The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

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

i watched this when it first came out with my sisters, i wasn't a fan of goosebumps, and since it was Emily osment i was expecting a girly Halloween movie. I was so wrong, this movie made me pumped for Halloween, with all of its atmosphere, decorations, and a awesome song. " i cant wait until Oct 31". Surprisingly, the dialogue is really mature, i mean, not little kiddish, and they took the high school scenes kind of serious. Emily is supposed to be a goth, and i could sense she did have some hidden issues, thats how good her portrayal was, the other characters are funny, except for her little brother who kind of annoyed me with his cowardice, but towards the end when he faces his fears, i was very pleased with him. And now, for the best part of the movie, Emily is walking down a street and looks into an ally and sees a secluded Halloween store, the minute she walks in, i was in awe, they put a lot of work into it, and then she meets the shopkeeper, who is very creepy but mysterious, and hes played by none other than jigsaw from the Saw franchise! of course i didn't know this when i was a kid, but later when i found out it was the same guy i realized he had the same demeanor, in fact it felt like it was jigsaw, his motives were very similar as well! And last but not least, the monster. this thing gave me nightmares for weeks, its aesthetics were so good, and for a children's movie it looked super real, also i felt the dread when Emily was told never to read the evil book out loud, just like from the evil dead! And the worst part is, you cant think about it or else the creature will come to life, lets just say me and my sibling actually tried not to think about. this a great Halloween movie, that is funny and scary, but not grotesque in any way, it was perfect when i was a kid, and it made me like horrors films after that. And every year me and my siblings still like to watch this movie to get us all in the mood, watch this movie, and remember don't think about it...

Horror-obsessed Cassie Keller (Emily Osment) likes to scare his afraid little brother. She's the new student at Knoxville Jr High. She has a crush on Sean (Cody Linley). When she offers to help Sean on his Edgar Allan Poe book report, jealous Priscilla Wright (Brittany Curran) starts bullying her. Cassie buys a book "The Evil Thing" at a mysterious Halloween store from a mystery man (Tobin Bell). Priscilla wins Pumpkin Queen at the Halloween dance and Cassie plays a prank on her. Priscilla returns the favor on Halloween night. Cassie reads the book to her little brother despite the warning "Do Not Read Aloud" bringing forth something evil.R.L. Stine is a widely liked kiddie horror series. It's usually similar to adult horrors without the grotesque or sexuality and at a lower horror level. This one is perfectly fine but the monsters look really cheesy. Emily Osment is able to walk the line between victim and pouty teen. It really needs to work on the creature effects. Actually, I would like mature horrors with children as protagonists. This could be that kind of horror if it's scarier with more grotesque realistic creatures.

After trying to scare her brother with a tale of a monstrous creature, a teen finds that the titular creature has been released into the world and must try to stop it before it consumes more people from their town.This one ended being a pretty interesting teeny-bopper horror film that's quite fun. This is mostly due to the fact that it's more of teen drama in the first half before it focuses on the book and the creature being released, yet strangely none of this is really all that bad or boring. Though a majority of these scenes serve as the building of their relationship and home-life that gives their relationship a nice touch with all their teasing and tormenting, and the school troubles thrown in there's a great balance here of acceptable teen melodrama with the flirtings of a decent horror story. However, once the switch-over occurs, it's a lot more enjoyable here, starting with a creepy legend at the center of the film told within the book that's all quite fun overall. Moreover, this lead-up into a fantastic creature back-story allows for some highly enjoyable attacks scenes here which enable this one to really become worthwhile here, as the initial attack on the delivery-man and the later encounter in the park where it captures her friend with a rather tense and chilling stalking scene amidst the wooded area surrounding the park all coming off as pretty fun encounters. The creature' stalking them in the house is even more fun with some great stalking and a couple close-encounters while setting up the manner of defeating the creature found in the finale in its sewer-cave underground which is quite fun with the chilling crawl through the webbed tunnel the creature left behind, the confrontation in the pit with the hatched infants and the big confrontation with the creature that puts their knowledge learned earlier that gives this quite a fun amount of action. Along with a main creature that looks fantastic and has a lot of realism to it being a live-action creation and an overall sense of fun that arrives from the whole affair, there's not a whole lot to dislike here. However, due to the teen appearance and all of the focus surrounding them still making it entertaining despite the lack of focus on the horror angles, it doesn't have the air of danger it really should since nothing's going to get too frightening or dangerous for them and it won't really wallow in the usual trappings the genre normally dishes out, which makes for the film's one big flaw. It might make for a strained viewing getting past that once those get brought out and start holding up the plot somewhat. Otherwise, it's still not all that bad of a film.Rated PG: Violence and children-in-jeopardy.

It was in-between bad and horrible. I excepted much more from this movie, it wasn't even the least bit scary. And 'The evil thing?' come on.. couldn't they have thought of something more original? I did however enjoy a few parts, and the actresses/actors were pretty good at their roles. The thing that made me bring this movie down a few stars then i would have is the little brother, he is such an annoying pest and is scared of the silliest things. Emily Osment looked completely different in this movie compared to her character in Hannah Montana, it was pretty cool to see her dressed as a goth. The plot was unsatisfying but at least it ran smoothly. I would rate this movie 5 out of ten stars.