A Look Into Monster House

Halloween Festivities

With Halloween quickly approaching, October has been a month of many festivities. From pumpkin picking to haunted attractions, “spooky season” is a time of fun activities. But one of the most popular activities during this season of horror would be watching Halloween-themed movies.

Throughout the years, horror movies have lined the walls of movie theatres. With Halloween approaching, “scary” movies are played in households all over the United States. One of my personal favorite Halloween movies is Monster House, a movie from my childhood. 

Statistics

Monster House, is a 3D computer-animated horror film, directed by Gil Kenan in 2006. Being one of the most detailed computer-animated films, the movie was released in theaters by Columbia Pictures on July 21, 2006. The production process using 3-dimensional animation is similar to the Polar Express. The movie grossed $140 million worldwide against a production budget of $75 million. Directed by Gil Kenan, who also was the director the 2015 movie, Poltergeist. The cast features Mitchel Musso, Spencer Locke, Sam Lerner and Steve Buscemi. The producers are Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke.

The run time is 91 minutes and is rated PG, “for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor, and brief language”. The movie falls under the genre of family and kids, with horror at the same time. It is also seen as fantasy and mystery. 

The movie nominated for many awards and acknowledgements. Monster House has been nominated for the “Best Animated Feature” for the Academy Awards and Annie Awards. They also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Awards and the Saturn Award as the Best Animated Feature Film.

A video game has also been produced following the theme of the movie, that is considered a “Survival Game”. It was released in 2006 for Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube and Nintendo DS.

Plot

D.J. Walters is a teenage boy, with suspicions about the house across the street from his. While he is left home for the weekend while his parents are away, D.J. observes the house and his neighbor, Nebbercracker, played by Steve Buscemi. He notices many odd things going on within the lawn of the house, but it is not until D.J. and his friend Chowder lose their basketball that they see the demon within the house.

The boys soon find that the house is a monster, overcome by a human soul. The house eats everything in it’s path, and Nebbercracker, the owner threatens anyone that comes close to it. With the help of a friend, Jenny, the trio tries to get adults to believe that the house is a monster. But, every time they try and show an adult, the house behaves.With Halloween quickly approaching, the trio must find a solution to fixing the house before trick-or-treaters face the wrath of the house. They have many tricks up their sleeves but, to their surprise, they actually find out the mystery of the haunted house.

Review

All together, I recommend this movie greatly, especially to younger audiences. I remember watching this movie during Halloween when I was younger, and while it is frightening, I absolutely love it. The movie is a bit scary, with many jump-scares, but the animation and plot make it quite enjoyable. It recommends for younger audiences, since it is PG. It is streamed on Netflix, and can be rented for $3.99 and up, on Amazon and other sites.

Common Sense Media rates it for 10+.  “Parents do need to know this is a pretty scary movie, the last 20 minutes, take a turn for the dark. With windows like eyes and a flying carpet that unfurls tongue-like out the front door to scoop up trespassers, the house is a wonderfully alive structure. You don’t want your kids waking up in the middle of the night freaked out that their house is going to eat them”.

The New York Times, believes the movie is a good lesson for children, of all ages. “The deeper imprint of Mr. Spielberg’s influence, in particular, lies in the film’s evocation of childhood as a state of wonder tinged with darkness. The absence of supervising grown-ups is both scary and exciting, and the monstrous house will remind audience members of all ages of the pleasure of being frightened without pushing the fear past comfortable limits”.

Monster House was rated as 75% on the Tomato-meter for Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have said “Monster House welcomes kids and adults alike into a household full of smart, monstrous fun”. I rate the film 4 out of 5 pumpkins, on the pumpkin scale. I enjoy the movie to this day, and will watch it in this upcoming Halloween season.