Monster House Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)August 2nd, 2006
"Monster House" - In Need of a Little Renovation
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006
Creepy but not kooky, here's a home that only the Addam's family would love. Desperately in need
of fresh paint or a power-wash, this eyesore of
real estate is devoid of any curb appeal. But
there seems to be something a little more
sinister about it. It's more than just the disappearance of people and animals and things
when it winds up on the lawn. It's more than the
mean old Mr. Nebbercracker (voiced vibrantly by
Steve Buscemi) who makes it his business to scare
off children. Whatever it is, it's kind of
disturbing and while I enjoyed the film, I didn't
much like the feeling of unease that I felt
watching it.
"Monster House" is like that flume ride through a darkened tunnel of fear. You know something is
going to come out to give you that Boo! moment.
But you don't know what it is or when it's going
to happen. All you can do is brace for it. And,
darn it, I was never good at bracing for it. And
like those flume rides through those darkened
tunnels, I was always unsettled during the ride
even though when I got off the ride, I knew that
I had a good time and the ride accomplished what
it set out to do.
This film achieves that same result. It's
neither good nor bad, depending on what you're
looking for in a film. With that in mind, I'm
not sure how the younger ones, which is the
audience that I presume will be most likely to
see it, can brace themselves. There are some genuinely unsettling moments thanks to some
well-timed thunder effects and a prevailing
atmosphere of eeriness.
The story focuses on two good friends, DJ and
Chowder (voiced by Mitchel Musso and Sam Lerner).
DJ has been obsessed with the house across the
street and its crotchety owner. There's
something weird going on. This becomes evident
when an unsuspecting girl (named Jenny and voiced
by Spencer Locke), pulling her wagon of goodies-for-sale, happens onto the property. The house literally comes alive in a creepy,
unnatural way. This isn't good for the
neighborhood kids. It is the eve of Halloween
and our three heroes will either have to find a
way to steer the kids away or to destroy the
house.
In a freak-show kind of way, this animated
feature is strangely gothic and definitely not a
movie about racing cars or talking animals or toys-come-to-life. With three 11-year old heroes fighting for their lives and needing the
firepower of dynamite to emerge victorious, this
film might be too intense for the younger ones.
For the older ones, it's a competent diversion
thanks to the gorgeous animation technique that
gives the film an uber-realistic look. The same
kind of style was used to create "The Polar
Express". Yet, there are other monstrously
better, cartoonish offerings like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Lady in the Water" that will haul
in moviegoers' dollars before "Monster House"
does.
Grade: B-
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
