When I was about 10, Goosebumps debuted in my local book store. I was a little late to the party, not jumping on board until Monster Blood caught my eye in late September, but after that, I was hooked. Every other month, I’d beg my mother to drive me to the store so I could purchase the latest installment with my hard-earned allowance. I still own MOST of the original run of books, and they hold a nice place in my childhood.

When they announced plans for a movie based on the books, I was a little scared. The television series was pretty great (mostly), but the news about the film left me a little ‘meh’ toward it. Jack Black starring as R.L. Stine himself? The books coming alive? Sure, it could be good, but it could also be terrible.

Now here we are, just a few months before its release, and I’m still on the fence.

The poster looks amazing, featuring all my favorite creatures of my youth over the actors themselves. I got a really great sense of nostalgia seeing it. I won’t be a nerd and list off where the featured monsters are from (ahem…A Shocker on Shock Street, Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns, Night of the Living Dummy, The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp), but I will say it is pretty awesome.

That said, the trailer is just…terrible.

Yes, it is obviously aimed toward kids, with its pop songs and stupid humor. But man, it’s just not doing it for me. There are some parts that give me hope, though. Maybe they are saving the REALLY good stuff for later promos, or for us to see in the theater for ourselves.

We don’t have a lot of “horror” movies aimed at kids these days like we used to, which is a shame, so I am willing to give this one a shot. Hopefully they knock it out of the park.

Fingers crossed that at least Slappy is as hilariously villainous as we all remember him!