OUR REVIEW:

Goosebumps: The Vanishing consists of eight episodes covering yet another handful of R.L. Stine’s legendary books. As someone who was not an avid reader growing up, Goosebumps was a book series I adored. While not reading most of them during my youth, the ones I did manage left an impression into adulthood. From the unbelievably cheesy 90s television series to the feature films in the mid 2010s to the first season of Disney+’s Goosebumps in 2023 - Stine’s creation continues to live on. Taking another crack at some of the “classics”, The Vanishing disregards the consequences of the first season and detours into a new narrative with brand new characters. 

Translated from Stine’s writing to screen, the new season continues its cheesy depiction with a splash of sincere horror. Firstly tackling Stay Out of the Basement in the first two episodes, the series starts off strong with an intriguing story of murderous plants that puts M. Night to shame. While David Schwimmer (Friends) takes over from Justin Long (Accepted) as the adult figure in this story among primarily teen main characters. The dialogue isn’t the sharpest nor the most natural but it’s more so in the situations we find our characters that matters. 

The young cast is perfectly feasible as teenagers living in Brooklyn over the summer. As their characters are better fleshed out throughout the season, apart from the first two episodes showcasing Brooklyn’s biggest narcissistic jerk - the rest begin to feel like the usual teen characters we’ve come to expect and appreciate in a series like this. 

Goosebumps: The Vanishing’s biggest crime is tacking on way too many modern references such as slang words like “Bussin” and TikTok being mentioned repeatedly. In these modern times, TikTok may quickly become just as outdated as the slang used. 

A creature feature, body horror and a horror anthology with a twist. Visually the creatures within the Goosebumps realm along with the atmosphere in which they reside provides a Creepshow-esque energy of neon glows and fascinating horrors that go bump in the night. The CGI, practical and stunt work are all impressive for a series of this nature - a darker take on both the effects in the 2015 / 2018 movies and especially the show that ran from ‘95 to ‘98. 

A teen centric story that shares an addictive similarity to the likes of Riverdale, Scream: The TV Series and Scream Queens. Fans of the books should be hyped to see the likes of the aforementioned Stay Out of the Basement, The Haunted Car, Monster Blood, The Girl Who Cried Monster, and The Ghost Next Door making the list of adapted titles (some more niche than others). Goosebumps: The Vanishing is the exact kind of adaptation one would want from a Goosebumps series: a reasonable respect for the source material that applies its own original take full of mystery, horror and most of all intrigue for what lies ahead.