Goosebumps (TV Series) The Haunted Mask (2023) User Reviews

HUGE step up

[nyborg-king · 8/10 · 13 October 2023]

This is the type of episode I like to see in this show, great horror, amazing interpretation of the original Haunted mask. I dont know what I think of the whole overlapping time gimmick, but i guess its not harmful to the show just yet. The acting is amazing, the production value is way higher than the original goosebumps series, the potential is there. All it takes for this to be great is good writing however rare that is in hollywood these days.

Goosebumps is one of those legendary IPs that can easilly be exploited by suits to make a buck and push whatever they wanna push.

I grew up with goosebumps, I have such high hopes that this wont be remembered as a product of its time.

We need hollywood back to being timeless, back to writing classics that isnt held back by the technical limitations they used to see.

New Take on My Favourite Goosebumps Book

[nillinnow · 7/10 · 16 October 2023]

The Haunted Mask was always one of the scarier Goosebumps books in my opinion. Just the basic idea behind it, how the mask affects it's victims, really creeped me out and filled me with a sense of existential dread even as a kid. It doesn't have quite the same impact here, to be honest, but I still enjoyed what they did with it overall.

Again though, like the first episode, this classic plot from the books was secondary to more character development and world building. While I would have liked more focus on the Haunted Mask itself the creepy third act really lets it shine in a classic monster movie sort of way that's fun enough. It's fortunate too that although it's pretty formulaic in it's execution the central mystery of what happened to Harold Biddle in 1993 remains intriguing enough to propel the series as a whole forward.

Without giving away too much, I'll also say that Justin Long continues to be a highlight here. He's really great at making major tonal shifts between his physical performance (no doubt thanks to learning a thing or two about slapstick horror from Sam Raimi on the set of Drag Me to Hell), awkward humour, and the genuinely uneasy and menacing vibes he can put out when called for.

And talk about a hell of an ending! The final seconds of this episode are pretty surprising, making it real hard not to immediately jump to the next episode... which is exactly what I did!

Two episode in and this new series is still going strong for me! Here's hoping it can maintain that level throughout.

Episode 2

[bobcobb301 · 14 October 2023]

This was not bad, but it also feels like Goosebumps is the worst parts of Castle Rock, the short-lived Hulu series, and not the really the best of Goosebumps. We get a little bit of allusion to past Goosebumps episodes and books, and even a little bit of Are You Afraid of the Dark thrown in, but it also feels like they go too heavy on scares from "possession" and other silly tropes.

Entertaining enough to keep me invested, but I feel like they missed the boat in a big way as people are anxious for a new and exciting anthology series and we are not getting that by any stretch with this new program.