Monster House (2006) Dir: Gil Kenan
- Ridley Coote
- Sep 22
- 2 min read
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When I was younger, I used to watch this Gil Kenan directed horror comedy nearly every Halloween. It was such a classic of my childhood, and it'd been such a long time since I'd last seen it, which was all the motivation I needed to revisit it again. I wanted to see how well it had aged too, which, I suppose, was my only worry, and only really from a visual perspective.
On that front, it was very easy to tell that this was an animated film from the mid-noughties by its quality, at least compared to modern animation. It felt a bit like when I go back and watch films like 'Toy Story' or 'Shrek', in that, if the film came out now, it would get torn to shreds for how it looked, but nostalgia helps a lot, right? And besides, I don't think this looked too bad, all things considered.
I had honestly forgotten how effortlessly funny and quotable this film was. I could remember laughing a lot when I was a child watching this, but I didn't expect to find myself laughing so often and so eagerly as I ended up doing. Sure, some of it was very silly, but it's a children's film, so that was to be expected. I think what worked so well was that the comedy had a really good ratio of innocent and innuendo, which really played well.
The story also had a lot more heart to it than I had recalled, which was a pleasant surprise too. It had all the best aspect of children's adventures; mystery, friendship, shenanigans, and fun, as well as that spooky and supernatural seasoning that makes it all the more entertaining and appropriate for Halloween season. That doesn't mean it's one to watch exclusively at that time of year, as my watching it in Summer can attest - it works well enough year round.
The trio of Mitchell Musso, Sam Lerner, and Spencer Locke, provided an enjoyable group of prepubescent protagonists to route for and be entertained by. The various comedic hijinks in the film were made all the more amusing by the dialogue delivery of the three actors, especially Lerner, who was hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic between the three of them, as actors and characters - it worked very nicely.
Steve Buscemi is known for his distinctive face and mannerisms, but it was his equally distinctive voice that made him so appropriate for this role. He felt very believable as the grumpy old man he was playing. The likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kevin James, Nick Cannon, Catherine O'Hara, and Fred Willard, also provide entertaining performances in their respective supporting roles.
Overall, I really do think that this is pretty much the perfect kids-friendly Halloween film - it's just such great fun. I genuinely haven't laughed so much at a film in a long while. Perhaps nostalgia played its part in my enjoyment, but I think it would be hard not to be entertained by some of the comedy in this film. I will almost certainly be watching this again before the end of the year.
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