Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween age rating: How old do children have to be to watch?

Goosebumps is an American horror comedy film based on the novel series of the same name.

The books, written by R L Stine, were hugely popular among children.

The movie is directed by Ari Sandel and written by Rob Lieber, from a story by Lieber and Darren Lemke.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a sequel to 2015’s original Goosebumps.

How old do you have to be to watch Goosebumps 2?

According to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the movie is rated PG.

The BBFC defines PG as “General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

“A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older.

“Unaccompanied children of any age may watch, but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.”

The reasoning for the PG rating over a U rating is down to scariness, understandably.

The BBFC writes: “There are frequent scary scenes involving horror creatures, including a ventriloquist dummy, witches, skeletons, a werewolf, pumpkins, and a giant spider made from balloons.

“In one sequence, the dummy watches a teenage girl as she sleeps, and attempts to turn the protagonists’ mother into a dummy.

“There are also brief jump scares and extended action sequences in which the heroes fight or flee from scary creatures.

“However, these scenes focus on action and excitement with elements of humour, and although the heroes are occasionally scared the emphasis remains on their resourcefulness, bravery and teamwork.”

Language is also a slight issue for the BBFC, which cite words like ‘jerk’, ‘damn’, ‘hell’ and ‘screwing’ as occasionally used.

It also cites infrequent scenes of bullying and very mild innuendo humour.

The latter is probably for the benefit of the adults accompanying their children, who might find this kind of joke funny.

The plot of the sequel follows best friends Sonny and Sam who, while collecting junk one day, meet Slappy.

Slappy is a mischievous talking dummy, a character from an unpublished Goosebumps edition.

Hoping to start his own family, Slappy kidnaps Sonny’s mother and brings all of his ghoulish friends back to life using a book found by Sonny and Sam — just in time for Halloween.

As the town is overrun with monsters, witches and other creatures, Sonny joins forces with his sister, Sam, and a kindly neighbour to save Sonny’s mom and foil Slappy’s plan.

R.L. Stine is played by Jack Black in this and the original goosebumps movie.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is playing in cinemas now.