Daniel Stalter's Blog

FAVORITE MOVIES 2024

I track and rate movies on letterboxed. Follow and add me on there!

10. Into the Fire

One of the best true crime documentaries I’ve seen, helped along by one of the best narrators you could ask for. I think she pushes things a little too far at times; but it helped that she ended up being 100% right in the end.

 

9. Ready or Not

This was a really fun movie. It didn’t do anything wildly original or surprise me in anyway, but it was very comfortable with being the movie it was. A+ on the visual...

FAVORITE BOOKS 2024

Another year with lots of reading. Not so many comics this time around but I had to finish my Goosebumps project once and for all. I have no regrets in that respect.

Follow me on GoodReads (and like my reviews, cause that gets me traffic on here).

 

10. Meddling Kids
by Edgar Cantero.

I love the concept of this book. It was a slow starter but it held me once it got there. It was such a fun take on Scooby Doo and the Hardy Boys. It made me want to rewatch old Scooby Doo and dig out some Hardy Bo...

FAVORITE ALBUMS 2024

Lots of heavy metal this year, which I suppose is no different than last year. I also went to a wide range of great shows. The actual rankings are somewhat irrelevant and could change depending on my mood. I stand by all the albums listed here, though.

You can find my Favorite Songs 2024 playlist on Apple and Spotify.

 

10. St. Vincent – All Born Screaming

St. Vincent is always a little hit and miss with me. I found All Born Screaming to be one of her most solid releases. She also puts on a fan...

SILENT NIGHT 3

Fear Street Super Chiller #11:
Silent Night 3© 1996 by Parachute Press. Cover Art by Bill Schmidt.

Sequel to: Silent Night
& Silent Night 2

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Silent Night 3 was definitely the weakest of the three books. As much as I enjoy reading Reva’s mean girl shenanigans getting her almost murdered several times over, it would have been better to have her show some growth. Her and Pam should be trauma bonded at this point, so it was a tough sell when Reva claimed credit for Pam and Wil...

GOOSEBUMPS RANKED from Almost Great to Best

The Second half of my Goosebumps official ranking, starting with the almost great and counting down to the best.

 

26. Egg Monsters From Mars

Egg Monsters from Mars had a really interesting thing going, but it never quite got all the way there. It also features one of the more disturbing endings in the Goosebumps canon. For this photo I got to buy a giant toy egg that I could then give to my friend’s kids. It was filled with dinosaurs and it worked out perfectly.

 

25. Ghost Camp

Ghost Camp ...

GOOSEBUMPS RANKED from Worst to Slightly Better

The first half of my Goosebumps official ranking, starting with the absolute worst and counting down to the mediocre middle.

It was really fun seeing all of the Ermahgerd photos listed in one place. That was one Halloween costume that took on a life of its own.

 

62. Go Eat Worms

Coming in last place with a score of 0.5 out of 5 stars is Go Eat Worms. This choice for the was a no brainer, just like the book’s plot. Even RL Stine has disavowed this one, and I can’t blame him. Can you believe I ...

MONSTER BLOOD IV

Goosebumps #62:
Monster Blood IV© 1997 by Parachute Press. Cover Art by Tim Jacobus.

Sequel to: Monster Blood,
Monster Blood II & Monster Blood III

 

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Monster Blood IV surpassed my expectations. I thought it was going to be terrible, but it turned out to be something slightly better. In fact, I will argue that it was the best Monster Blood book of the series, if only because the other three were the absolute worst. The blue slime creatures were fun, and I enjoyed the way t...

I LIVE IN YOUR BASEMENT

Goosebumps #61:
I Live In Your Basement© 1997 by Parachute Press. Cover Art by Tim Jacobus.

 

Spoiler-Free Review

RL Stine wrote I Live in Your Basement while in his David Lynch era. That’s my theory at least. I mean it with both the pros and the cons that come with the comparison. On one hand, the book was delightfully weird at times and it kept me guessing. On the other hand… I’m still a bit confused about how it all fits together. There’s a twist at the end that “explains” all of the random...

WEREWOLF SKIN

Goosebumps #60:
Werewolf Skin© 1997 by Parachute Press. Cover Art by Tim Jacobus.

 

Spoiler-Free Review

Werewolf Skin was a really fun late entry in the Goosebumps series. It was a fun premise, and it felt like an original take on werewolves. It did a great job building tension in the plot starting in the early chapters. I really enjoyed the characters, even found some of their idiosyncratic logic questionable. I was grateful that there weren’t an over-abundance of fake scares that Stine has a...

THE HAUNTED SCHOOL

Goosebumps #59:
The Haunted School© 1997 by Parachute Press. Cover Art by Tim Jacobus.

 

Spoiler-Free Review

It was a major relief to get a good Goosebumps book after the last two. The Haunted School is easily in my top 3 for the entire series. This book had some of the most genuinely creepy moments of anything I have read by RL Stine, and I’ve read enough of him to have some authority with that proclamation. Sometimes these books feel rushed to meet a deadline, but every aspect of The Haunted...