I enjoy watching animated movies but can't watch any horror movies (nightmare-prone, alas, I blame it on my extraordinarily vivid imagination), so Monster House seemed like a good compromise. Chances are that a horror movie aimed at children won't be scary enough to induce nightmares in an adult. Or will it? Like a pro, I pushed my fears aside and sat down to watch it with my 11-year-old niece over Christmas. She had a cushion to hide behind. I had her.

My report boils down to this: Watch it! It’s wonderful! As long as there’s no child under 10 or so nearby, this is a great family movie that appeals on so many levels. We have DJ (voiced by Mitchel Musso), a 12-year-old boy on the verge of puberty. His voice is changing and his parents are leaving for a dental convention. His baby-sitter from hell turns up to watch over him (with threats and loud music), only her boyfriend comes along as well, and he’s a piece of work himself.

But then DJ has other things to worry about, like that old house across the street, over which he keeps watch with a telescope from his bedroom window. DJ’s convinced something’s very wrong with the creepy house inhabited by cranky old man Nebbercracker (voiced by Steve Buscemi), but DJ’s chubby pal Chowder (voiced by Sam Lerner) is not convinced. A foolhardy prank by Chowder ends up with DJ seemingly causing the demise of the old man. But if that’s the case, who’s calling DJ at night from the empty house? Could it be…(gulp)…the house itself?

Then Jenny (voiced by Spencer Locke), a pert and savvy redheaded 12-year-old, strides into the neighbourhood selling candy door-to-door, and almost gets eaten by the monster house. The two boys get an instant crush on her and the three of them, having drawn a blank with disbelieving policemen (who get gobbled up by the house in a horrifying sequence), decide to get to the bottom of the mystery themselves, before other kids get eaten as they go trick-and-treating that very night for Hallowe’en.

The sequence with the kids inside the Monster House is probably the best part of the movie—it’s scary and it’s a big adventure and there are clues and a mystery to solve. What more could an audience ask for? Well, for starters, we have to care about the characters. And do we care about DJ, Chowder and Jenny? The answer is a resounding YES! The characterization (the guts of any story worth its salt) in Monster House is superb. DJ is decent, thoughtful, imaginative and resourceful. Chowder is funny and endearing—voice actor Sam Lerner was so good that many a time I wanted to reach out and pinch the cheeks of that chubby boy. Jenny’s a smart kid not unaware of her budding attraction to the two boys poised so tenuously on the cusp of puberty.

What else? Well, it would be nice if the animation’s good. And I’m happy to report that it is first-rate. Using motion-capture technology to give fluid, life-like movements to the animated characters (popularized by one of the film’s executive producers, Robert Zemeckis, in Polar Express), Gil Kenan, in his directorial debut, captures well the self-consciousness of prepubescent kids, their unconscious grace, and their gangly awkwardness. The trio of 12-year-olds act and speak with complete believability. As for the house (modeled on Kathleen Turner’s facial expressions, of all things), it is a menacing axis of evil, smart enough to play dumb when adults are around, but swiftly morphing into a looming monstrosity when the children approach.

The humour is abundant, clean and straightforward (e.g. Chowder’s attempt to impress Jenny lends itself to a series of howlers), but it can be on occasion understated and may pass over the heads of the younger ones. For instance, on learning that the house has a uvula, Chowder, after an awkward pause, says tentatively, ‘I guess that makes it a girl house?’ That made me chuckle.

Monster House was shown in Real D, a 3D format, in 200 theatres in the US, and that must have been awesome. Even though this reviewer was much impressed with a regular viewing on DVD, I could only imagine what a thrill it would be to watch it in glorious 3D. It would be tantamount to a rollercoaster ride, as there are so many action sequences, as well as objects onscreen coming at the audience, like the beautiful opening sequence where a little girl is riding her tricycle and a leaf sails along on a breeze.

But do keep in mind that Monster House is not for the younger kids or even older ones who are prone to nightmares. It is scary, no question about it, with its subject matter and its sound effects and the realistic way in which old Nebbercracker conked out, the phone call at night from an empty house, and of course the ravening house itself. Adults as well as kids will find themselves flinching and gasping through a first, and perhaps even a subsequent, viewing. Having said that, there’s much to enjoy, and a parent of a 12-year-old would be remiss not to pick this one up and watch it together. Enjoy!




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12