy enough to at least get its target audience scared and feel like that they're watching an actual haunted house film that's meant to scare them.
DON'T GO TO SLEEP
Matt is sick of being a kid as he envy's all the privileges that his older siblings get to have. But rather than wishing to be an adult, he just lays on a bed in the attic complaining about how much reality sucks. The next morning, Matt wakes up and not only finds out that he now has more privileges then his siblings do, but he's also a famous Hockey player. Not knowing what's going on, Matt naturally sucks at playing Hockey as he finds himself being stalked by two agents. Things only get worse for Matt where he keeps transporting into different realities of not being able to do things that adults are successful at doing, despite that everyone around him says that he's professional at it.
The idea of a kid going through one alternate reality to another learning that adults have things harder than kids do is not a bad way of telling the moral of enjoying your youth and the things that you do have while you still can, but the execution is far from good. The reason why I say that is because the episode isn't anywhere near scary. And I know that shouldn't be a surprise considering that there are tons of episodes in the show that aren't scary, but this one has to be by far the goofiest episode that I've ever had to sit through. Everything about it is so goofy and exaggerated that it hardly takes its time to come off as creepy or atmospheric. Right after the rushed exposition of the kid getting nearly the same kind of cruelty as Kevin McCalister in the "Home Alone" films gets, where he's up in the attic talking to a mannequin and planning to live up there (because any kid would love to live in a dark and scary looking attic) I knew the episode was in trouble for how crazy and questionable the first few minutes were. Now to be fair, the episode does intentionally play on the goofy camp, like having the kid getting married to an ugly woman as everyone around him thinks she's beautiful, or the number of adults that the kid meets who act all childish, but since those scenes are trying to come off as a tad bit creepy and suspenseful, they miserable fall apart for being way too silly for their own good.
The acting my god is it hardly ever subtle, or feels like that its ever taking a break from being loud and obnoxious. The biggest offenders when it comes to the episode's cartoony acting that make the episode feel insufferable for how annoying it is instead of scary are the hockey coach and the judge since they never ever stop yelling. The only actor who I felt was trying to give a good performance is the kid playing our lead. His acting is as bad as everyone else, but at least he's trying to work with the horrible direction to bring some kind of emotion or sympathy for the character, while all the other actors are obviously just not giving a crap. As for the agents that track down Matt, it's more than obvious that they are rip-offs of the characters that Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith played in "Men In Black" from how they are dressed and presented. Only instead of hunting aliens, they hunt kids who hate reality. And yes, their acting is just as bad everyone else where they barley come across as fearful or badass.
You know how the show would use horror film techniques like slow-mo, pov shots, close-ups, and use of wide-angle lens that would occasionally look scary in some episodes, but would usually come across as cheesy or awkward, well this episode is a prime example of it. I swear that every time they resort to these gimmicks to try to scare us in this episode, I find myself either chuckling or bursting out in laughter for how cheesy and forcefully contrived they are. I know I lost it when I had to stare at a couple of close-up wide angle shots of the surgeons who look like they're making faces at a fun house mirror as it is all shot in slow-motion that only makes the scene funnier! How the kid transitions from one alternate reality to another at first seemed decent where we would see a warp hole pop up for a few seconds as we hear Matt scream off-screen. But after they used it a third time, it started to get old fast to the point where it becomes tedious and repetitive. Out of all scenes in the episode with the excessive acting, and awkward camera work, the most cringe worthy, over blown and irritating one of them all is the climax in the courtroom from the judge who won't shut up from shouting the word guilty, to its weird wide angle close-ups, to its use of slow that almost seemed like that Michael Bay directed it, to its seizure-inducing editing, to its cheap warp hole effect that the kid is standing over that doesn't look like it’s there at all!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I'm not going to act like that this episode doesn't have some kind of potential, because I do like the lay-out. But man did such an interesting premise go to waste for how goofy and obnoxious the final product is! I know there are other episodes that I praised that had plenty of camp to them, but they were either enjoyable, had some scares, or at least had a bit restraint from going too over board. This one completely goes all-out insane with everything that makes the show campy to the point where you forget that it's supposed to be scary. If you're looking for an episode of the show that really exploits the show's camp at its silliest, then look no further, but personally I suggest you give this one a skip.
The idea of a kid going through one alternate reality to another learning that adults have things harder than kids do is not a bad way of telling the moral of enjoying your youth and the things that you do have while you still can, but the execution is far from good. The reason why I say that is because the episode isn't anywhere near scary. And I know that shouldn't be a surprise considering that there are tons of episodes in the show that aren't scary, but this one has to be by far the goofiest episode that I've ever had to sit through. Everything about it is so goofy and exaggerated that it hardly takes its time to come off as creepy or atmospheric. Right after the rushed exposition of the kid getting nearly the same kind of cruelty as Kevin McCalister in the "Home Alone" films gets, where he's up in the attic talking to a mannequin and planning to live up there (because any kid would love to live in a dark and scary looking attic) I knew the episode was in trouble for how crazy and questionable the first few minutes were. Now to be fair, the episode does intentionally play on the goofy camp, like having the kid getting married to an ugly woman as everyone around him thinks she's beautiful, or the number of adults that the kid meets who act all childish, but since those scenes are trying to come off as a tad bit creepy and suspenseful, they miserable fall apart for being way too silly for their own good.
The acting my god is it hardly ever subtle, or feels like that its ever taking a break from being loud and obnoxious. The biggest offenders when it comes to the episode's cartoony acting that make the episode feel insufferable for how annoying it is instead of scary are the hockey coach and the judge since they never ever stop yelling. The only actor who I felt was trying to give a good performance is the kid playing our lead. His acting is as bad as everyone else, but at least he's trying to work with the horrible direction to bring some kind of emotion or sympathy for the character, while all the other actors are obviously just not giving a crap. As for the agents that track down Matt, it's more than obvious that they are rip-offs of the characters that Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith played in "Men In Black" from how they are dressed and presented. Only instead of hunting aliens, they hunt kids who hate reality. And yes, their acting is just as bad everyone else where they barley come across as fearful or badass.
You know how the show would use horror film techniques like slow-mo, pov shots, close-ups, and use of wide-angle lens that would occasionally look scary in some episodes, but would usually come across as cheesy or awkward, well this episode is a prime example of it. I swear that every time they resort to these gimmicks to try to scare us in this episode, I find myself either chuckling or bursting out in laughter for how cheesy and forcefully contrived they are. I know I lost it when I had to stare at a couple of close-up wide angle shots of the surgeons who look like they're making faces at a fun house mirror as it is all shot in slow-motion that only makes the scene funnier! How the kid transitions from one alternate reality to another at first seemed decent where we would see a warp hole pop up for a few seconds as we hear Matt scream off-screen. But after they used it a third time, it started to get old fast to the point where it becomes tedious and repetitive. Out of all scenes in the episode with the excessive acting, and awkward camera work, the most cringe worthy, over blown and irritating one of them all is the climax in the courtroom from the judge who won't shut up from shouting the word guilty, to its weird wide angle close-ups, to its use of slow that almost seemed like that Michael Bay directed it, to its seizure-inducing editing, to its cheap warp hole effect that the kid is standing over that doesn't look like it’s there at all!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I'm not going to act like that this episode doesn't have some kind of potential, because I do like the lay-out. But man did such an interesting premise go to waste for how goofy and obnoxious the final product is! I know there are other episodes that I praised that had plenty of camp to them, but they were either enjoyable, had some scares, or at least had a bit restraint from going too over board. This one completely goes all-out insane with everything that makes the show campy to the point where you forget that it's supposed to be scary. If you're looking for an episode of the show that really exploits the show's camp at its silliest, then look no further, but personally I suggest you give this one a skip.
CLICK
Seth receives a remote control that he ordered through the mail, and quickly discovers that it doesn’t only control all the household appliances, but also time itself. Despite getting numerous phone calls, E-mails, and TV messages from the salesman who sold him the remote to warn him about the consequences if he abuses the power of it, he obviously abuses the power of it for his own selfish needs, until the remote breaks where his family are standing frozen in time.
Now wait a minute, why does that sound so familiar?
SERIOUSLY?! NO SERIOUSLY?! An Adam Sandler film actually RIPPED-OFF an episode from "Goosebumps", let alone the DAMN TITLE?! How low do these Sandler film's go?
Disgustingly low apparently! But let's try to stay on task.
The episodes' story is as simple and basic as a story of messing with the space time condominium can get. But what makes it plausible aside from the unique concept of using a remote control (you know before Sandler could make it famous, or by many infamous) is unlike the last episode I reviewed where the show's camp and humor went way too over board to the point where the final result was goofy and far from scary, this episode finds the right balance between humor and tension like the episodes "The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom" and "Be Careful What You Wish For". There are plenty of enjoyable scenes of the kid screwing around with the remote, with some decent effects and plenty of fun gags in both the visuals and the writing revolving around the remote's power and ability. But there is still a feeling of risk as you see this kid become obsessed with the remote's powers for his own personal gain that only gets him into nothing but trouble as he may risk losing his loved ones forever. The salesman who warns the kid is another example of the episode having a good balance between humor and terror. How he pops out of nowhere trying to warn the kid is always surprising as you are constantly wondering and even at times hoping when he'll try to contact the kid again. But his personality while a tad bit creepy at times, is mostly a riot for how he tries to warn the kid about the dangers of misusing the item as if he was doing a commercial by fast-talking through the rules of how the item should be handled, and what the item isn't suitable for. The kid they got to play our lead is the same kid who played Skipper in the two part "Goosebumps" episode "Attack Of The Mutant", who I think is a fitting casting choice considering that he played the role of a kid obsessed with comics so well. And here he does just as good of a job, only this time he's addicted to a time controlling device that turns him into a spoiled selfish brat, instead of being a geeky kid who becomes a hero for his knowledge of reading and collecting comics.
As good as the episode is however; there are two things that in my opinion hold it back from being one of the great ones of the series. The performances from the actors who play Seth and the salesman are good, but the rest of the cast aren't. All the supporting characters are the cardboard cutout stereotypes that we keep seeing on the show, like the mean little sister, the undeveloped bully, the nerdy Dad, and well you get the rest. They are more restraint with portraying the comical nature of the characters then what the last episode did, but they still are boring for how cliched they are. The worst performance of the whole cast goes to the kid who plays Seth's worried best friend, who I'm sure is trying, but man is his acting and line delivery just as phony as watching inexperienced kids perform in a school play, just without it being cute. The second thing is the ending. Without giving it away, although I do like it, it still leaves me with tons of questions regarding the salesman. I know he's supposed to be mysterious, but as I was watching the episode, I felt like we were going to learn more about him and what his motivation is, and sadly we don't which for me is a huge let down.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This episode is the "Be Careful Of What You Wish For" of the Third Season, a simple and timeless cautionary tale that has the right mix of humor and suspense, as we get two fine performances from the lead and the mysterious character that he constantly comes across. It may have some draw-backs from the acting of the supporting cast, and leaving you with a lot of questions when it’s over, but it’s still as enjoyable as the episode that I compared it too, that wasn't all that perfect either.
AN OLD STORY
Tom and Jon are home alone as their parents are out on vacation, but find themselves surprised when they discover that their weird Aunt Dahlia has come unannounced to babysit them. Aunt Dahlia for some odd reason has an obsession of feeding the kids prunes, but they don't mind since they love eating them. The next morning when they awake, they find themselves feeling tired and worn-out and noticed that their hair is turning grey and falling off. They eventually turn into seniors and must now find a way to be young again, while avoiding their suspicious aunt and her two flirty friends.
Just like the last episode I reviewed, this is another one of those episodes where the humor and thrills are balanced just as well. The jokes and reactions of the kids getting old are funny, but still keep to the intensity of what they are experiencing. The Aunt's presence is threatening, but she still maintains a fun villainous personality that's as entertaining as watching someone like Tim Curry play it up as a villain. Even her motivation of turning the kids old, is funny but yet disturbing. The finale to this episode also goes a bit bio-polar by on us with its comedy and horror for having a climax that's silly but pretty graphic for a "Goosebumps" episode, to having an ending that leaves you in suspense (like the majority of episode's on the show) but also has you giggling a bit.
The performances are all enjoyable, especially from the actress who plays the wicked Aunt, but I will admit that the kids are the least good actors in the episode. They're definitely nowhere near as bad as a good chunk of the kids that can't act on the show, since they are entertaining, and that you do buy into their frustration and fear of getting old. But there's something about their delivery that feels stilted and staged at times. Even the old voices that they put on, while serviceable I still get the impression that half of the time they’re just putting on those voices to sound old, as opposed to feeling that their voices have actually changed. However, the gags, the levels of suspense, and especially the convincing make-up they put on the kids are good enough for you to get past how staged their acting can be at times.
I guess the reason why I'm a little critical on this episode is mainly because the show has already tackled on a kid turning old before in "The Haunted Mask 2". The struggles that the kid goes through in that episode when he becomes an old man with a hideous looking face felt painfully legit through the acting, visuals, pacing, and writing, where it wasn't flooded with humor like this episode was. And it had a theme that was centered on the fears of getting old that was relevant to the character's, when in this episode there is no theme or moral centered on those particular fears, which kind of feels out of the blue.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode may not be as good as the first episode that nailed that concept better, but it is still good. It's entertaining, it's dark, the make-up effects are cool, and the performances are a lot of fun, even if the acting from the kids isn't always top notch.
THE BARKING GHOST
Cooper moves into a new house and hears some strange barking noises coming from the woods. The barking is of course coming from dogs in the woods, but they appear to be ghosts that are after Cooper and his new friend Fergie. Oh and for some odd reason there are pirates in the beginning of the episode who are being hunted by the same dog’s millenniums ago, and I'm just going to take a wild guess that they have some kind hand with the dogs that are attacking Cooper and Fergie.
I've read somewhere that this story and "Go Eat Worms" are R.L. Stine's least favorite story's that he wrote. And while I can agree with "Go Eat Worms" being his worst story (and worst episode of the show by far), I actually don't think that this one was that bad. It's not one of his greatest, because the build-up to the reveal of the dogs was predictable, and the suspense regarding the build-up while not horrible and does in many respects almost feel like the build-up you get in a legit horror, still felt lacking. I'll also admit that having the story involve pirates felt kind of weird. It leads to some fun comedy during the climax. But really the concept of having pirates as the victims felt pointless and unnecessary. Having two kids being attacked by the dogs would have been a better choice than this. But with those aside, I was still invested in what's going on, and I do like how the first half is built on mystery, as the second half is built on both thrills and comedy that's done as well as the last two episodes.
The kid they got to play Cooper is the kid who played Daniel in "Night Of The Living Dummy 3" and his acting is still just as good, where it hardly ever feels fake or silly; though the voice that he has later on when he's cursed did seem a bit overdone. The parents and his bratty older brother are the usual cliches we get on the show that's boring in terms of character, but their performances are still fine. The actors playing the pirates however are on the same level of over the top bad as the cast in "Don't Go To Sleep" was, and the girl who plays Fergie (who you may know her as the voice of Emily in the show "Little Bear") with the exception of the climax, her acting before that feels very unnatural, which is a pity since I adored listening to her voice work so much in "Little Bear". The dogs that come after the kids, are surprisingly well trained and do look legitimately vicious. Some of the effects used for when they pull their supernatural abilities also isn't bad, though the CGI effect for them jumping through a portal does look unbelievably fake.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode isn't anything that special, but I wouldn't say it's as bad as "Go Eat Worms". The acting from half of the cast is solid, the dogs and how they're trained look ferocious, the story while predictable is still entertaining, and the climax when the kids become cursed is the best part of the episode for how funny and crazy it is. If the acting from the other half of the cast was stronger, and that the build-up felt more affecting it would've been a solid episode.
Seth receives a remote control that he ordered through the mail, and quickly discovers that it doesn’t only control all the household appliances, but also time itself. Despite getting numerous phone calls, E-mails, and TV messages from the salesman who sold him the remote to warn him about the consequences if he abuses the power of it, he obviously abuses the power of it for his own selfish needs, until the remote breaks where his family are standing frozen in time.
Now wait a minute, why does that sound so familiar?
SERIOUSLY?! NO SERIOUSLY?! An Adam Sandler film actually RIPPED-OFF an episode from "Goosebumps", let alone the DAMN TITLE?! How low do these Sandler film's go?
Disgustingly low apparently! But let's try to stay on task.
The episodes' story is as simple and basic as a story of messing with the space time condominium can get. But what makes it plausible aside from the unique concept of using a remote control (you know before Sandler could make it famous, or by many infamous) is unlike the last episode I reviewed where the show's camp and humor went way too over board to the point where the final result was goofy and far from scary, this episode finds the right balance between humor and tension like the episodes "The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom" and "Be Careful What You Wish For". There are plenty of enjoyable scenes of the kid screwing around with the remote, with some decent effects and plenty of fun gags in both the visuals and the writing revolving around the remote's power and ability. But there is still a feeling of risk as you see this kid become obsessed with the remote's powers for his own personal gain that only gets him into nothing but trouble as he may risk losing his loved ones forever. The salesman who warns the kid is another example of the episode having a good balance between humor and terror. How he pops out of nowhere trying to warn the kid is always surprising as you are constantly wondering and even at times hoping when he'll try to contact the kid again. But his personality while a tad bit creepy at times, is mostly a riot for how he tries to warn the kid about the dangers of misusing the item as if he was doing a commercial by fast-talking through the rules of how the item should be handled, and what the item isn't suitable for. The kid they got to play our lead is the same kid who played Skipper in the two part "Goosebumps" episode "Attack Of The Mutant", who I think is a fitting casting choice considering that he played the role of a kid obsessed with comics so well. And here he does just as good of a job, only this time he's addicted to a time controlling device that turns him into a spoiled selfish brat, instead of being a geeky kid who becomes a hero for his knowledge of reading and collecting comics.
As good as the episode is however; there are two things that in my opinion hold it back from being one of the great ones of the series. The performances from the actors who play Seth and the salesman are good, but the rest of the cast aren't. All the supporting characters are the cardboard cutout stereotypes that we keep seeing on the show, like the mean little sister, the undeveloped bully, the nerdy Dad, and well you get the rest. They are more restraint with portraying the comical nature of the characters then what the last episode did, but they still are boring for how cliched they are. The worst performance of the whole cast goes to the kid who plays Seth's worried best friend, who I'm sure is trying, but man is his acting and line delivery just as phony as watching inexperienced kids perform in a school play, just without it being cute. The second thing is the ending. Without giving it away, although I do like it, it still leaves me with tons of questions regarding the salesman. I know he's supposed to be mysterious, but as I was watching the episode, I felt like we were going to learn more about him and what his motivation is, and sadly we don't which for me is a huge let down.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This episode is the "Be Careful Of What You Wish For" of the Third Season, a simple and timeless cautionary tale that has the right mix of humor and suspense, as we get two fine performances from the lead and the mysterious character that he constantly comes across. It may have some draw-backs from the acting of the supporting cast, and leaving you with a lot of questions when it’s over, but it’s still as enjoyable as the episode that I compared it too, that wasn't all that perfect either.
AN OLD STORY
Tom and Jon are home alone as their parents are out on vacation, but find themselves surprised when they discover that their weird Aunt Dahlia has come unannounced to babysit them. Aunt Dahlia for some odd reason has an obsession of feeding the kids prunes, but they don't mind since they love eating them. The next morning when they awake, they find themselves feeling tired and worn-out and noticed that their hair is turning grey and falling off. They eventually turn into seniors and must now find a way to be young again, while avoiding their suspicious aunt and her two flirty friends.
Just like the last episode I reviewed, this is another one of those episodes where the humor and thrills are balanced just as well. The jokes and reactions of the kids getting old are funny, but still keep to the intensity of what they are experiencing. The Aunt's presence is threatening, but she still maintains a fun villainous personality that's as entertaining as watching someone like Tim Curry play it up as a villain. Even her motivation of turning the kids old, is funny but yet disturbing. The finale to this episode also goes a bit bio-polar by on us with its comedy and horror for having a climax that's silly but pretty graphic for a "Goosebumps" episode, to having an ending that leaves you in suspense (like the majority of episode's on the show) but also has you giggling a bit.
The performances are all enjoyable, especially from the actress who plays the wicked Aunt, but I will admit that the kids are the least good actors in the episode. They're definitely nowhere near as bad as a good chunk of the kids that can't act on the show, since they are entertaining, and that you do buy into their frustration and fear of getting old. But there's something about their delivery that feels stilted and staged at times. Even the old voices that they put on, while serviceable I still get the impression that half of the time they’re just putting on those voices to sound old, as opposed to feeling that their voices have actually changed. However, the gags, the levels of suspense, and especially the convincing make-up they put on the kids are good enough for you to get past how staged their acting can be at times.
I guess the reason why I'm a little critical on this episode is mainly because the show has already tackled on a kid turning old before in "The Haunted Mask 2". The struggles that the kid goes through in that episode when he becomes an old man with a hideous looking face felt painfully legit through the acting, visuals, pacing, and writing, where it wasn't flooded with humor like this episode was. And it had a theme that was centered on the fears of getting old that was relevant to the character's, when in this episode there is no theme or moral centered on those particular fears, which kind of feels out of the blue.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode may not be as good as the first episode that nailed that concept better, but it is still good. It's entertaining, it's dark, the make-up effects are cool, and the performances are a lot of fun, even if the acting from the kids isn't always top notch.
THE BARKING GHOST
Cooper moves into a new house and hears some strange barking noises coming from the woods. The barking is of course coming from dogs in the woods, but they appear to be ghosts that are after Cooper and his new friend Fergie. Oh and for some odd reason there are pirates in the beginning of the episode who are being hunted by the same dog’s millenniums ago, and I'm just going to take a wild guess that they have some kind hand with the dogs that are attacking Cooper and Fergie.
I've read somewhere that this story and "Go Eat Worms" are R.L. Stine's least favorite story's that he wrote. And while I can agree with "Go Eat Worms" being his worst story (and worst episode of the show by far), I actually don't think that this one was that bad. It's not one of his greatest, because the build-up to the reveal of the dogs was predictable, and the suspense regarding the build-up while not horrible and does in many respects almost feel like the build-up you get in a legit horror, still felt lacking. I'll also admit that having the story involve pirates felt kind of weird. It leads to some fun comedy during the climax. But really the concept of having pirates as the victims felt pointless and unnecessary. Having two kids being attacked by the dogs would have been a better choice than this. But with those aside, I was still invested in what's going on, and I do like how the first half is built on mystery, as the second half is built on both thrills and comedy that's done as well as the last two episodes.
The kid they got to play Cooper is the kid who played Daniel in "Night Of The Living Dummy 3" and his acting is still just as good, where it hardly ever feels fake or silly; though the voice that he has later on when he's cursed did seem a bit overdone. The parents and his bratty older brother are the usual cliches we get on the show that's boring in terms of character, but their performances are still fine. The actors playing the pirates however are on the same level of over the top bad as the cast in "Don't Go To Sleep" was, and the girl who plays Fergie (who you may know her as the voice of Emily in the show "Little Bear") with the exception of the climax, her acting before that feels very unnatural, which is a pity since I adored listening to her voice work so much in "Little Bear". The dogs that come after the kids, are surprisingly well trained and do look legitimately vicious. Some of the effects used for when they pull their supernatural abilities also isn't bad, though the CGI effect for them jumping through a portal does look unbelievably fake.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode isn't anything that special, but I wouldn't say it's as bad as "Go Eat Worms". The acting from half of the cast is solid, the dogs and how they're trained look ferocious, the story while predictable is still entertaining, and the climax when the kids become cursed is the best part of the episode for how funny and crazy it is. If the acting from the other half of the cast was stronger, and that the build-up felt more affecting it would've been a solid episode.
ONE DAY AT HORRORLAND
The Morris Family is lost in the middle of nowhere as they try to find a theme park that they're planning to go to on their vacation. And after seeing fire balls being thrown at them, and a ghostly face of a monster vanishing, they see a sign for a horror themed amusement park called "Horrorland" and decide to go there instead, despite that they were almost killed by what they think was some kind of gimmick to advertise for the park. Upon arriving to this middle of the desert park, the place looks deserted, everything there is for free, and yet they still don't find any of it a tad suspicious, at least not until they split-up as the kids go on rides operated by the creatures of Horrorland that go past the boundaries of being frightening, but rather hazardous where it may be their last. This episode in many ways amazes me. It amazes me how a two part episode like this can have such a strong and creative first act that's at times legitimately scary, to having a second act that is absolutely terrible, with the exception of the climax.
The first half of the episode is as perfect as a "Goosebumps" episode can get. The characters as cliche as they are, are not only better actors than most of the actors we get on the show, but they're also very likable for how they interact with each other. You totally buy that they are a family, and that they're legitimately creeped out by this park. It's stupid that they don't catch on to the park not being safe till later on, but then we wouldn't have an episode. The creatures in the park who are called Horrors, like Slappy or the Mutant, are fun to watch for how colorful their personalities are, but still come off as creepy for how strange they act, and glare at the characters. The make-up designs for them are also one of the best imaginative designs that the show has to offer. And I love how each horror has their own distinctive personality and design to make them stand out. The rides we see them go on, are inventive but also thrilling at the same time, especially when the kids go on the "Coffin Cruise" that feels claustrophobic. Just by looking at the colorful and goth-like sets and props that give this desert horror theme park plenty of personality, you can tell that the people making this episode had a bigger budget compared to most episodes of the show. Sure some of the effects at times look cheesy like the fireball effect, and the talking head that a horror carries around, but they are in some ways still fun to look at.
Then we get to the second half of the episode, where the story decides to change from being a story about a horror theme park, to having our characters competing on a game show in front of a live monster audience, where it turns out that the monsters have their own cable network as well. This whole lay-out feels like that it could've easily been its own story. I mean how do you go from a family being trapped in a theme park with monsters, to a family being forced to play on a game show hosted by monsters in the same story? It's pretty ridiculous if you ask me. I don't want to watch a game show, I want to see the family go on more deadly rides, and visit different parts of the park as they try to find a way out.
Now I wouldn't be hard on this episode's change of setting if it was at least executed right, but it isn't. The horrors we meet in this part started out as ok. We get to see a whole audience of them cheering and getting in on the fun, and the host of the game show seemed like a riot to watch. But then we get the slow horror, the gay horror, and the Vanna White horror, that are all just annoying and don't have that same unsettling edge to them as the horrors did in the first part. The game show host horror who started out promising loses his charm quickly, where he suddenly gets irritating for how loud and one note he is in terms of personality. And we see the same shots of the horrors in the audience over and over again doing pretty much the same exact thing where it just becomes boring for how repetitive it is. Plus the humor that they're given is so corny and desperate to get a laugh that it almost feels insulting considering how enjoyable it was in the first part of the episode. We get commercials of either a love song CD that has very cheap song parodies on the track list like "I Want To Hold Your Claws" for example, and human action figures that we watch children horrors play with that's not even close to being funny or disturbing. And all the tension and creativity that we got in the first half is completely sucked out and put on auto-pilot where it almost feels like that the people behind this episode were pulling off some kind of joke on us for how overally cartoony this part is.
That is until when the family are trapped in a dungeon with Sabre from "Camp Nightmare" (who is called Ripper) in his best cameo outside of his episode to date, where they see the remains of his victims. And then when they escape, they're being chased and hunted down by the horrors that goes from slow and heart ponding to fast and insane. But just as you feel like that this all made up for what you had to sit through during this second half, we get possibly one of the worst endings on the show that's not scary but insulting, and to make it even more painful the episode ends with an elderly horror couple sitting on a coach watching TV, and eating cockroaches that's just as cringe worthy as everything that took place inside the TV studio.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I have yet seen a "Goosebumps" episode that's brilliant in so many ways, but yet contains so much stuff in it that's so awful that it's kind of hard to comprehend that both of these elements are together in the very same episode. It is better than the first episode of the show that involves a theme park, since the effects are for the most part better, it’s well acted, it’s drenching with a lot of creativity in terms of visuals and writing, and even contains a few actual scares. But I do feel like that it’s a very middle of the road episode like "Shocker On Shock Street" since there's so much stuff going on when we get to the game show portions of the episode that are so bad that it’s scary. If all the stuff involving the game show wasn't in the episode (even if it sadly means losing Sabre's awesome cameo, that's honestly more scary here than it was in the episode that he originated in) I would considered it to be a great episode that's a must see, but unfortunately since all that stuff is in the episode, where you sadly can't even just watch the first half as a stand alone episode since it builds-up to the crap that happens in the second half that in the end makes it overall a mess.
THE HAUNTED HOUSE GAME
Nadine and Johnathan enter an old abandon house to find a little girl's missing cat, but instead find a board game with an illustration of the house that they're in on the cover of it. They open up the box under curiosity only to find themselves teleported into the board game where they must play to get out of the game and survive. Along the way they come across two kids who have been trapped inside the game for years, and are seeking a way out too.
As "Jumanji" like as this premise is, there's not only tons of original elements for it to stand on its own, but they're also very ingenious. I like how they're literally on a board game as living pieces where the lay-out for the game acts very much like a regular board game, and that they simply can't move from their space since there's a force field in the way and can only move depending on what the dice tells them to move after they roll it. I also love that each space they stand on teleports them to a different world where they have to figure what the giant card tells them to do, as they are being chased by ghosts which makes each scenario they get into after landing on each space unpredictable. But as clever as the game functions are, a part of me dislikes that the episode completely ignores the board game element during the last 10 minutes, and decides to have them trapped in a fun house type of location that's filled with puzzles that (just like the second half in "One Day At Horrorland") could've been an idea for a stand-alone episode. But with that said, I don't think it really killed the episode by any means since the concept is executed well since the kids getting to a model of the abandon house was being built up, and that half of the things that they get on their journey does pay-off when they enter as they try to solve the puzzles that the house throws at them. So I can't say the idea was that unnecessary.
The sets and props for each place the kids go to are very imaginative that carry their own distinct look and feel. I especially love how the board game that the kids are in is designed; it captures that feeling of literally standing on a board game just with a bit of a twisted edge. The ghosts that the kids meet are inventive characters with cool make-up and costume designs, but they're personality come across as "Saturday Morning Cartoon" villains, instead of scary. However while not scary, they definitely don't get to the point where they a lose a bit of that edge that they're supposed to have. Well that is with the exception of the last two ghost we meet, they were simply too childish. The actors playing Nadine and Johnathan are suitable for their roles and do bring a likable presence even though their characters are nothing special, but the actors playing the kids that they meet in the game are ok, but definitely nowhere near as good as the leads, and let’s just say that the twist involving these two characters was so obvious right from the start that it seemed pointless to even call it a twist.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode doesn't scream out as one of the essential ones of the series, but it’s still one of the good ones thanks to its endless creativity, clever writing, and characters who aren't special but still good enough to get you through the episode and hope for their safety.
For pranking his little brother so many times, Brian is sent to a summer school (that's literally called "The Perfect School") that's guaranteed to make him a better person. After making a friend on the bus named CJ, he discovers that the school is treated more as a prison than it is as a typical boarding school. But to make things worse, he suspects something sinister about the staff, and wonders what makes the kids appear to be so perfect when they leave.
When this two part episode began I didn't think it was going to be good after getting an opening tease scare that was so predictable that I didn't feel the need for it to build-on it, even if it is relevant to the story. And when I saw the obvious nerd and the rebellious cool kid on the bus I was rolling my eyes thinking "oh great, here are more of the bland stereotypes on the show that are just getting old". But once they get to the school, I was hooked. All the way from when we first enter the school, to the end I felt just as curious as Brian is to know what was happening for how intense the build-up is. The actors playing the people who work at the school (especially the actor playing the head master) are genuine jerks who barely come off as comical, or over dramatic. The kids who act perfect all of sudden give a subtle creepy vibe for how unnaturally nice and pleasant they behave. The school looking like one big prison is eerie. How we discover each and every clue keeps you wanting to know more of what's going on. And the pay-off to all this mystery, even though it was one of my guesses when the episode was near its end, it was still executed quite effectively. But I will admit that once we get our pay-off and the episode gives one last twist, while it’s a good one, I do hate that it feels like it's setting itself up for a third part instead of being an ending, like the endings to "A Night In Terror Tower" and "The Haunted Mask 2" for example. And it also didn't help as much that it left me with a few questions that will never be answered.
Another thing that I admire about the episode is the protagonist. The character is not really all that different from a character like say Billy from "Welcome To Camp Nightmare". But what impresses me about him is in most "Goosebumps" episodes involving the older sibling bullying the younger one, they only exist to be a second antagonist who almost never gets into major trouble from the parents; here he's our lead and he has to pay for the consequences for his actions all throughout the episode, as well as to try to redeem himself from being the jerk who we just saw in the opening. I thought that was a brilliant change to the formula of the characters we usually get on the show. And the actor playing him, aside from a few scenes where his acting gets a little stilted (especially when he tells someone about discovering everything), he does a fine job where his acting not only adds to the suspense, but also makes him likable enough for you to care about him. The only thing I question about the character is how does he instantly escape from the staff just as they're about to open the door without leaving any trace at all? For crying out loud even Batman doesn't just disappear that perfect compared to this character. But I'm seriously nitpicking. As for the kids he meets, they're performed just as well as the actor playing Brian, and I like that they don't really act on the stereotypes as much as you would think.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Even though the ending feels like its setting up for another episode that will never happen, as you wonder one or two things, it’s still an overall solid episode that offers some actual thrills and suspense that doesn't feel as campy compared to many others. It does have a "Camp Nightmare" kind of feel, but let’s be honest, despite that the episode was more creative with its premise, it did have more of that camp value to it when compared to this episode, which is what makes this episode so intense. It has an on the edge of your seat mystery, good acting (if not perfect), some nice visuals, and a premise that in reality is every kids worse nightmare.
WEREWOLF SKIN
An aspiring photographer named Alex is staying with his Aunt and Uncle out in the country for vacation (and yet for some reason is going to school there, that's never explained why) at a town called "Werewolf Creek" (that sounds nothing like "Fever Swamp" at all). While staying with them, his relatives only give him two important rules to follow which is to never go to the creepy looking house across the street where their crazy neighbors (who we never see) live. And to NEVER go into the woods after dark since there are werewolves lurking around in there, which Alex refuses to believe. During his stay he makes friends with a girl named Hannah (where they first meet in the woods, like how Cooper and Fergie met in "The Barking Ghost") but notices that the people are acting strange when werewolves are brought up, including his new friend. Eventually Alex does come across some werewolves to find a shocking discovery.
After watching a successful two part "Goosebumps" episode that had nice thrills, a great mystery, and acting that's good enough to keep to the intensity of it; here we get another two part episode that lacks all of it. As I was watching this episode, I was so uninterested in its story feeling not scared by any of it, that I found myself pin-pointing every plot thread and gimmick that the episode does that's already been done before! The relatives hiding something from our lead; the wolves located in a Swamp; the stupid and unneeded bullies; the fast-moving POV shots that feels like watching a less scary version of "Fever Swamp" and "Camp Nightmare" for how overused the effect is; and oooh man, it feels like that almost everything in terms of story and visuals are just being half-assed. They even make the twist of the best friend being a werewolf the whole time crystal clear before it even happens, since the clues and how she reacts to werewolves are far from subtle by any stretch of the imagination! The werewolves costume design and how the skin moves by itself are decent effects, but is lacking of thrills. The only thing I enjoyed when it came to story and visuals was what the werewolf skin is used for; and the reveal of who's wearing the skin before we get the "twist" with Hannah (though I'm sure you can guess who the first few werewolves were before her).
The acting is not horrible, but far from great. The kid playing Alex is alright, and I love how cynical he can be at times. And the actors portraying relatives at first started out fine. But the rest of the performances are mediocre at best. The kids playing the bullies are dull as a rock. The girl playing Hannah, while not as bad as the actress playing Fergie (and I feel bad for saying that since I do legitimately love her in "Little Bear" growing up) is still a bland performance. And when the actors playing the relatives have to act weird in the second half, they come off as silly as opposed to being scary, especially during that moment when they tell Alex that they are cold, I found it hysterical. There's also the scene in the kitchen where the camera never stops moving to try to make the scene intense, but yet comes off as pretentious along with all the other gimmicks the scene uses to try to make us scared. As for their characters they're ok, but nothing special. Alex is likable, and I suppose I would like to know about Hannah's history as a werewolf, but everybody else is pretty boring for how standard they are as characters. The worst character of them all isn't the bullies, nor the teacher, or the relatives; it was actually the bus driver who takes Alex to the bus stop out in the woods at night, where she starts scaring him. What is this woman's problem, what gives her the right to pick on a kid for no rhyme or reason? She's just as bad as the stereotypical bullies or the bratty siblings that this show constantly throws at us.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Although I wasn't bored or offended by the episode as much when compared to others, it was still bland for how much of it's filled with the show's typical cliches. The characters are standard. The look of it is boring. And the story is so reminiscent of so many other "Goosebumps" episode (especially "The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp") that it's distracting. I was entertained by it ok, and I did like one or two things that it had, but it was still a very mediocre episode that I don’t think I’ll be watching again any time soon.
AWESOME ANTS
Dave meets an eccentric exterminator during an infestation of ants at the Ice cream parlor, and decides to study ants for a school project after witnessing the event. He orders an ant farm to help him with his studies, but he gets one the size of a cage that can trap any man or animal, as he's given a large manual for him to read before using the ant farm. The kid ignores reading the book, and over-feeds the ants that causes them to get stronger and eventually grow gigantic.
In my review of the Season 2 episode "Go Eat Worms", I talked about how using ants and spiders would be a much scarier premise then worms just crawling around doing practically nothing. And the story to this episode is exactly what that episode should have been like. The kid wants to study ants for a project that's sparked by his curiosity from an event involving them, rather than the kid just being a total creep who obsesses over them for the wrong reasons. The reason for the ants attacking him feels more clear and fleshed out. And I love that there's a reason for them to grow, instead of just having one large bug of its kind.
But as much of an improvement as the story is to the last episode that involved a swarm of bugs attacking, it's still sadly a very weak episode. Aside from the exterminator who knows so much about ants, all the characters are just the usual stereotypes that we keep on seeing in the show with nothing new about them. And they don't even come off as likable either for how standard the acting is, including from our lead which is sad since the actor they got is best known for providing the voice of the famous talking aardvark Arthur. Even the actor playing this insane exterminator is just as obnoxious as many of the other eccentric adult characters on the show with nothing funny to say or do. The concept of the ants is scary, but man are the effects for them terrible, even by the shows standards. Sure the use of actual ants in a few scenes brought out the terror that we're supposed to feel. And the effect of them devouring food was passable at best. But the CGI effects of them crawling on the walls are some of the worst effects done by computers that I've ever seen on the show. And the design and effects for when they're gigantic look so cheesy with their stiff movements and wooden bodies that you'd swear you're watching some kind of campy B movie. There's also a twist ending involving the ants, and without giving it away, let's just say that it was silly for how atrociously out there it is.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode had potential through its premise, but it wasn't executed well with its cliched characters, average but not so memorable performances, horrible ant effects, and a twist ending that's more laughable than it is clever. But as disappointing as it was, it was still entertaining for how cheesy it is. It's not a must see at all, but you will be entertained by it ok if you ever decide to give it a view.
BRIDE OF THE LIVING DUMMY
Low-life bum Jimmie O'James finds Slappy the dummy inside his case (who's perfectly intact, despite that he was struck by lightning, and possessed Hayden Christiane to make sure he helps ruin the Star Wars film franchise, in the end of the last episode he appeared in) and foolishly reads the card that makes him come to life. Jimmie starts doing stage shows with Slappy, until Slappy sees a doll in the audience that he's attracted too. He forces Jimmie to send him to the doll by giving him to the owner's older sister Jillian who he has met earlier as a gift. Slappy begins to terrorize Jillian and her little sister Katie, but Katie for some reason is behaving strange towards the doll that Slappy wants to marry.
This is the third and final appearance of Slappy in the show and despite the ignored continuity from the previous episode (though I'm willing to bet that this trilogy doesn't even want to follow continuity at all), and the odd motivation, he still carries all the qualities that we love about him. He has his creepy moments from when he's coming after the characters, or frightening them when he's pretending to be a lifeless dummy. But he has his comical moments as well thanks to his wisecracking personality that's always fun to watch. The costume effect that was used for Slappy in the last episode he appeared in for the scenes when he's walking around and fighting another dummy is completely gone where the effects team is using a regular dummy for all of his screen-time. I did find it a tad bit disappointing that they didn't keep the costume effect since it made him look more animated despite how obvious it was when they switch between effects, but they do just a solid job with using a regular dummy as they did in his debut episode. I will admit however that when we get to the climax, you get a sense on a couple of small occasions that someone off-screen is moving the dummy around. And when he fights against somebody since they don't have a guy in a costume to make the attack seem real, they use the slow-motion effect, which granted does work to the scenes advantage since it would look like that somebody is moving him around, but it still feels out of nowhere, and inconsistent since we see the other characters move in regular speed.
A major difference that this episode carries that none of the previous episodes with Slappy did is unlike how we don't see him actually moving on his own and directly talking to the characters until the end or second half, here we see him doing all this stuff throughout the episode. He does act like a lifeless dummy when Jillian takes him in, but before that, we see him interacting with his first slave Jimmie. Some may find this to be a downer since Slappy lying around and doing stuff off-screen was scarier than him actually running after his victims, but I don't find it to be a problem considering that we've already seen Slappy in two episodes already, where him just posing as a lifeless dummy until the end would get tedious at this point since we know how he behaves and how he functions. Plus they still use that kind of suspense in this episode, just not with Slappy, and I'm sure many of you can already figure out who I'm referring too, but I'll be nice not spoil it for those who haven't figured it out yet.
The characters in the previous episodes with Slappy were characters who you felt connected too for how likable, and nervous they were of the dummy, and here they're just as good and for the most part well-acted. Jillain is a tough and strong character who doesn't take any of Slappy's crap, and the actress playing her does a much better job here of showing fear than she as Stephanie did in the episode "The Headless Ghost" (not to say that her performance wasn't fun to watch). The kid Harrison is only in the episode to be the fat comic-relief stereotype, but the actor playing him is not only enjoyable, but does come off as more natural compared to most kids in the show who are solely bringing a cartoon like performance based on their character trope (like the bullies, or the snarky rebellious kid). The most interesting one of the cast of characters is Slappy's first victim Jimmie O'James, where you're curious to know about his past before finding Slappy, his relationship with Slappy, and what else he's assisted him with, just by his interaction with Slappy, how he fearfully describes him to Jillain, and where he lives. As for Katie, while the character is fine and almost as interesting as Jimmie, the actress playing her is not bad, but it's not the best either. I do buy into her odd obsession with her doll, and she has a cute presence that doesn't feel sugar coated, but her line delivery and scared reactions just feels rather rushed half of the time, as if she's not given time to express the character's fears properly. In the previous two Slappy episodes, the roles of the parents were given enough character and time for them to stand out and bring a real sense of a family relationship with the leading characters; but the parents here, as fitting as the actors are for their roles they’re barley in it, which is not really a criticism since the story is focused on where it should be, but more of an observation of the difference in the Slappy episode formula. Though they still leave the kids alone on a dark in stormy where Slappy is able to get them, so they're not too different in terms of actions from these typical characters.
The one final thing for me to talk about without getting into spoiler territory is the twist endings. Instead of having 1 or 2 twists, this episode has 3, that all start out when the characters hide in the basement. The first twist even though it caught me off guard as a kid, it's very predictable. But the build-up to it was satisfying (if not acted too well) and how it’s revealed just keeps you off guard, as we get something that's both freaky and yet funny at the same time. The second twist involves the reveal of Slappy's true intention, and my reaction to it is the same reaction that I have about the wicked Aunt's motivation in "An Old Story", that's silly, but still pretty messed up. The third and final twist is the episode's last scare after when everything seems all as well, is in my opinion the scariest out of the previous endings in the Slappy episodes, that scared me as a kid, and still creeps me out now.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Apart from ignored continuity (that was probably intentional), an obvious twist, a rushed performance, and effects that get a little hokey during the climax (mostly the use of slow-mo for the fight), this Slappy episode for me is the second best one, with the first one being the best. You care for the characters. The acting while not perfect is still good (at least in terms of this show). The effects for the most part are done well, and will be less distracting for many who felt about the effects in the last episode. Slappy is a riot. It has a good balance of fun and chills with some nice visuals supporting it. And the changes to the Slappy formula are welcoming, while it still stays true to some of the other traditions. It does have a few problems, but they're overall very minor since everything else is done so well.
STRAINED PEAS
Nicholas' parents bring home his new baby sister Grace, but during his attempts to bond with her, he notices the baby to be acting strange. She can walk around, she's intelligent enough to spell out words through her blocks, and she can talk. Nicholas suspects that Grace wants him out so that she can be the only one to get all the love and attention, and tries to tell his parents about her, but of course they don't believe him.
We all know about the bratty siblings on the show and how some of them can be worse than the actual monsters themselves (like Tara from "The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom" for example), and since Stine loves giving us that stereotype so much, it seems fitting that he would do one about a baby. This is obviously not a new concept, but it should be at least scary or entertaining to see R.L. Stine have a baby be both the brat and the monster. And while I'm sure that Stine did a better job with the story when he wrote the book, this episode is hardly any of that.
All the baby pretty much does to Nicholas is just threaten him, walk around to make a mess, and would occasionally show off her special powers like maybe once or twice. I probably wouldn't mind it so much if the stakes felt high, or if this was something different, but really this is pretty much just "Night Of The Living Dummy 2" and "Revenge Of The Lawn Gnomes", only this time it’s with a baby. And unlike how Slappy and the Gnomes were fun but had creepy designs, this baby isn't anywhere near that. I know they used a real baby and would throw in a few effects, but I'm sorry the last thing I would ever find this monster to be is scary. The way she talks to the kid is just way too laughable for how non-threatening it sounds. I mean come on; you don't even give her some kind of demon voice that would show that they are trying to scare the kids. Alright they do give her some kind of demonic cry when Nicholas first sees her, and later on we would hear a chomping sound when she bites Nicholas' fingers, but even those fail as terrifying moments for how obviously dubbed those sound effects for the scene are, where you get the impression that the actor isn't really hearing it. As for the scenes when she's hiding in the dark, or moving around the house as you are questioning what she's going to do or when she'll pop out, as thrilling as it might be for kids, the pay-off is always lousy and comes off as silly since the baby doesn't do anything scary, nor is scary to begin with. The only moment with her that was kind of unsettling are when her eyes glow in the dark, mainly for how that happens out of nowhere, but aside from that, all the scares are done poorly. And the reveal of what she is in the ending along with the final scare we get before the credits role is so ridiculous and makes little to no sense that it's almost as if Stine or the writers adapting the story didn't know how to end it properly, and instead just half-assed it.
The acting and characters are far from anything special or memorable. Nicholas is no different from the kids who are trying to tell the truth on the show, and the actor playing him while not awful, doesn’t really bring much charm to this tired and worn-out character trope. The parents are just same old ignorant parents that we've been seeing since the second episode of the series, where the only memorable thing about them is how they idiotically leave their troubled son home alone with the baby, instead of hiring someone to watch over both of them. And Nicholas' wise-ass best friend Sam isn't well acted, and her character just feels there to be there for no real reason or purpose at all.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I don't want to make it sound like that this is one of the most offensively bad episodes of the show, because it isn't. It's just a very standard episode that plays things safe with its generic characters and story that has no good scares or laughs for that matter. It could've been good given the different direction that Stine wanted to take with the bratty sibling stereotype, but it still fails to be as good as the change of direction sounds.
And by the way, I still have no clue why the episode is called "Strained Peas"!
SAY CHEESE AND DIE...AGAIN
In this sequel to a mediocre "Goosebumps" episode at best, Greg writes a paper on his experience with the cursed camera, but his teacher fails him unless he can prove to him that the camera is real. Greg goes back to the building where he found the camera, but it turns out that it's been demolished, and Spidey the creator of the camera is nowhere to be found. He eventually manages to find it, and just when he has the evidence, all the chaos that the camera has brought to his life is starting all over again.
For a sequel to an episode that's deliberately trying to follow continuity this time (unlike the Slappy sequels) as if it was the second half of the episode just like "The Haunted Mask 2" for example, it does an inexcusable poor job at doing so. When the last episode that involved the camera ended, Spidey who was after Greg and Shari for finding the camera and threatening to silence them from ever telling anybody about it, only to be trapped inside it by our heroes, to eventually being set free when a duo of one-dimensional bullies steal the camera. I was expecting this second half to have Spidey chase after the kids again, as the kids would wonder what happened to the bullies that used to harass them. But nope, that entire cliffhanger ending is completely ignored here! For the love of god, could they at least have Spidey show-up in at least one scene and do something, as opposed to seeing him in the flashbacks. All throughout the episode Greg is paranoid wondering where Spidey is and if he's going to come after him, and as you're eagerly waiting for him to appear, it never happens, nor do we ever find out what happened him. They couldn't even make up some excuse about him dying, or being arrested or something? It would at least make some kind of sense for his absence in a sequel that's begging to have him back.
The absence of Spidey isn't the only issue I have with the sequel it’s also the casting, and characters. None of the original actors from the first episode are back to reprise their roles, and if you don't even have half the cast, or hell any of the original cast members at all, why not take liberties and have it be about different characters that find the camera? But that's not what really bugs me the most about the casting, it’s also the fact that the kid playing Greg looks and sounds way to young, when Greg in the first episode was a tall teenager that sounded like he was old enough to work at "Camp Nightmoon", which is very distracting! The actors they casted aren't good actors either for how unnatural their interactions and line delivery are most of the time, when the actors in the first one were believable if not great. And just like how felt about seeing the actress who voiced Emily in "Little Bear" give a disappointing performance in "The Barking Ghost", the same can be said about the girl playing Shari since I loved watching her so much in episodes of "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?" either as a lonely ghost, or a bratty little sister that will be feed to a closet monster if she doesn't behave. On top of the bad casting, the characters and writing are as idiotic as ever. I don't at all buy that the kid would steal a camera that has brought misery to his life and bring it to a classroom just to get an A on a paper. As a matter of fact, why does he think Spidey got out of the camera, he wasn’t there when he escaped? Then there’s the scene when Shari takes a picture of Greg after he accidentally takes a picture of her, just to be wiseass to him, which is unbelievably cruel considering that she had it worse when she disappeared the last time she had her picture taken from that camera. Oh and it turns out that none of the two remember that if you destroy a picture from the camera everything is restored, but instead must find a new way to save themselves, which again adds to my reason why this episode should’ve had totally different characters.
But as horrible of a sequel that the episode is, there is one saving grace to it that makes it watchable and that's when the kids are affected by the camera. Greg is getting fatter and fatter where he'll burst like a balloon, as Shari is slowly wasting away. The plot hole regarding them forgetting to just destroy the pictures is still distracting, and at times makes me want to yell at the characters to do what they just did before, but there are elements that I do like. The jokes aren't funny, but are still entertaining. The make-up used on the actors while not the greatest, is still passable. And the actors as over the top as they are do start to become entertaining as you feel kind of sorry for them when their end is near, even though they're still idiots. And one other thing I enjoyed was watching the actor playing the ignorant teacher who is just completely yucking up the snobby personality, and ignorance that had me rolling my eyes at first, to later on finding him to be amusingly entertaining.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This sequel is pointless and fails miserably as a continuation to the first episode through its casting, idiotic writing, and leaving things that was mentioned and left opened to be explored in a sequel, completely out. But once the kids start getting affected by the camera, that's when things start to get fun. It's far from a good episode and is the worst sequel to an episode that I ever saw on the show, but at least it still manages to entertain when the weird stuff begins to happen.
After a three part mini-series that R.L. Stine had no hand in what-so-ever, we finally come to the last episode of the Season...
TEACHER'S PET
Becca and her friend Benjy are on an overnight class-field to learn about how the food chain works at a nature center. But Becca suspects something strange going on in the woods when she sees a rabbit with a lizard's face. Eventually she and Benjy discover an old abandon cabin in the woods, where someone appears to be experimenting animals by turning them into monstrous creatures. The episode's story from what I read to my understanding doesn't follow the book, but as always I'm reviewing it on its own merits, just like how I reviewed all the others.
It's important to know that the episode is dedicated to the actress who played Becca, Michelle Risi, who sadly died of meningitis following its production at the age of 16, which is very sad and unfortunate. And truth be told, even if she didn't die I'd still say she's not bad of an actress. But while her acting isn't bad, the character she portrays and the material she's given to work with isn't much. I know you expect that from the leading characters of the show, but there's nothing really about her performance or her character's personality that stands-out. And to be fair, it's not just her alone, so is pretty much all the other characters. The best friend, the snobby bullies, her teacher, they're all just so forgettable for how boring and cliched they are. The only character and performance that stands-out from the rest is the actor playing the instructor of the nature center, for how weird he acts which is way too obvious that he's the one doing all the experiments. Surprisingly the actor they got to play him, is the same actor who played Spidey in the episode "Say Cheese And Die", and rather than giving a loud and over dramatic performance like he did as Spidey where he loses all sense of scares and creep, here he comes off as a little more creepier for how quiet and monotone he is. It is a little too mellow-dramatic, but it still fits the character just fine.
The effects that are used in this episode I swear are some of the cheesiest looking effects that the show has ever brought. The rabbit with the lizard's face just looks like they copied and pasted footage of a lizard onto the bunnies face. The CGI effects for the bats are actually faker than the ones in the first episode of the Season since they're shown flying in daylight as opposed to the dark. And the last effect we see at the end is just laughable for how fake and animated it looks. The only downside is instead of looking at these silly effects more often, we only see them once in a while, as we usually get scenes of the kids being attack by a giant snake that aren't intense since the snake doesn't look deadly, as these scenes move at a slow pace with shots and editing that don’t make this snake seem threatening. I'm glad they used an actual snake, but unless you have a phobia of snakes these scenes won't thrill you. And I have to say the cliched attempts of the episode trying to scare you with the POVS, and the lights flickering on and off in the cabin just come off as pretentious.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The episode is dull and slow moving, with its unappealing characters, predictable story-line, and the in the woods look that's very generic. Sure the actor playing the instructor can be entertaining, and some of the effects are laughable for how cheesy they are, but they in the long run don't overcome the episode's tedious nature. I know some people have a sentimental connection to the episode since its dedicated to the actress that died after production, which is a touching gesture, but that for me doesn't save the episode from being unexciting and barley entertaining.
OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE THIRD SEASON
The Season does have more good episodes that are imaginative, entertaining, and at times scary that I would actually find myself re-watching compared to half of the episodes from the Second Season, but it still has its share of strong weaknesses. It's not just the same old problems that the previous seasons had, by having some cheesy effects, bad acting, and being too silly instead of scary, it's mainly because the cliches are now getting old at this point. In pretty much half of the episodes, I knew where a story was going for how predictable the lay-out and formula was. Most of the characters I know I've seen before in the other two Seasons, just with a different name and monster to face. And the effects and camera work that looked impressive and scary in the first two Seasons are starting to look boring since we're seeing the same old tricks used too many times. The episodes that I praised are still good and some of the show's finest, and I especially admired when the show pulled off a 3 part mini-series that was completely original. But if you're expecting plenty of changes to the shows formula, you're not going to get much of that here and may find them to be tiring after sitting through two whole Seasons of it.
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