issue 08 // volume 42

‘Goosebumps’ movie delivers hilarity,
creepiness, and nostalgia

» Movie about book series excellent for any fan

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

OOOO

he Goosebumps books—

horror novels for children
that were extremely popular
in the ’90s—have sold over
350 million copies worldwide,
making them one of the
greatest selling series of all
time. Almost everyone in
North America under 30
read at least one of them as a
kid: tales of living dummies,
monster blood, and haunted
masks. Over 20 years after the
first book was published, the
franchise has returned with a
feature-length movie, which
does not disappoint in any way
for fans or casual viewers.

The movie is appropriate for
any reasonably mature child. Its
themes may be too scary for a
six-year-old, but anyone over 10
will enjoy it on its own terms or
because of nostalgia, no matter
how old they are. The plot
follows teenager Zach Cooper
(Dylan Minnette) moving to
a new small town, bored and

meets his cute neighbour
Hannah (Odeya Rush) and her
creepy, shut-in father R. L. Stine,
the real life and in-universe
author of the Goosebumps
books. Stine is played by Jack
Black—yes, that Jack Black—
who delivers a surprisingly fine
performance. In a departure
from his usual style, Black is
almost unrecognizable in his
role, playing Stine powerfully
and creepily, but still with

: a large helping of comedy.
cynical with the area. He quickly : He also provides the voice of

: unofficial Goosebumps mascot
: Slappy the Living Dummy, the
: main antagonist in the movie

: who's exceptionally spooky.

As it turns out, all the

: monsters in the Goosebumps

: books are actually real, locked
: away in the manuscripts to

: stop them from wreaking

: havoc. Of course, they do get

: loose and proceed to destroy

: the small town. Stine has

: to write one final book to

: send the monsters away.

Practically every single

: monster from the series makes
: an appearance in this movie,
: if only in wide-angle shots

: that only a huge fan would

: be able to decipher. However,
: those less familiar with the

: series will still love the movie
: because it’s genuinely clever,

: charming, and hilarious. The
: characters are well-acted,

: quirky, and entertaining to

: watch, and the plot is a lot of
: fun to see escalate, if slightly

: predictable at times—it is, of
: course, a family-friendly movie.

Ultimately, this movie

: takes the audience on an

: adventure—one where we'll do
: a lot of laughing, crying, and

: reminiscing on what it was like
: to be younger and be terrified

: by Stine’s creations. The jokes

: themselves are actually quite

: well-done for a family film, the
: CGI creatures are believable

: and beautiful, and the script

: is mostly straightforward

: and entertaining. I can’t wait

arts // no. 9

 

Still of Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Ryan Lee and Odeya Rush in Goosebumps (2015)

: for the already-announced

: sequel, in which the characters
: will take on the monstrous

: theme park Horrorland.

My one fanboy complaint:

: they never mention monster

: blood in this movie, one of the
: most iconic and memorable

: creations of the Goosebumps

: books. Who could forget

: the giant class hamster?

Viewers beware:

: youre in for a scare.

 

Relive Malala Yousafzai's story in new documentary

» ‘He Named Me Malala’ movie review

    
 
 

*;  Jerrison Oracion
fi Senior Columnist

OOOO

I 2013, Malala Yousafzai was
shot by the Taliban in her
school in Pakistan because she
made a comment that every
girl should have a chance to

go to school. She survived

that situation and went on to
receive the Nobel Peace Prize
and cause a global movement
encouraging every girl in the
world to go to school. We

learn more about her in the
new documentary He Named
Me Malala, directed by Davis
Guggenheim, who also directed
the Academy Award-winning

 

: global warming documentary
: An Inconvenient Truth.

He Named Me Malala

: gives all access to Malala’s
: road to recovery, her private
: life, her early life, and the
: most important person in

: her life, her father Ziauddin
: Yousafzai. It also has

: animations that illustrate

: what they are talking about.

The documentary begins

: with Malala being shot. As you
: learn about her early years,

Photo via www.theedgesusu.co.uk

: you will realize that it will

: lead up to the events of the
beginning. The documentary

: does a great job showing how

: close Malala and Ziauddin are
: and how he is involved in her

: movement. There are a lot of

: interesting stories from Malala
: and Ziauddin. For example,

: Malala was named after a

: girl who was involved ina

: movement and was shot, except
: that particular Malala passed

: away. Another example is that
: Malala wrote a blog for BBC

: News under a secret identity

: that talked about what was

: happening in her hometown

: of Swat Valley and the Taliban
: not allowing free speech.

We learn that Ziauddin

inspired her to do the things
: that she does because he is a

: motivational speaker. We also

: learn that Malala likes to go

: back to Swat Valley because

: she likes her life there, but

: she cannot go back right now

: because the Taliban are in

: Pakistan and she will be shot.

: On the lighter side, we find out
: that one of her favorite games

: is Despicable Me: Minion Rush.

The documentary’s

message is that if every girl

: in the world goes to school,

: they could impact our world,

: and if we take action, it will

: happen. If you would like to

: learn more about Malala and

: the movement, you can read her
: autobiography, [ Am Malala.

As Malala says, “One girl,

: one teacher, one book, and one
: pen can change the world.”