Anthony's Film Review - Monster House (2006)

A creepy but entertaining film that brings a new twist to an old concept...

Monster House is a story about a haunted house, but it's not what you think. The horrors are not in the house. Rather, the house itself is the horror. A boy named D.J. believes so as he looks across the street at the house every night looking for any suspicious activity. A lot of times, the house is just an old run-down structure, but once in a while, strange things are noticed. Objects that end up on the lawn mysteriously disappear. This creates an unusual, but original, suspense premise. Instead of fear when entering a traditional haunted house, there is fear when stepping on the lawn in front of the house.

Basically, the house is alive. The carpet in the foyer is the tongue, and the objects that the house eats end up in the basement that is like the house's stomach. Naturally, the house is witnessed only by D.J. as well as the unlucky victims who have disappeared in front of this house. D.J. is, of course, believed to be crazy in the eyes of his babysitter Zee, but soon, he finds allies in his best friend Chowder and a girl named Jenny. Together, the trio investigates the mystery behind this so-called monster house.

In the beginning, there is someone living in that house. A cranky old man named Nebbercracker comes out of the house and yelling at kids who come onto his lawn. When he suffers from a heart attack and dies, the house is left all by itself. And soon, the kids find that the house is more angry than ever. The film works because it has the thrills of a horror story, but it also has the element of compassion. I will not say what the second half of the film involves in detail, but let's just say that there is a touching back story to balance out the scariness and darkness of this movie.

The animation is CGI, but the characters look very life-like. The film uses a unique animation technique to achieve this. Aside from the visual quality, I simply enjoy the quality of the story. It is fun, scary, and exciting to watch. It's interesting to have young intelligent kids like these three involved in the plot just because they're likable kids.

Of course, I must warn you. The film may be rated PG, but it's quite scary for the really little kids. Even I, an adult, felt a bit frightened during the movie. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest taking a kid younger than 7 or 8 to see this one, but the decision is still yours since you know your kids best. Otherwise, Monster House is a scary and fun ride from start to finish.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Monster House, visit the Internet Movie Database.