In this silly sequel to the original 2015 horror comedy, Jack Black returns, doing double duty as Goosebumps author R.L. Stine and the devilish voice of Slappy the Dummy. When middle-schoolers Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and his friend Sam (Caleel Harris) go into business, clearing out junk from neighborhood homes, they discover a treasure trove in an old abandoned house. In a hidden room, they find a creepy chest containing an unfinished book by R.L. Stine called Haunted Halloween and a mischievously menacing ventriloquist’s puppet known as Slappy, who helps the boys with their homework and humiliates Tommy (Peyton Wich), the local bully. But sneaky Slappy, working out of an old electricity plant, hatches a sinister plot to take possession of the boys’ hometown of Wardenclyffe, NY, with the help of a monster mash of ghoulish Halloween decorations, including seed-spitting jack-o-lanterns, giant gummy bears, and a big purple spider. So it’s up to Sonny, his older sister Sarah (Madison Iseman), and Sam to prevent an All Hallows Eve catastrophe. Lending support are Sam’s harried single mother (Wendi McLendon-Covey), her admirer (Chris Parnell), and quirky Mr. Chu (Ken Jeong), who has a handy costume collection. Working from a sketchy script, filmmaker Ari Sandel’s family-friendly (though maybe not for young children) sequel is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Science with Slappy” segment (12 min.), a “making-of” featurette (10 min.), the production featurettes “Meet the Monsters” (9 min.) and “Slappy's Audition” (2 min.), “Slappy-Oke Sing Alongs” (5 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), deleted scenes (2 min.), and a brief “Junk Brothers—Call Now!” commercial. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven but reasonably engaging sequel.] (S. Granger)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Sony, 90 min., PG, DVD: $30.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.99, Jan. 15
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
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