MONSTER HOUSE REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

​Despite being aimed at children, Monster House is probably one of the scariest films I've ever watched. It was released when I was nine years old and I remember covering my eyes during the scariest scenes. Fortunately, now that I'm 19, I can enjoy it without being scared. I do think it's one of the most underrated animated films, if I'm honest.

A teenager, DJ (voice of Mitchel Musso) is observing his neighbor Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) on the other side of their street in the suburb that destroys tricycles of children that trespass his lawn. When DJ's parents travel on the eve of Halloween and the abusive nanny Zee (Maggie Gyllenhaal) stays with him, he calls his clumsy best friend Chowder (Sam Lerner) to play basketball. But when the ball falls in Nebbercracker's lawn, the old man has a siege, and soon they find that the house is a monster. Later the boys rescue the smart Jenny (Spencer Locke) from the house and the trio try to convince the babysitter, her boyfriend Bones (Jason Lee) and two police officers that the haunted house is a monster, but, unfortunately, nobody believes them. The teenagers ask their video-game addicted acquaintance Skull (Jon Heder) how to destroy the house, and they disclose its secret on the Halloween night.

No, the animation isn't spectacular but it doesn't need to be. The story is entertaining enough that we soon forget about what the animation looks like. However, it does feature some dark visuals to give the film its creepy atmosphere. 

The three main protagonists (DJ, Chowder and Jenny) all come off as brave and likeable especially when they come up with a plan to destroy the literal 'monster house'. Despite being a PG, there are small references to sex as the main characters are going through puberty. These references will go over children's heads but will entertain older viewers including a line from Chowder who gets confused when he think that it's a 'girl house' when Jenny points out the uvula.

The film includes recognisable names such as Buscemi who plays the owner of the house. For the majority of the film, he's portrayed as a truly terrifying character as he's always running out of his house to chase people away. However, in the film's climax, we see a different side to him.

The 'monster house' is as scary as the title suggests. At various points in the film, it does 'eat' people. These are probably the scariest parts of the film. However, to keep the PG rating of the film, these characters were shown leaving the house during the end credits. The climax of the film is very tense as the trio try to destroy the house. 

Two of the executive producers are Robert Zemekis and Steven Spielberg, who are, currently, two of the biggest filmmakers in Hollywood. It was their job to make sure that this film was made within its budget, agreed to technical and artistic standards and completed on time. If it can get both Zemekis and Spielberg's seal of approval, then it's definitely worth a watch.

Monster House is similar to Caroline and Corpse Bride as they are all just as scary yet entertaining. If you enjoyed the latter films then there's no reason why you won't like this film.

If you're looking for a film to watch this Halloween that's both scary and funny, this is one of my favourites.

7/10