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god, this movie. what is there to say that hasnt been said? probably a lot since you might not have watched it since it came out. monster house is a kids movie about a haunted house that attacks anyone (or anything) that comes close. its a really cool concept and the writers took it and decided to do MORE. they easily couldve made a cheap kids horror, its not like they would really care all that much, but they still went above and beyond.
the first few minutes of the movie are an introduction, a way to teach us about the world and meet the "villain", tho it doesnt show us the monster yet. as of now, there is no supernatural force, just a grumpy old man and a few kids.
can i also talk about the humor for a second? the way the kids communicate is just perfect, honestly. not many movies make tweens act as tweens, its usually either adult or tiny kid. they are dramatic and childish, but they still want to be taken seriously. their jokes land so well because of their awkwardness and and naturality. i also love the camera movements and it should be appreciated. the way the camera shakes whenever mr. nebbercracker shows up is sick!!!!!!!
the first time we see anything supernatural if after mr. nebbercracker's heart attack but we can already know something is going on by the things he says. obviously, the name gives it away, but his lines are oddly suspicious. him asking others to stay away from the house and wondering if they want to die, its almost a warning - which obviously is the case. after his heart attack, things finally start happening. the house is angry at dj specifically and want him to pay for what he did
now to my favorite scene, the one that makes me, someone who has already watched this movie, INSANE considering the amount of detail and foreshadowing.
after watching this scene for the first time you think "ok, mr. nebbercracker, the old man who loved this house, dies in it. his soul might be seeking revenge and wants the kid gone", which, yeah, its a really good train of thought. there is ONE PROBLEM THO. the hand.
whose hand is that? that cant be horace's hand, he was a sickly skinny old man. but i dont think its easy to make that connection when you first watch it. i mean, its just a hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but my god, how that hand makes me excited. its a subtle way the writers and animators found of showing you what is actually happening without telling you right away. its such a small detail but it makes me SO EXCITED. that is specifically constance's hand, someone we dont know about yet.
another reference that maybe something is up happens when bones mentions horace talking and kissing his house followed by what he supposedly did to his wife. sure, it could just be ignored since that guy is a bit crazy and drunk, but after watching the movie we learn that it is actually true. this is when the house ACTUALLY acts for the first time, we see it luring bones inside the house
and THATS when it starts actually showing how powerful the house is. a house, a home, a place you are supposed to feel safe in but, instead, we see something that is able to bend itself and manipulate others in order to capture you and your belongings???????w THATS SUCH A SICK CONCEPT.
after all of that happens we finally start unraveling the mysteries of the movie, we learn why thats happening and how. we learn about constance, a woman who suffered her whole life, a woman who was seen as nothing but an abomination to society, a woman who was used for laughs.
then we see her experience love for the first time, genuine love
we see her escape that "freak show" with a person who truly cares about her
we see her build a house with the love of her life
but its not that simple... she is happier than she has ever been but there is still all this trauma from years and years of humiliation. trauma is complicated and it doesnt just disappear, it takes years to even get it a bit under control. constance seems to have been born in the freak show, either that or she was sold to it, and that constant abuse changes you. she was treated as an animal by others, she was locked in a cage! that was her only place to call "home"! and now she has a place of her own, a real home with a person she loves, and she will do ANYTHING to protect it. she cant bare the idea of losing the ONE thing that was ever hers
the moment those kids threw eggs at her and her house she felt attacked, not only that, but it was the same thing that happened when she was at the "freak show". the laughter, the things being thrown at her, she obviously had a reaction to it. sure, those were just kids being kids, but she was a mentally unhealthy woman (i mean, she never got help for all those years of abuse despite all the love and support horace gave her) who had her dignity robbed for years of her life
she has FINALLY got the things she had wished the most, freedom, love, respect, and a safe place. and now its all gone, she is gone.
not only her dying on that moment is tragic, but the whole context itself makes it worse. she spent the last moments of her life being treated the same way she was when she had to work on that circus..... food thrown at her, the laughter, the lack of respect.... the one place she was supposed to be safe at became the thing she hated the most: her own personal circus. and then she fell to her demise alongside the concrete, which immediatelly burried her
but that didnt stop her from protecting the things she loves, even if it made her a ""monster"". i like how how horace isnt angry at her, he understands why she feels that way even if he cant help her all that much. he spends these years keeping her safe, even if its also because he wants to keep others safe from her. i mean, she wasnt truly herself for all those years, that was the
spirit of an angry and frustrated woman who seeks for revenge, a
restless spirit. i love how after they destroy the house, she isnt angry or anything. constance and horace are finally able to see each other again, and she can finally let it go. he is happy because now they can both rest and she is able to heal. im sure it was hard for both of them, i understand that dealing with someones trauma can be difficult, so image how hard its to LIVE with it.
and thats our happy ending!!! constance's spirit is finally free, horace can rest knowing his wife is ok, the kids get their stuff back, and the main cast solved the mystery. the end!
i know this was mostly just me rambling but on a more serious note, monster house is one of the few movies where a fat woman being swoon over isnt seen as a joke and it is actually something beautiful that is turned into a nightmare, not for the laughs or anything, but because of how others treated her. its surprising how that happened on a kids movie from 2004. i honestly like how trauma is represented because its not easy to heal but the show still leaves a message that its not impossible. i wish constance was able to live her life, but i know she was happy for that small time period where she was loved because the love never diminished, it only grew. horace never stopped loving constance, despite everything, he still wanted whatever was the best for her.
not to sound corny or anything but the real villain truly was fatphobia, lets be honest. the root of it all was fatphobia at the end of the day. if people treated her like a normal human being from the start this wouldnt have happened. im not justifying her actions, im explaining it. sure, she was wrong for attacking innocent people, thats factually correct, and others who arent involved shouldnt be blamed for her trauma but its complicated. nothing is black and white, no one is 100% right or 100% wrong. idk, im just glad that horace kept showing her how much she is loved and still tried to keep kids away from the house, not only for their safety, but for his wifes well-being
i dont knoooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ive been writing this for a while and i had a bit of wine while writing it. what do you think? did you like monster house when you were a kid? i fucking loved it, i remmeber i had it on dvd. if youve never watched it and you like that kind of movie, you should give it a try. its still a kids movie, it wont be all that scary, but its fun nonetheless
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animals
I LOVE MONSTER HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i dont own it on dvd but it's so good that it's worth having it esp just to have one physically if it's ever taken off the web somehow. i love how you go in depth w that like ive rewatched it some couple times and i NEVER pieced that that was constance's hand!!!! i love this movie so sososo much it's so funny and tragic and beautiful i love it.
i remember some years back i made my parents watch it w me and they ended up loving it. MONSTER HOUSE WIN!!!!! i love this movie so much omg i was so hyped seeing a blog about it too this is great!!! reading this blog entry was like a hit of caffeine for me :D
YESSSSS!!!!!!1 I ALSO LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! i used to have it on dvd but idk if my mom donated it. its genuinely such a sick movie, i remember watching it as a kid for the first time and going insane over it. and im SOOOOOO glad i got someone to notive constances hand little easter egg, i think i first noticed it on the second or third time i watched the movie and i was SO EXCITED, i remember running to my grandma to tell her about it. constances storyline always gets me, she is such a tragic character doomed by the narrative. in my heart, she didnt die and lived a long happy life with horace and some stray animals they adopted
by minesweepooper; ; Report
FOR REAL!!!! she deserved so much better everything about that reveal moves me...
by animals; ; Report