Goosebumps "The Haunted Mask" (1995) Review

     Along with the 90’s TV Series “Are You Afraid of the Dark”, my older sister and I loved another spooky 90’s show called “Goosebumps”, a Canadian horror anthology television series based on R. L. Stine's best-selling book series.  We owned several of the Goosebumps books and they certainly contributed to our fascination of all things spooky!

     Alike the Are You Afraid of the Dark “The Tale of the Lonely Ghost” episode, we also had a favourite episode from the Goosebumps series.  We loved the episode so much that we convinced our mother to purchase the home video VHS release of the episode, and others thereafter.  However the first VHS was always our favourite to watch.  See below my review of the Goosebumps episode “The Haunted Mask”.


      The Haunted Mask is a two-part horror television special that first aired on October 27, 1995, based on R. L. Stine's book of the same name.  It follows Carly Beth, a timid girl who buys a Halloween mask that would not come off.  José Rivera wrote the TV special, and Timothy Bond served as director.  The special starred Kathryn Long as Carly Beth, Kathryn Short as Sabrina, George Davis as Steve and Amos Crawley as Chuck.  By March 12, 1996, it was released on VHS.

     Carly Beth Caldwell (Kathryn Long) is repeatedly scared by her friends.  After getting fooled into eating a sandwich that contained a worm by her friends Chuck Greene (Amos Crawley) and Steve Boswell (George Davis), Carly Beth runs home and rips the duck costume her mom, Kate made for her as a result.  She later goes into a mask shop hoping to find something that will scare Chuck and Steve.  In the store, she stumbles upon a back room filled with some hideous masks.

     There, she steals one of them, goes home, puts on the mask and scares her brother, Noah (Cody Jones).  She soon notices the mask won't come off, and when it finally does, she and Noah are unsure as to how she unintentionally changed her voice.  After putting on the mask again, Carly Beth takes the mould of her head that her mother gave to her and leaves the house.

     She starts acting different: she attacks her best friend, Sabrina Mason (Kathryn Short), frightens children and vandalizes the neighbourhood.  After scaring Chuck and Steve, she buries the head.  While at Sabrina's house, Carly Beth is shocked to find she is unable to remove the mask as it seems to have become part of her skin.  She goes back to the mask shop to find the owner waiting for her.  The shop owner tells Carly Beth that the mask is a real living face and the only way to remove it is with a "symbol of love".  Carly Beth begins to cry out and scream in horror, awakening the other masks who begin to pursue her.  Chased by the other masks, she runs to the cemetery and digs up the mould her mother gave her, using it to deter the other masks and remove the mask from her face.  She returns home to her mother, tossing the mask near the door. Carly Beth is horrified to see Noah wearing the mask upon his return.

      The TV adaptation of “The Haunted Mask” stays true to R.L. Stine’s wonderful children’s horror book and proves to be a two-part episode which kids today can watch to get into their spooky Halloween moods.  The acting is at times mediocre, however more professional than other children’s TV shows in the 90’s.  The ending shows kids that the power of love is far greater than the boogeyman under their beds, and that no matter what may happen in their imaginations at night, their families and other loved ones are there for them.  It also shows that vengeance can get out of hand and the choices we make have consequences.  It’s a cute and scary story with an overall good message for kids and adults who watched it in the 90’s still love it, whether watching with their kids or not.  I give this two-part episode of Goosebumps a 4 out of 5.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐



Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunted_Mask_(TV_special)

images:
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