Family adventure; 90 minutes; 6+
In this instalment / sequel, school friends, teenagers Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris), start up a Junk Brothers business to earn some pocket money. The get a job to clear a run-down house which used to be owned by RL Stine - a character they are going to be learning a bit. The deal is they can take what they want and make money from it. They stumble of a secret chamber and drag out a chest; hoping it would be full of treasure, they are dismayed when it "only" contains a book. What the book reveals, though, is a ventriloquist's puppet, which comes to life.
A joyous family film where the children cycle everywhere in their neighbourhood where everyone goes overboard in preparing from Hallowe'en. The outdoor decorations are spectacular, and the CGI special effects to bring them to life (spoiler alert!) are even better. From the comfort of plus cinema chairs, they are far from scary, but very much impressive, particularly the display created by next-door neighbour Mr Chu (Ken Jeong).
There are shades of Jumanji and even E.T. in this film; nevertheless, it's a great family film that has come to the big screen in perfect time for Hallowe'en. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, both for children and adults alike.