Despite being bang into rival young adult horror fiction franchise Point Horror as a tween, RL Stine’s ‘Goosebumps’ series completely passed me by. Which perhaps suggests it never make it to my local library, as it seems impossible I’d have failed to clock them, given their sheer volume: the US author rattled off 62 novellas of terror in five years, followed by numerous spin off series, including ‘Give Yourself Goosebumps’, which in itself contains a walloping 50 books.
A film starring Jack Black recently hit cinemas, and several of the stories have been adapted and sewn together in Wateroo’s atmospheric Vaults to create an immersive theatre show.
Perhaps appropriately, it’s a bit of a weird beast. Aimed squarely at nostalgic millennials, the show is for ages 18-plus (though younger can come accompanied) with two bars selling medium-expensive cocktails served in large syringes. No drinking during the show, though, as a brief skit in the bar leads to us being divided into groups and led off into various recesses of the venue. Basically, in 90 minutes we got three very entertaining 10-15 playlets – crisply and knowingly updating a trio of Stein stories for an adult British audience – plus a lot of varyingly entertaining atmospheric in-betweeny stuff (much of which revolves around the iconic ‘HorrorLand’ and ‘Night of the Living Dummy’ stories – a bit of red meat for franchise fans).
I mostly enjoyed Tom Salamon and Gabriel Greene’s production but there’s quite the disconnect between the wantonly schlocky – but skilfully executed – stories, and the rest, which involves being herded through what’s essentially a big haunted house while a more concerted effort is made to scare you (though the most terrifying thing is the amount of time spent waiting). Really, I’d rather have either seen more stories (the first two are rattled off in quick succession and then the pacing becomes very stilted) or been allowed to explore the venue at will, Punchdrunk style. I gather a single visit only lets you see a portion of the sprawling show, which feels like a shame given it feels a bit content light.
More for those who fancy a drink, a larf, and a bit of nostalgia than actual terror, plus die-hard fans of the franchise may be a bit aggrieved if their favouite story wasn't crammed in (though presumably nobody was expecting all 62+).
A 50-minute kids' version begins in May and is almost certainly worth a look for those with little monsters.
Tue-Sat staggered entry until 9:30pm. Sun staggered entry until 7:30pm.