If this movie had come out under the title Goosebumps: School Spirits, or Are You Afraid of the Dark: School Spirits it wouldn't have surprised me, likewise had this been on the Disney Channel given the majority of the cast.
The whole way through it gave me that same kind of low budget, pre-teeny horror vibe, so much so that I expected Slappy the Puppet to pop out at any second and scare the bejesus out of me.
The visual effects are definitely a mixed bag, with some looking fantastic while others look like they've been put together in Windows Movie Maker (look out for the iPhone being 'taken' by the smoke!)
The plot starts out quite interesting but unfortunately it loses its thread somewhat and by the end you'll be scratching your head as to what motive the 'big bad' had in the first place.
Casting is equally puzzling.
Tiffany Alvord, cast in the lead role, made a name for herself as a YouTube musician, and she's very good at that. Acting, not so much... but it's her first film so cut her some slack, right?
Two of the worst performances come from two characters who don't really even need to be in the movie.
Audrey Whitbey plays the school bully and is appallingly bad, like school hall pantomime bad. Her character adds nothing to the film and she never really gets her comeuppance for being a spoiled brat.
Philip Laves plays Link, the weird next door neighbour and kind of second thought love interest for Zoe the main character.
I've seen this guy in other things and he wasn't bad, but it's like he was told 'you know that Fred guy who was big on the internet a few years ago? Yeah, do that' and it just comes across as forced and bizarre.
Much like the bully, Link's involvement never really has a resolution either.
In summary this is perfectly watchable, especially if you're a fan of the old Goosebumps series, but don't expect too much and be prepared for a lack of resolution.
