Upgrading the motion-capture animation process that Robert Zemeckis pioneered in The Polar Express, first-time director Gil Kenan creates an animated comedy horror with terrific success. Executive produced by Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, it's a fun and thrilling ride for kids, full of smart jokes for adults, and with plenty of sharp, imaginative detail to delight both. As Halloween approaches, youngsters DJ (Mitchel Musso), Chowder (Sam Lerner) and Jenny (Spencer Locke) must unlock the secret of a creepy haunted house before it swallows the neighbourhood's trick-or-treaters. The traits of these friends echo the successful formula of JK Rowling's Harry Potter stories: a boy, his gawky best friend and their studious female companion. More interesting are the clever visuals that reference horror classics like Freaks and Quatermass and the Pit. With its unique, distinctive storybook-look enhanced by new technology, Monster House is an unforgettable and irresistible adventure.

Monsters under the bed are scary enough, but what happens when an entire house is out to get you? Three teens aim to find out when they go up against a decrepit neighboring home and unlock its frightening secrets.