A Casa Monstro

Well, I think if I saw this movie when I was ten years old, I would have been totally scared and could not sleep for weeks. Now it seems time has changed: ten-year-old children are playing horror-video games so probably what was too scary for them in the eighties is just right and fun now. Actually this is just what you could expect from a movie about a monster house: funny, spectacular, sometimes frightening. Quite a well-developed story - even if it is full of clichés, or should I say homage? - with the usual "two boys, one girl" trio as seen in Star Wars or Harry Potter. The animation is strange at first: they seem like rubber dummies, but thanks to the motion capture, their movement and expressions are first rate. While they look like having plastic hair, there is a great development since Polar Express in one field: their eyes are constantly moving - full of life. And the whole movie is just a typical and fun Spielberg-Zemeckis production with elements of Hitchcock. Besides the extraordinarily dark scenes it just feels like those very entertaining Spielberg productions of the eighties.

I just saw this movie at the Seattle International Film Festival. I didn't know what to expect, but I must say I found it quite enjoyable. There was a lot of talk before the movie. People were saying that it will be too scary for the little kids, but not adult enough to capture older kids attention.

I can see it being quite frightening at times for the little ones, but of the kids in the theater its not like I heard any of them screaming mommy. I don't know how well the movie will do with kids, but from an adult's perspective, its definitely worth a viewing.

The best part of the movie definitely has to be the characters. Each were extremely well thought out and put together. They did a fantastic job of matching right voices with the right characters. Characters facial expressions were amazing. You'll find yourself laughing at things they say and do quite a lot.

The animation looks great. They certainly aren't ground breaking. But they fit the movie well. However, I will say that some scenes looked quite amazing.

If you are looking for a fun, clean movie with plenty of laughs and chuckles, this is definitely one you don't want to miss!

The teenage DJ is observing his neighbor Nebbercracker 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 stays with him, he calls his clumsy best friend Chowder to play basketball. But when the ball falls in Nebbercracker's lawn, the old man has a siege, and sooner they find that the house is a monster. Later the boys rescue the smart Jenny from the house and the trio unsuccessfully tries to convince the babysitter, her boyfriend Bones and two police officers that the haunted house is a monster, but nobody believes on them. The teenagers ask their video-game addicted acquaintance Skull how to destroy the house, and they disclose its secret on the Halloween night.

"House Monster" begins like "Fright Night", i.e., a teenager sees a weird situation with his neighbor and nobody gives credit to his words. The story is flawed, since nobody sees the attacks and movements of the house in the whole neighborhood, only the three teens. But the movie is very funny, with great animation and hilarious voices, and an excellent and worthwhile family entertainment. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa Monstro" ("The Monster House")

I saw the 3D version of Monster House, which I recommend as THE format to see the film in.

The story is pretty simple and not entirely original. But the zest for which the characters jump into your lap (figuratively and literally) makes this a fun ride through a house of horrors.

The overall animation is pretty decent, but the facial expressions are absolutely fantastic. They are so lifelike. The lack of photo realism in other features is quickly ignored as you feel at times like you are watching a real life childhood drama unfold right in front of you.

Who hasn't had a spooky house in their neighborhood that was legend? This film taps into that legend and brings to life through gleeful fun the horror that unfolds.

This continues a great bunch of surprises I have experienced this summer at the local multiplex.

The animation is a bit clunky and grainy, but this somehow adds to the dark atmosphere, which is fairly unique for mainstream American animation. Although it is not explicitly stated, the main protagonist seems to be suffering from depression. The story itself is different from a typical haunted house story, in that the house itself is anthropomorphized, and at its heart lies the cemented-over body of Nevercracker's dead wife, her soul now possessing it. As the movie itself notes, this is the literal (monstrous) definition of "house wife."

Watched in Princeton and in Iowa City 2020, on Halloween night!