Read Time:2 Minute, 9 Second
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.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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