Deliciously creepy and wickedly funny, Monster House might just be the best animated family feature of the year.
Employing the same motion-capture animation pioneered in The Polar Express, which translates the movements of real life actors into the digital realm, Gil Kenan's directorial debut is a spooky yarn full of tricks and treats.
A release date in the middle of August seems a tad illogical - the film is set in the run-up to Hallowe'en and would be perfect entertainment for late autumn.
However, there is so much to enjoy, from the dazzling visuals and lively vocal performances to the genuinely scary set pieces, that Monster House has the potential to be the surprise hit of the summer.
Like many of the kids in his neighbourhood, 12-year-old DJ Walters (voiced by Mitchel Musso) has been warned to stay well away from the ramshackle home of crotchety old Mr Nebbercracker.
Basketballs, tricycles and even pets, which foolishly stray close to the Nebbercracker front lawn, disappear without trace. DJ is convinced that the dilapidated house is possessed, but his rotund best friend Chowder (Sam Lerner) mocks such a far-fetched idea... until the property almost swallows a little girl called Jenny (Spencer Locke) whole.
They turn to slacker pizza chef Skull for advice.
"I have heard tell of man-made structures becoming possessed by a human soul," he informs them.
The three youngsters are terrified: the house isn't in the grip of a malevolent ghostly force after all.
Even worse, the property itself is a living, breathing monster, hungry for new occupants.
And horror of horrors, with Hallowe'en just around the corner, the demonic Nebbercracker house will have an endless supply of visitors to suck into the darkness.
When the local cops and DJ's babysitter fail to heed the children's warnings, the plucky 12-year-olds have no choice but to take on the monster house themselves.
Movie double-acts come in all shapes and sizes ...and with varying degrees of success.
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