Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Goosebumps season 2.
Summary
- Goosebumps season 2 focuses on spooky body horror elements.
- The storyline centers around a scientist dad with mysterious secrets.
- The new season stands out with a darker and more terrifying tone.
Growing up, I loved reading the R.L. Stine Goosebumps books and was a huge fan of the creepy, campy TV show. I enjoyed Stine’s Disney+ Just Beyond series and look forward to seeing more Fear Street movies. When Goosebumps season 1 premiered on Disney+ in October 2023, I was excited to see a new TV adaptation of the children’s anthology series. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first season as it felt like a generic story about teenagers in a small town. However, the second season is a different story.
I have to praise Goosebumps season 2 for being particularly spooky and fun. The story centers around single dad Anthony (David Schwimmer), a nerdy scientist whose twins Devin (Sam McCarthy) and Cece (Jayden Bartels) move into his old Brooklyn house for the summer. The premise is about ancient family secrets and a decades-long mystery that has to be solved. But Goosebumps season 2 also has some body horror scenes, and I want to talk about them.
Related
Viewer beware: The scariest thing about the latest version of Goosebumps is how empty it all feels.
Goosebumps Season 2 Has A Body Horror Storyline And I Think It’s Perfect
Goosebumps season 2 episodes 1 and 2 are called “Stay Out Of The Basement” and are based on the Goosebumps book and original TV show episode of the same name. In the original story, Dr. Brewer is a former botanist who experiments on plants and, like Anthony in Goosebumps season 2, tells his kids never to go downstairs. As their dad becomes stranger and stranger, the kids realize that a plant has created an evil clone of their dad.
While the original story isn’t gory or violent since the ’90s horror TV show had a children’s audience, Goosebumps season 2 has some body horror elements that make it stand out from other teen horror shows. In the first episode, Anthony realizes that something weird and eerie is happening with his plants. Then, a trellis of plants attacks Anthony and almost kills him. While he survives, a plant begins taking over his body. Anthony realizes that gruesome worm-like spores are growing out of his arm and then plucks a massive creature out of his arm a few moments later. After sending photos and videos to a colleague, he learns that it’s a carnivore animal that shouldn’t get out into the world.
Like the practical effects in the Goosebumps episode “The Haunted Mask,” the effects in Goosebumps season 2, episode 2 are impressive, horrifying, and bordering on too gross. Or, in other words, they’re up there with the most disgusting body horror movie scenes.
Considering that the original Goosebumps is a horror series aimed at kids and perhaps pre-teens, I was surprised by how genuinely creeped out I felt while watching Goosebumps season 2. Whether watching the best body horror movies for those not familiar with the genre or Anthony’s scenes, it’s hard to look away. The spores in his arm look almost too real, and when the creature takes over Trey (Stony Blyden) and he’s covered in gooey red bumps and slime, it’s particularly memorable. I was expecting a mystery that one family has to figure out, but I had no idea that there would be such gruesome scenes. I think they make Goosebumps season 2 more unforgettable than the first season.
The body horror moments in Goosebumps season 2 are balanced out by the strong characters and the fact that at its core, it’s a moving story about a family coming together and dealing with the past. David Schwimmer does a great job as a dad torn between the horrifying new species that was created in his basement and making sure his kids have a great summer. Schwimmer, who is course known for comedies like Friends, told Variety he was “excited” to star in a horror project.
“I love the ‘Goosebumps’ franchise. The whole genre is really unique — this young-adult, horror-comedy action, but also grounded in real character and real emotion.”
What Did R.L. Stine Say About Goosebumps Season 2?
R.L. Stine is a fan of Goosebumps season 2 and shared his thoughts about these episodes in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He mentioned the grown-up characters and said:
“Another thing I like, and this is true to the books, [is that] the parent is always useless. In Goosebumps, either they don’t believe the kid or they’re not around and they don’t help.”
It’s true that Anthony is distracted by his own problems and doesn’t spend as much time with his kids as he wanted to, and he also doesn’t pay that much attention to them. Stine continued that Goosebumps season 2 is “scarier” and said:
“It’s scarier. I just watched the first two episodes of the new season, and man, it’s very different, and it’s terrifying.”
More
Ryan Gosling Starred In Episodes Of Two Different ’90s Horror TV Shows
Ryan Gosling starred on these ’90s kids shows when he was a child actor.