Critic Reviews

Ultimately, "Goosebumps" isn't reinventing the wheel, but is instead an amalgamation of a variety of well-loved ideas and themes and given a fresh new spin. Which was, at its core, exactly what R.L. Stine was doing with his original book series. As such, this makes this new series the best adaptation of "Goosebumps" yet.

This version is updated with interesting plots, clever dialogue, and lots of pop culture references. While some pre-teens will enjoy it, it feels like the target audience skews a touch older thanks to some genuine creepiness throughout.

Goosebumps: The Vanishing has an interesting, scary mystery at its center, as well as good performances from Schwimmer, McCarthy and Bartels.

It’s kind of remarkable what the Goosebumps team has done here: taken a campy horror franchise and made it resonant, managing to mix frights and feels.

The final stretch quickly deflates a good cliffhanger by introducing a less impactful one in its last moments. That reservation aside, Goosebumps: The Vanishing is indeed an enjoyable gateway-horror followup to last year’s batch, with a compelling season-long arc that’s an engaging adaptation of Welcome To Camp Nightmare.

The new "Goosebumps" strikes a nice balance. You'll be on edge, without falling out of your seat.

I gradually warmed up to its cast, and its teen drama improved with time, but its first few episodes were only serviceable. Although it has redeeming qualities like its central intrigue, its formulaic scares and initially archetypal characters feel too by the book.

Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller’s series adaptation increasingly gets bogged down trying to deliver supernatural horror and angsty teen drama and a thoughtful rumination on how the mistakes of the past generation can reverberate into the present. Still, there’s adequate heart and humor and (TV-PG) gore here to serve as an amiable intro to horror for the adolescent set.

What is so frustrating about this is that, when Goosebumps forgets about this and goes straight to the core of what Stine’s books were, it can be an absolute blast. The two episodes available at launch both have moments of giddy delight.

Although Season 2 doesn't reach the heights of its ancestor series, it's an encouraging step beyond its predecessor season that illustrates this series' potential. If future installments are in the cards, then both The Vanishing's strengths and weaknesses provide a road map to even more improvement.