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It may be hot and humid outside, but in theaters this week, there’s a chill in the air, and the leaves are changing colors.
It’s the day before Halloween, and DJ has just spent another afternoon spying on Mr. Nebbercracker, the crabby old man across the street. All the kids in the neighborhood are afraid of Nebbercracker, who yells at any kid who dares to come anywhere near his rickety old house. It’s even rumored that the old man fattened up his wife—and ate her.
When DJ’s friend, Chowder’s new basketball lands in Nebbercracker’s front yard, DJ tries to retrieve it—but the old man comes running out and screams until he has a heart attack. After the old man is taken away in an ambulance, things get even stranger, and DJ starts to think that Nebbercracker’s house is possessed—and it’s out to get him.
After the house tries to eat Jenny, a cute prep school girl who’s out selling Halloween candy, DJ and Chowder realize that unless they destroy whatever’s possessing Nebbercracker’s house, the neighborhood kids will be in serious danger when they don their costumes and go out trick-or-treating.
Once Monster House gets moving, there’s just no stopping this high-speed animated thrill ride. It plays on the old neighborhood rumors of evil old neighbors and things that go bump in the night with sinister perfection. And, like another Steven Spielberg production, The Goonies, it has a little bit of everything. It’s got a fabulous cast of misfit characters—from the awkward pre-pubescent kids to the inattentive babysitter and her reject boyfriend to the tough small-town cops. They have tons of personality—and plenty of great one-liners. In fact, it’s so funny that you might laugh until it hurts. At the same time, though, it’s got all kinds of action and adventure and suspense—so much so that it’ll have you edging forward in your seat and clutching your armrests. And—if the shrieks of terror coming from the kids sitting around me in the theater are any indication—it’s really scary, too. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend taking younger kids to see this one—because some of the scenes are guaranteed to give them nightmares for weeks. But older kids—and adults—will love it.
Monster House is as fun as a carnival haunted house. Take your kids, and you’ll share a few laughs—and a few screams, too.
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