Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A different way of telling a story

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I don't watch horror. Predictable. And gore is just cheap schlock.But I love circuses and sideshows. And there are many movies about them. First main introduction was Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way comes which was made into at least two movies.Anyway...This one is all a bit predictable. It takes a while - i.e. too long - to get going and it changes protagonists half way through! Really! If you've one eye on the plot line it's a bit jarring.It's def YA. Not just YA but childish YA. Sub 12 maybe. So although it has a great theme and some spooky moments, the childish parts really detract from the overall movie.But nice characters, well played and a suitable music score by Ryan Shore.But does the inane pop/hip hop music splattered throughout really appeal to the target audience? Really?Yeah, I know that's twice I've said 'Really'.I can't help but think how much better it would have been if it had aimed at a slightly higher age range or, at the very least, not been dumbed down so much. Hey ho...So, if you're a young and unfussy YA, go watch it.

I was actually looking for a different movie when I stumbled upon this through Netflix. By the time I realized my mistake, I decided to give it a shot anyway. I went in with the mentality that this was a kids movie because it is. Anyway, I saw the plot coming a mile away but it was still fun to see the character's reactions to it. Dove Cameron did a great job with her character and most of the others portrayed their intentions pretty well. I absolutely loved the dynamic between Beth and Hunter. I wanted, more than an adult woman should want, for a second movie to come out just to see what would happen if the bad guys came back. I enjoyed this more than many of the other Goosebumps movies and I say it's worth a shot as a family flick. Go in with low expectations and come out with great rewards.

If you have nothing else to watch and this is the only thing on TV, watch it I guess.The biggest problem I had was with the weird camera-work. Almost everything is blurred at the edges and I am guessing they were trying to give it a fairy-tale look with the blurring, but it just looks silly.The second problem is that the lead male and female have no chemistry. The Hunter guy has more chemistry with the lead female and mostly because they actually are a couple in real life.. so yeah.In the end, acting is fine, girls are fine, mood is light and I was kinda hoping for all that. But unlike Goosebumps, this movie wasn't very entertaining. Teen problems mixed with campy horror. Meh!

I was amazed by this movie. Thought it was gonna be just another cheesy kids horror movie, but I was surprised that it wasn't! The movie had a good plot and the "twist" in the movie was unexpected to me, which made it even better! Visual effects weren't that bad. The makeup could've been done better, but for budget wise was pretty good. Surprisingly, the guy behind the camera did pretty well! The direction of the film had some good shots but mostly just basic film capturing. Dove Cameron and Ryan McCartan were the two actors I recognized in this film. Their acting was pretty descent. I think Dove Cameron was the better actress out of this film. It seems like she works with her role and makes her character the best she can! Anyways, I really would take a shot on this film before turning it down. I really think this movie will surprise you, but probably won't scare you!