- davidahallnum5
Monster House 3D Blu-ray Review
MOVIE REVIEW
Monster House is a 2006 motion-capture animated film executively produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. It follows a young boy named DJ and his best friend Chowder as they discover after DJ's neighbor across the street, Mr. Nebbercracker, gets taken away in an ambulance that there's something off about his house. By off, I mean anyone who steps foot on the lawn finds finds themselves as tasty snack food for the home. After Nebbercracker's leave, the house claims several victims, and one girl named Jenny almost becomes one of them before getting saved by the two boys. Now, working only on their own terms, the three kids find themselves faced with a supernatural threat that has to be dealt with before some young, gullible trick-or-treaters come along and find themselves getting more of a trick than a treat come Halloween night.
Monster House is another addition to the unfortunately small amount of niche, but creative and creepy children's films, and only goes to show why we need more of them. I will say right up front that as with the case of Coraline, this isn't a movie for children of all ages. That's what the PG rating is there to warn you about. I know the meaning of the rating has been watered down over the years with stuff like My Little Pony: The Movie and Inside Out, movies that, despite maybe one or two minor questionable elements, is suitable for virtually all ages. However, for parents who have possibly forgotten (which I know there are plenty of), PG still means Parental Guidance Suggested, something most appropriate for a film about a house that eats people. I will say, though, that I wouldn't give this movie quite as high of a caution as Coraline. While that film certainly had a creepy aesthetic, it also had a genuinely pretty disturbing story to back it up. The story for Monster House, though, is a bit more in lie with something between The Goonies and a thrill ride you'd find at a theme park during Halloween. If that's not your child's cup of tea, understandable. But if it is, than I'll say, what a thrill ride it is indeed.
Funny enough, if you look at the filmography from Robert Zemeckis's mo-cap animation company Imagemovers Digital, this is their only film not based on any prior story. And while it might not have been that profitable at the box office, it might honestly be the only movie where everyone can agree the motion capture is a welcome edition. As I mentioned before in my reviews of A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express, the animation is the main make-or-break aspect of both films with some people thinking the hyper-realism gives the movie style and even beautiful cinematography at time while some people can't quite get past the rubber-looking faces. I can understand where both sides are coming from and you can see my thoughts on how I thought those films played out in my reviews on them. However, Monster House is an interesting mo-cap movie to go over for several reasons. One, the characters don't have hyper-realistic designs, and thus don't look as uncanny valley as Zemeckis's other films. Two, the cartoony designs the characters do have does actually allow for some solid expression. And three, whatever uncanniness does come across ends up fitting pretty well into the movie's already creepy aesthetic. As a result, Monster House has a pretty unique style that makes it stand out from the crowd. It's got a menacing-looking house, it has some interesting-looking characters, and its in-your-face camera angles common in these mo-cap films (plus the 3D) puts you right there in the action. In terms of visuals, this is an animated feature unlike anything I've ever seen, and I love it.
As for the story, it also holds up surprisingly well. There's a horror element to it that's not just original, but also seems almost a bit reminiscent of something from Stephen King, just toned down a bit for the children (though if we're being honest with ourselves, most kids watch Stephen King movies anyway). A possessed house that looks normal most of the time but transforms into a monster when human food comes nearby? What an intriguing premise. And of course, the film makes the most of it with its aforementioned one-of-a-kind creepy style. Like I said before, though, the movie also is oddly reminiscent of past films like The Goonies that featured kids in them, that kids themselves would certainly watch, and that also had a bit of an edge. So there's a genuinely witty script that has characters that are fun to see with a good helping of situational humor to help balance out the darker overtones. I've heard quite a few people online complain that some of the movie's humorous dialog was inappropriate for children. But once again, that's what the PG rating is for. Now, of course, Monster House isn't what I'd call a light-hearted feature. However, in the face of some films like Coraline where the psychologically upsetting elements stick with you long after the movie ends, this movie ultimately seems to be more about fun, frightening thrills. It'll give the kids a small adrenaline rush and the adults who know better than to believe the silly superstitious stuff the film offers can still appreciate the original, if a bit intense, lengths it takes to do get such a reaction. Either way, kids and adults will find themselves having a good time with this film.
I don't know if there's really anything to complain about with Monster House. I guess its action climax does seem a little out of place for a movie focused almost entirely on one area of the neighborhood, and some of the ways the kids narrowly avoid being food chow can seem a bit far fetched. But honestly, as a kid, I never really cared about those things. And as an adult who's viewed the film multiple times, these issues only seemed to get smaller and smaller as time goes on. Maybe it's because every time I see it, I get enamored with what the movie does right, which is in being uniquely creepy, creative, and engaging from beginning to end. All in all, it's just a imaginatively and frighteningly fun ride I personally enjoy and would highly recommend to those interested in it. Like I said before, the market for these kinds of movies seem to be dead in the water. And I get it, people with kids are more out to look for something relatively safe and harmless. But man, do the films we did get from this genre stand the test of time. Honestly, if we switched out most modern Disney-animated films like Wish and Strange World for more stuff like this with people behind them who have some genuine insight, regardless of how scary it gets, we'd probably be better off.
OVERALL FILM RATING: 4/5
3D REVIEW
Monster House came out back in 2006, a time when 3D was still a pretty niche market. It was part of a lineup of pre-Avatar 3D movies when the technology had to actually be well-utilized in order to win the public's trust. Robert Zemeckis and his mo cop made themselves almost the self-made kings of this form of visual storytelling as seen with The Polar Express and Beowulf. In between those two films designed especially for IMAX 3D, though, Monster House 3D came out on your average-sized theater screens. Still, it seemed to wow people back then. And even now, its 3D is often held in high regard. In fact, it was part of Sony's first lineup of 3D Blu-rays when they entered the market of 3D home entertainment. After seeing it for myself, I can agree. The 3D here is fantastic and enhances the movie in ways that not only can be done in 2D, but can almost exclusively be done in its mo-cap technology. I do have a couple reservations about putting it up there with the likes of The Polar Express and Beowulf. But there's still much to enjoy here.
When it comes to Monster House, and these mo-cap films in general, it's not so much what the camera captures, but rather how it moves to capture them. Indeed, for most of this film, the camera is always moving around in ways that feel immersive and draw your eyes into the world this film has to offer. This is going to be a little difficult to explain without using any sort of video aid, but I'll do what I can to give you an idea what I mean. On a basic level, the camera will usually pan around and surround the characters, giving you a sense of sense of dimension as you not only can see someone's 3D shape, but also see the distance between them and the background, be it far off houses or even something as close as bedroom walls. However, on a higher level, the film frequently features plenty of scenes where the direction can gets crazier, going to intriguing lengths to follow the action. One example of this is actually the very first shot of the film when we follow an orange leaf falling to the ground right before being kicked up again when a girl on a tricycle runs through it, causing leaves to fly all around the scene, and the camera starts spinning around the girl. The effectiveness of the 3D isn't something that can really be easily described here as a lot of it depends on movement. But if you've seen the clip, you'll know what I mean.
I'll give off some of the highlights where this slick camera direction stakes center stage 3D-wise. One of which is a shot when the house first comes to life and a fire sparks in the fireplace. Then, the camera moves up and we look out of the chimney. There's at least a couple of shots where the camera captures the top of Mr. Nebbercracker's lawn, but the underground portion with dirt and pipes take up the bottom of the screen. There are some scenes where the camera is placed on the ground and it protrudes the screen, making us feel we're on the ground with the characters. In some of the more intimate scenes, there's some neat moments with telescopes and even in some poignant scenes, mirrors and windows. There's one notable part where a character is playing a video game and the camera does a circular motion as it looks through the video game screen onto the four characters in the scene. When the house first tries to eat Chowder, the chaotic camera movements really capture the chaos of the scene. We can look through the doorway of the house inside to the foyer which has a deep pit within the middle of the room ready for its potential victim. And in that doorway also comes rows of teeth made of pieces of wood. Later attacks also up the action with sidewalks that pop right out of the ground and sentient trees. There's one shot where the camera moves through a crack in the house's wall, through some pipes and into house. When we get inside the house, we also get some interesting 3D treats to look at such as stairwells, piles of toys, a beam of light, springs, pipes, water, that aforementioned deep pit, and in one story heavy moment, a gate. The action heavy climax features lots to see from deep pits to destruction to debris to great heights from a crane to even fire.
As for things that come off the screen, Monster House has pop outs in abundance. You know you're in for a treat when the very title of the movie leaps off into the audience. There's a lot of places where the camera direction and the pop outs overlap, but I've tried to keep them in separate categories as much as I could. What do we get? Well, where to start? Maybe the most notable ones involve the house's tongue which reaches out to kill you. But even besides that, there's characters' heads (sometimes at uncomfortable moments), hands, basketballs, a bottle, toys, pipes, trees, the house itself, a bulldozer, fire, pieces of debris, a dynamite stick, guns, and much more. I'd usually list off links to where you can see the best of these moments. But they're just too frequent I'd rather you go and see for yourself.
Now that I've told you how well Monster House uses its depth, here's where I ought to tell why I don't think this film ranks quite as high on the list of 3D films from Robert Zemeckis and his mo cop animation company: frankly, it's quite shallow. Depth isn't non-existent here, far from it. But while everything in the foreground has clear shape and dimension, and the camera does its hardest to make the 3D worthwhile, there are just some scenes where the lack of in-screen depth just makes it so you could easily be watching it in 2D. When the action kicks up, it kicks up. But when it doesn't, you don't really really find yourself staring deep into the world of Monster House. I know I've criticized Beowulf and The Polar Express (IMAX 3D version) for the same issue. But both those films still took you off into far away places like the North Pole or ancient Denmark, so you felt the 3D experience still offered more than just constant pop outs. Here, the movie takes places in the suburbs. So while the 3D may be great in certain areas, there's still room for improvement if it wanted to be an absolute must-buy for 3D fans, with in-screen depth being the biggest issue.
Still, if you're willing to take it for what it is, Monster House's 3D is still definitely worthwhile. It's one of those films that's made such a clear passion for 3D that watching it in 2D just doesn't look right. I know I've stated in my review of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet that I like it when a movie can work in both formats. But when a movie like this is so clearly made for 3D, how else do you plan to see it? This film wants you up in front of this hungry house that'll eat you up without a second thought. And in 3D, it fully succeeds at doing that. While maybe not my personal favorite presentation, it still holds up very well and is easily the preferred way to see this creepy thrill ride.
3D RATING: GREAT
OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D
High-Def Digest's Review: https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/3745/monsterhouse_3d.html
Real Future Picture's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r67tgISdtE
FINAL THOUGHTS
Monster House has always been a personal favorite of mine. Just the premise alone got me hooked all those years ago when I was a kid. And even into adulthood, I still find it quite intriguing. Not only that, but I also come to appreciate how well crafted it is with its unique visuals, clever writing, enjoyable characters, and a surprising genuine sense of dread. It's a film I can get if not everyone finds it interesting. But for those of us who dig one-of-a-kind animated films that are creative and deliver to the kid in all of us, you know, that kid with a curiosity for all things strange and creepy, than Monster House is the movie for you. I'd say it'd potentially make a great Halloween treat. But seeing how this film was released in the midst of July, I'd say instead you could watch it any time of the year. Either way, you're in for a ride. And while you're picking it up, the 3D version is certainly recommended. Shallower than I'd want? Yes. But in every other aspect, the 3D presentation shines. Everything has proper texture, the direction makes the 3D engaging and intense, and pop outs are galore. What better way to experience a frightening film about a house that eats people?
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