While the beloved '90s TV show Goosebumps features regular kids dealing with typical problems, from annoying siblings to moving to new towns, the series is also full of interesting creatures, scary monsters, and ghosts. The episodes might not be that terrifying by contemporary standards, but they packed a punch back in the day, creating eerie and creepy storylines for kids who were fascinated and couldn't stop watching.
Although CGI can be impressive and fun to watch, especially in action films, Goosebumps excelled in the world of practical effects. There is one Goosebumps episode that has particularly awesome effects.
The practical effects in every Goosebumps episode are impressive, and a lot of creativity and hard work was put into make-up and masks. Amos Crawley said in an interview that good money was spent on the first episode, "The Haunted Mask." The actor who played Chuck Greene in the episode said, "I remember being aware they were sparing no expense as far as kids TV was concerned. Kids TV doesn’t generally have a huge budget and 'The Haunted Mask' probably looks a little cheesy by today’s standards, but at the time they were really putting money into it. I seem to recall that there was a TV exec from Fox whose kid loved the books so she was convinced that it was an important project."
Deborah Scorsone played the main character Lucy Dark in the season 1 episode "The Girl Who Cried Monster," which is adapted from book eight in the book series by R.L. Stine. (Deborah's sister, Caterina, is best known for playing Amelia Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy). There are some truly scary Goosebumps episodes and this one is definitely in that category. Lucy loves getting books out of her local library, but when she sees the librarian Mr. Mortman (Eugene Lipinski)'s face change into that of a monster and watches him eat bugs, she's totally freaked out.
The episode has a brilliant plot twist as, at the end, viewers find out that Lucy and her parents are monsters, too. But the episode also deserves praise for its amazing practical effects. Mr. Mortman's transformation from human to monster feels absolutely perfect. It's also brilliant to show this character eating bugs as, of course, the show is aimed at a child audience and kids definitely will think that's gross.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, R.L. Stine said that “We had a great monster shop in Toronto" and that's how the show had such incredible-looking creatures. Stine explained, "These guys had a very low budget and they still came up with all the wonderful monsters and masks and all that stuff. For the very first one we did, ‘The Haunted Mask,’ they had four different masks, each one tighter than the last. That’s still my favorite episode, it looks great even today.”
When Lucy learns that her parents have invited Mr. Mortman over for dinner because, well, he is dinner, they show their fangs, another amazing and stunning moment of practical effects. While CGI is often used in big-budget action films and Hollywood is known for spending tons of money on this stuff, there's something so flawless and innocent about practical effects. Creating monsters out of makeup and masks is nothing short of incredible and it's definitely an impressive art form. Since this involves the work of talented artists, it feels that much more special. It's easy to imagine being a kid and being scared by Mr. Mortman since it's every child's worst nightmare to imagine that their seemingly sweet librarian, who says hi to them and asks how it's going and gives them awesome book recommendations, could actually be a monster.
While Mr. Mortman could simply have green skin and disgusting teeth, the practical effects used on this character really can't be beat. His eyes look like they are attached to his head instead of being part of it, and when he opens his mouth and growls, his teeth are disgusting and colored. This episode really masters the art of the big reveal as when Lucy sees him for the first time, it's hard not to shiver. His enjoyment of crickets is the most chilling and memorable part of the episode. Goosebumps is a TV show from the '90s with a high nostalgia value and while there are more recent horror shows and movies that are much more horrifying, since the horror of this show is pretty safe and innocent, Mr. Mortman still stands out a lot.
Horror fans and those nostalgic for '90s children's horror TV shows are curious about what the new Goosebumps TV series will be like. Chances are there will be some fun and impressive monsters as well.