Teenage readers have been devouring R. L. Stine’s series of “Goosebumps” books for years, so it’s little wonder that Hollywood would eventually turn the beloved books into a big-screen movie. “Goosebumps,” the movie, arrives in theaters this weekend and is obviously aimed squarely at the same teens who read the books. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I also enjoyed this mild monster movie, even though I am way outside of the film’s target demographic.

The story centers on a kid (Dylan Minnette) who moves with his family to a new town. He’s not happy about the move until he meets his cute next-door neighbor (Odeya Rush), but before any teenage sparks can fly, her father (Jack Black) bursts in to quash the budding romance between the two teens.

It turns out that the father is none other than the fictionalized version of author R. L. Stine, and he has been literally capturing monsters in the pages of his popular books. As you might guess, over the course of the movie those monsters get free and it’s up to our resourceful teenage heroes to save their town from a giant preying mantis, a vampire poodle, a werewolf, an invisible boy and a hoard of menacing garden gnomes.

The idea is to throw a handful of these trifling monsters against the wall and see which ones stick. They aren’t particularly scary, and with the exception of an evil ventriloquist dummy, none of them really make much of an impact. That’s okay, as “Goosebumps” is content to careen from one quick action scene over to the next. As is the case in a lot of movies aimed at kids, “Goosebumps” features a lot of mayhem, but nothing with genuinely serious consequences.

The filmmakers are obviously hoping to capture the scary/fun vibe of “Jumanji,” “Ghostbusters” or “Gremlins.” They succeed, for the most part, thanks to a lot of special effects and a winning performance by Jack Black, who keeps the film’s energy from flagging when his teenage co-stars stumble.

The teenage stars aren’t the best, but they suffice in a film that is mostly about the monsters and a slight romantic subplot. I doubt that teenagers will critique the acting too heavily, which means that “Goosebumps” should be a pre-Halloween hit for kids too old for “Hotel Transylvania 2” but still too young for genuinely scary movies. The surprise is that the monster mayhem just might please their parents as well.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in The Port Arthur News and seen weekly on KFDM and KBTV. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@sbgtv.com.com.