Jeremy Ray Taylor
Sonny
Overview
Be careful what you wish for. With their after school junk business, best friends Sonny and Sam hope to find treasure in other people’s trash. But when cleaning out the old Stine house, they open a locked book that frees a supernatural nightmare – Slappy! Now, with the help of Sonny’s sister Sarah, they’re in a race against time to get the sinister dummy and all the creatures he’s brought to life back into the pages before he unleashes total pandemonium!
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readSlappy’s Revenge: Why Goosebumps 2 Feels Like a Halloween Costume Pulled from the Discount Bin
I’ll admit it: I went into Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween with low expectations. Not because I have anything against R.L. Stine’s books—quite the opposite.
The original Goosebumps series was a formative horror-lite experience for me, the kind of thing you devoured under the covers with a flashlight, half-terrified, half-thrilled. The 2015 film adaptation had its charms, too, even if it leaned a little too hard into Jack Black’s manic energy as Stine himself. But sequels like this?
They’re usually the cinematic equivalent of those sad, half-deflated Halloween decorations you find in a clearance bin on November 1st. Still recognizable, but missing the spark that made them fun in the first place.
And yet, as I watched Haunted Halloween, I found myself oddly conflicted. Not because it’s good—it’s not, at least not in any conventional sense—but because it’s so earnest. There’s something almost admirable about how unapologetically it embraces its own silliness.
This is a movie where a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy (voiced by Mick Wingert) wreaks havoc on a small town, bringing to life an army of Halloween staples: witches, skeletons, werewolves, and, of course, a swarm of spiders. It’s the kind of premise that could either be delightfully campy or painfully lazy. Goosebumps 2 lands somewhere in the middle, like a kid who’s put together a Halloween costume from whatever was left in the craft box.
The plot is simple enough. Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris), two best friends with a knack for turning other people’s trash into treasure (literally—they run an after-school junk business), stumble upon a locked book in the old Stine house. Inside?
Slappy, the dummy with a penchant for chaos. One accidental spell later, and suddenly the town is overrun with monsters, all while Sonny’s sister Sarah (Madison Iseman) tries to keep things from spiraling completely out of control. It’s a setup that feels like it was written on the back of a napkin, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The Goosebumps books were never about intricate plotting; they were about the thrill of the scare, the joy of the twist, and the way horror could be fun without being too scary. Haunted Halloween tries to capture that same spirit, and in moments, it almost succeeds.
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsBehind the Scares: What Went Down on Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
The 2018 sequel Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween brought R.L. Stine’s spooky universe back to the big screen, this time with a fresh cast and a Halloween-themed adventure. While the first Goosebumps film (2015) leaned heavily on Jack Black’s star power as Stine himself, the sequel shifted focus to a new group of kids—Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris)—who accidentally unleash chaos in their town. Behind the scenes, the production had its own share of fun, latestnetflix.com argues, challenges, and a few surprises.
A New Cast Steps Into the Spotlight
The sequel introduced a mostly new ensemble, with Jeremy Ray Taylor (IT) and Caleel Harris (The Loud House) taking center stage as the best-friend duo at the heart of the story. Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) joined as their skeptical but resourceful friend, Sarah. The cast also included familiar faces like Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs) and Ken Jeong (The Hangover), who brought comedic energy to the film’s mix of scares and laughs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOZFwz7Hub4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7s6JONHUA
In interviews, Taylor and Harris opened up about their experiences filming the movie. Taylor, a self-proclaimed Goosebumps fan, admitted he was nervous about stepping into such an iconic franchise but loved the chance to work with practical effects and creatures . Harris, meanwhile, joked about the challenges of filming Halloween scenes in the middle of summer, saying the cast had to pretend it was freezing while sweating under heavy costumes .
Practical Effects and Creature Chaos
One of the standout aspects of Goosebumps 2 was its use of practical effects, a nod to the original books’ love of tangible scares. The film featured a mix of animatronics, puppetry, and CGI to bring Stine’s monsters to life—including the return of Slappy the dummy, voiced by Mick Wingert. While the first film relied more on CGI, the sequel’s practical approach gave the creatures a creepier, more tactile feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj8E-NKVEgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxZQbe_PjjM
Taylor and Harris both praised the behind-the-scenes magic, with Taylor recalling how the crew would surprise them with fully realized monsters on set . Harris even shared a funny moment where a practical effect malfunctioned during a take, sending a prop flying across the room—much to the cast’s amusement .
A Mixed Reception and Franchise Uncertainty
Despite the fun on set, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween didn’t quite hit the same mark as its predecessor. Critics and audiences were divided, with some praising its family-friendly scares and others calling it a weaker follow-up. The film holds a 47% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes 
and a modest 4.6/10 rating on SensCritique , suggesting it didn’t leave a lasting impression.
Rumors about a third Goosebumps film have circulated for years, but as of now, nothing has been confirmed. The sequel’s underperformance at the box office may have played a role in the franchise’s pause, though Stine’s universe remains a goldmine for potential adaptations.
**The Legacy of *Goosebumps 2***
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpG_RDKjU0k
While Haunted Halloween may not be the most beloved entry in the Goosebumps film series, it gave fans a new story—and a new generation of young actors to root for. Taylor and Harris, in particular, seemed to relish their roles, with both expressing hope that the franchise would continue . For now, the film stands as a fun, if flawed, Halloween romp, packed with the kind of spooky, kid-friendly thrills that made the books a hit in the first place.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.