Horror-comedy aimed at the whole family

ARRIVING just in time for Halloween is Goosebumps, a special-effects-heavy horror-comedy that the whole family can enjoy. Based on the best-selling children's books by RL Stine - played by comedian Jack Black in the film - it's bigger on laughs than scares so even scaredy-cats can watch it without having to sleep with the lights on after leaving the cinema.

Directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale, Gulliver's Travels) and loosely adapted by Darren Lemke (Jack The Giant Slayer, Shrek Forever After) from various books in the series, Goosebumps the movie features a bit of everything for the fans and zips by at a roller-coaster pace designed to make sure the franchise's target demographic - under-17s - never take their attention away from the big screen.

The plot is equally tween-friendly: teenager Zach (Dylan Minnette) has just moved to Madison, Delaware with his recently-widowed mum (Amy Ryan). He befriends the school's resident nerd Champ (Ryan Lee) and has a crush on his next-door neighbour Hannah (Odeya Rush), much to the chagrin of her over-protective father (Black).