The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Monster House
Animation · Comedy · Family · 2006
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.
Movie details
Monster House
“There goes the neighborhood.”
2006 Animation · Comedy · Family 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
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.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Monster House?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.
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The Addams Family
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The Addams family's lives begin to unravel when they face-off against a treacherous, greedy crafty reality-TV host while also preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration.
Night of the Zoopocalypse
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The Boxtrolls
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An orphaned boy raised by underground creatures called Boxtrolls comes up from the sewers and out of his box to save his family and the town from the evil exterminator, Archibald Snatcher.
Beetlejuice
Fantasy · 1988
A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
Orion and the Dark
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A boy with an active imagination faces his fears on an unforgettable journey through the night with his new friend: a giant, smiling creature named Dark.
Wendell & Wild
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Two scheming demons strike a deal with a punk rock-loving teen so they can leave the Underworld and live out their dreams in the Land of the Living.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Gil Kenan
Written by
Dan Harmon · Rob Schrab · Pamela Pettler
Mitchel Musso
DJ (voice)
Sam Lerner
Chowder (voice)
Spencer Locke
Jenny (voice)
Steve Buscemi
Nebbercracker (voice)
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Zee (voice)
Kevin James
Officer Landers (voice)
Nick Cannon
Officer Lister (voice)
Court is in session
Put Monster House on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.