Tag Archives: Scary Movies for Kids

Movies in Bed: Monster House

monster housePost by Mark T. Locker.

With Halloween just around the corner, I have to up my game trying to find a movie that is “scary” but isn’t so scary that my seven-year-old can’t watch it. Basically, he has to be assured that everything will be okay in the end. I know, I know, the kid’s got too much empathy. Well, we watched Monster House this past weekend and managed to fit the bill nicely.

Thirteen-year-old DJ lives across the street from a crabby old man, the classic “Get off my lawn!” type, the kind of guy who takes your ball if it lands in your yard and won’t give it back. Well one day while DJ and his friend Chowder are playing ball, the basketball lands in Old Man Nebbercracker’s yard but this time DJ decides to get it back. The resulting confrontation leads the old man to have a heart attack  and to be taken off in an ambulance.

With the old man gone, strange things begin to happen. The house eats the basketball. The house eats an obnoxious teenager after luring him in with a kite he lost there as a child. Since no reasonable adult would believe them, DJ, Chowder, and their new friend Jenny take it upon themselves to take out the house. But what they discover inside changes their whole perception of what is happening.

Kind of scary, kind of funny, and full of action, this is a great movie for sensitive kids who insist they want something “scary” to watch this Halloween. The characters are fine, there’s nothing too offensive going on and it’s just scary enough to give a couple good scares without the risk of nightmares.

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