The newest incarnation of R.l. Stine’s Goosebumps, on Hulu, is damn good. The new ‘feature’ film adaptation of his almost-as-classic Zombie Town, now on Hulu? Not so much…not even with a major social media influencer and a former Ghostbuster center stage.
Most of us enjoyed a few pre-teen chills from R.L. Stine’s books back in the day. Come on: Goosebumps was almost required reading. And now Zombie Town, one of his long-time classics is available on Netflix after a short visit to your local movie theater.
The basic premise of Zombie Town:
Mike and Amy live in a nice quiet little town where a famous horror filmmaker is premiering his first new movie he’s made in years … on Halloween night. Problem is: watching the movie seems to trigger an ancient curse that turns people into zombies. So now Mike and Amy, strangely unaffected, have to hook up with the crazy old filmmaker, learn about the secret curse that’s threatening their town, and try to save the city before Halloween night ends and the curse becomes permanent.
The film adaptation deviates a whole lot from the original book, but there’s an added bonus for the ancients among us: a ton of old-time comedy stars are making appearances here, including Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase from Saturday Night Live and Bruce McCulloch and Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall (Doesn’t ring a bill? Ask your Mom.)
This is also the first major appearance of Madi Monroe as a lead in a feature film. Madi is a major influencer, with more than 20 million followers and her own clothes and cosmetic lines… and she just turned 20, so we officially hate her.
The film is far from memorable, but so what? It is true to the brand – the kind of harmless, good-natured ‘scary’ goofiness you’d expect from Stine. Not as good as the Goosebumps series that Disney+ and Hulu is producing, but still plenty of fun.
Like mummies, ghosts, and possessed dummies (go, Slappy!), zombies are a recurring theme in Stine’s various series. Among the undead inventory:
Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
All zombie books from R.L. Stine? Yes! It’s… staggering. So to speak.