It's the halfway point of the original 62 Goosbumps books, and after over twenty books, we finally return to face of the franchise. I'm actually surprised Stine showed so much restraint on Dummy books up to this point, especially now when you realize he has a whole current series called Slappyworld. Either way, it's finally Slappy's turn at bat. It's Night Of The Living Dummy II AKA Second Verse, Same As The First.
COVER STORY
I don't know how to feel about this cover. First off, Slappy looks as creepy as ever. I see that Jacobus has definitely pushed him further back on the cover so that, you know, we don't give children even more nightmares like the first cover art did. But here's my issue. The greens and pinks are just rough on the eyes, as in it actually hurts to look at this cover for a long period of time. Not to mention a lot of warping, which I feel isn't necessary. It makes the bed look like it's slanted. Also, while Slappy's freaky, those other stuffed animals look just as weird and strange. I guess the bear thing's supposed to be making a shocked reaction, but it just looks like it has lips. I dunno. It's still creepy, but not for the right reasons.
STORY
Things already start to get strange right off the bat as Slappy seems to slap Mr. Kramer across the head by itself. At the next family sharing night, Slappy makes a bunch of cruel jokes towards the family. The next day, Sara's room is a mess as paint is spilled everywhere. on the walls, the carpet, everywhere. Amy gets blamed for this as well. Amy sees paint on Slappy's shoes and thinks something's up. The parents do too. They think that Amy needs to see a psychiatrist.Which I guess is a fair assessment, seeing as their kid is blaming a puppet for something, but I dunno, maybe get rid of the dummy first? Nope, instead Amy performs at a birthday party with Slappy, only for Slappy to grab the birthday girl's arm forcefully and refuse to let go. The next night, more mischief goes down as Sara's walls are again smeared with paint. This time the word "Amy" is written over and over again. She tries to prove her innocence, but again everyone looks at her like she's trying to prove to them that Michigan J. Frog can dance.
Eventually Amy ends up grounded for all this. That night however, she finally gets the proof she needs as she sees Slappy moving. He's definitely alive, and he's about to paint over the family mural. Amy grabs him, but when she gets the paintbrush out of his hand, she gets caught by her family again. I'll give Slappy credit, he's doing a damn fine job at making her look bad. The parents have signed for a shrink to see Amy at this point. The next night however, Slappy finally speaks to Amy. He pulls out the old "you're my slave" card, again with no answer as to what that entails, and says that if she refuses, he'll keep doing things that will make her look more and more crazy to her family. She tries to pin him down, but he gets away.
Amy runs into Sara, who tells Amy that she's known for a while about Slappy being alive, but let Amy twist in the wind because this is a family of jackasses. They manage to grab Slappy and toss him in the sewer. But since that didn't work in the last book, it ain't working here as Slappy's right there the next morning. Also, the parents keep threatening to get rid of Slappy, but they never do, which considering that this dummy is clearly a major factor in what they think is Amy's psychological issues, and considering she would be more than happy to get rid of him, that would be the logical thing to do. But nope, bad Goosebumps parents ahoy! They just tell her to keep him locked in her closet. Because that's a great idea. But I've obviously harped on that enough, right?
That night, they see Slappy going into Sara's room and follow him. However, someone that looks like Dennis, Amy's old dummy, attacks Slappy, knocking him head-first into the bedpost. Slappy's head cracks open, and a giant worm then crawls out and leaves out of a crack in the wall. I'd say that's pretty bizarre, but they did set up that there was a random worm-filled sandwich in Slappy's head earlier, so I guess that's where it came from? Be reasonable with me people, I'm trying to stretch this as best I can.
TWIST ENDING
The parents arrive, and since they've seen what's going on, now believe that Amy was telling the truth all along. Amy explains that it must have been Jed dressed as Dennis who came to their rescue. But suddenly Jed shows up, having slept through the whole thing. But... but if Jed didn't do it, who did? Oh wait, it was Dennis, because like everything else, this book even ends on the same "the other dummy was alive too" twist as the first book.
CONCLUSION
Night Of The Living Dummy II feels a lot like an abridged version of the first book. Cutting out all the stuff with Lindy messing with Kris and just giving us full on evil dummy action. And that's kind of it. We just go down similar routes that we did with the first book afterwards. Stuff like Amy being blamed for Slappy's actions, Slappy insulting everyone, causing mayhem. It all feels like lather, rinse repeat. Also, the book feels really rushed, like it wants to get over with as soon as possible. Just like my issues with the Monster Blood sequels, this book doesn't exactly feel like it tries to be ambitious with the concept. Part of me wishes that we would have gotten swerved by the end, that it was all in Amy's head. That somehow Slappy isn't alive, but more a manifestation of her more cruel and evil side. Something I suggested would have made the first book good, but would work even better here. Because at this point, Slappy really doesn't feel like a unique villain. There's really nothing about him that differentiates him from Mr. Wood. He makes the kids look bad and constantly threatens to make them his nondescript slaves. And unfortunately all we're left with in the end is a mediocre sequel to an okay at best first book. Hopefully Slappy has a better take on his way for the third incarnation. Night Of The Living Dummy II gets a C-.
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