The 2023 Goosebumps series drew inspiration from some of R. L. Stine’s best-remembered books, weaving them into a 10-part series that perfectly blended Millennial nostalgia with Gen-Z culture. The anthology season format has proven successful for shows like American Horror Story and Fargo, both aimed at a mature audience, but will the same be true for a series that sets its sights on co-viewing between parents and teens? We’ll find out on January 10th with the Disney+ debut of Goosebumps: The Vanishing.
When twins Cece (Jayden Bartels, Side Hustle) and Devin (Sam McCarthy, Dead to Me) move to Brooklyn to spend the summer with their botanist father, Anthony (David Schwimmer, Friends), they unintentionally unleash something that was meant to stay buried. In 1994, Anthony’s brother disappeared along with some of his friends while fulfilling a dare to spend a night in an abandoned fort, once the rumored sight of top-secret experiments, and most recently used for a nightmarish summer camp. Will Devin and Cece succumb to the same fate that doomed the uncle they never met?
Told across 8 episodes instead of 10, the sophomore season of Goosebumps structurally follows a playbook established by the first season. As before, this starts with a covered-up mystery involving the parents. However, The Vanishing simplifies that plot by involving just two adults, Anthony and his brother’s former girlfriend, now police officer, Jen (Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty). Devin and Cece have a friend group in Brooklyn that also mirrors some of the angsty teen relationships from the first season, but they’re less complicated thanks to less parental drama this time around. For the most part, each of the teens has an episode where they more or less become the lead character, but unlike the first series, these don’t feel like filler.
I’m old enough to have read most of the Goosebumps books in their first run, and just like the first season, part of the excitement of Goosebumps: The Vanishing is the ability to draw inspiration from more of these beloved stories. The first season used Night of the Living Dummy for its overarching narrative, with Slappy the Dummy playing a key role. This time around, Stay Out of the Basement becomes the anchor story, particularly through Devin and Cece’s father, whose name even comes from the book (Dr. Brewer). From there, the mystery incorporates elements of The Haunted Car, Monster Blood, The Girl Who Cried Monster, The Ghost Next Door, and Camp Nightmare.
Having seen all but the final two episodes, Goosebumps: The Vanishing convinced me that the Goosebumps franchise could yield a successful anthology series that could run for a long time. It improves the format with a tighter, less cumbersome multigenerational story and a less predictable mystery to unravel. This season also seems to lean more into the nostalgic fanbase by ramping up the creepy factor and through a found-footage episode directed by The Blair Witch Project creator Eduardo Sánchez. The influence of Netflix’s Stranger Things also feels embedded into the DNA of this season.
All of the cast are likable and charismatic. David Schwimmer gets to dabble in his comedy roots at times while being typecast as a lovably geeky father. Eternally playing a mother to queer children, Ana Ortiz is delicious as Jen, a woman so haunted by her past that she’s overcorrecting in the present, including with her daughter Alex (Francesca Noel, R#J). Sam McCarthy convincingly pines for his crush, Frankie (Galilea La Salvia, Talia in the Kitchen), while trying to fight off her recent ex-boyfriend, Trey (Stony Blyden, How I Met Your Father). And stealing many a scene is Elijah M. Cooper (That Girl Lay Lay) as everyone’s friend and food delivery driver.
Unlike the first season’s week-to-week model, Goosebumps fans will get to binge all 8 episodes of The Vanishing beginning on Friday, January 10th. Part of me is sad about that, because I really enjoyed having new episodes to look forward to each week with the first season. However, having seen all but the final two episodes of Goosebumps: The Vanishing, I also can’t wait to see how it ends. Streamers, beware, you’re in for a scare!
I give Goosebumps: The Vanishing 5 out of 5 creepy vine tentacles.
All 8 episodes of Goosebumps: The Vanishing debut Friday, January 10th, on Disney+ and Hulu.