Jack Black was once regarded as one of the funniest people in Hollywood, and then it all went a bit wrong: a series of bad movies and big flops seemed to kill his spirit, and he disappeared for a while, returning now and again in further terrible films to remind us that his career was pretty much over. Gone were the days of King Kong and School of Rock. But Jack is coming back. At least, given that his next movie is Goosebumps, based on those awesome and scary books you read as a kid, he damned well should be. Written by Mike White (who also wrote School of Rock), the film positions Black as author R.L. Stine, who wrote the original books, in a sort of meta-movie that has the novelist caught up in a spooky situation of its own. It could be disastrous, of course, but as a vehicle for Black, it's sure to be the start of what hopefully will be a major comeback.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
