‘Goosebumps’ (2023) Recap: ‘Night of the Living Dummy’

10/21/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Zack Morris, Ana Yi Pugi, Miles McKenna, Will Price, and Isa Briones as Isaiah, Isabella, James, Lucas, and Margot in ‘Goosebumps’ (2023). (Photo Courtesy of David Astorga/Disney.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Six of’ Goosebumps’ (2023.) To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

One particular phrase that still holds weight in our modern world is… there are two sides to every story. And it holds that weight because it does offer us incredible understanding. Wherein we can learn everything we need to about a tough situation, by hearing truths from both sides. Plus, it can help us to better understand how said situation impacted either side and what kind of perspective and feelings it gave them, and that helps us to really react accordingly to the situation at hand. If anything, that particular truth is top of mind today, simply because we were reminded of its relevance in tough situations, courtesy of this week’s episode of Goosebumps (2023) on Disney+ and Hulu.

For ‘Night of the Living Dummy’ saw Harold Biddle/Mister Bratt bring the group into his home to explain to them what was stolen on that night, and why everyone’s parents in essence, killed a teenager and well… everyone’s problems were tied to Biddle’s great-grandfather, Ephraim. Who was a fledging magician back in the 1920s and was near utter failure. But his discovery of a cheap ventriloquist dummy named Slappy, changed his life. For Slappy was magic, and sentient when the spell in his pocket was read, and in exchange for giving him what he wanted… something nefarious… he intended to give Ephraim the world. Which he did indeed, but his ultimate goals were quite ugly to say the least. In fact, they were so awful, that Ephraim broke the deal, and moved to Port Lawrence to live his life out as a collector of magic artifacts with Slappy buried in the wall… until the day he died.

Which brought Harold and his parents to this home, wherein we came to learn, that Harold was a victim of bad bullying before arriving in this tiny little berg. And he was desperate to make friends and was accepted by Sarah and the others. But the trauma he experienced at the hands of those other kids made it tough for him to trust and tough to be near his new pals, and well… the discovery of Slappy, complicated matters further. Because he empowered Harold to indulge in his darker side and stand up for himself in an unhealthy manner. Which at first, caused no trouble, but eventually… that anger took over and that darkness became malicious. To the point where he ended his parent’s lives, and deeply insulted people for no reason, and that prompted his friends to take drastic measures to save him.

Specifically, by raiding the house late at night to pull Slappy away from him, but alas… that went south quick. Because while they snagged Slappy, that fatal fire started and ended Harold’s life, and left this group of future parents with quite the problem in front of them. Specifically, a sentient and evil dummy that wanted to cause more trouble. Which meant the burden fell to them to be rid of Slappy, and to hide him so his evil could never take over again, and of course… they were saddled with the burden of what happened to Harold. But what made this story so critical to the plot, is that it truly did offer us, both sides of the story. For if we went off of that journal’s initial viewings, we only would have seen how Harold viewed his pals, as murderers filled with wanton cruelty When in reality, they were trying to save their friend and keep him from a horrific fate.

But sadly, all that context offers no solace to our heroes, just peace of mind. For Harold Biddle now stands before them and they are indeed inside of his house of horrors. Which means trouble awaits. But while we wait to see what comes next now that they are in front of the villain of this story, we can celebrate… one quality tale. One that answered the rest of our questions, and of course… brought one of the most popular characters to ever grace this franchise back into the fold. For Slappy has generated countless hours of terror for teens, and now a new generation has met him and his special brand of madness, and well… his return and the true arrival of Biddle… is going to make our wait for next week’s episode as difficult as can be. Because we simply need more and need to know what evil lies ahead for our heroes to face. Until next time.

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