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Homegrown terror

A sleuth of things supernatural investigates the animated children's mystery movie "Monster House."

By Rebecca Louie

THE PLOT: Best buddies DJ (the voice of Mitchel Musso) and Chowder (Sam Lerner) witness the home of grumpy Mr. Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) torment trespassers. They're sure the structure is possessed. With the help of candy salesgirl Jenny (Spencer Locke), they devise a plan to enter the house and stop the beast within.

INSIDER'S CREDENTIALS: Grant Wilson is one of the stars of the Sci Fi Channel's hit docu-soap, "Ghost Hunters," now in its third season. A plumber by day, Wilson plumbs the depths of buildings with spirits in the pipes by night. He is joined by a team from the Atlantic Paranormal Society, a Rhode Island-based group of real-life "ghostbusters" that Wilson co-founded with "Ghost Hunters" cohort Jason Hawes.

OVERVIEW: "In paranormal situations, diligence, hard work and a lot of investigation goes into figuring out what's going on -- exactly like they did in the movie. They take the horror genre and do a good job of putting it to computer animation. I know it's a PG film, but I feel it pushed that envelope."

Scene 18: Balls and Coils -- DJ, Chowder and Jenny enter Nebbercracker's abode armed with water guns and flashlights. When Chowder makes a grab for a stray basketball, the house attacks them with pipes, springs and more.

"The kids were able to get in there with their equipment, and they got to the bottom of it. As clues arose, they pieced them together. I've been doing this for about 16 years, and sure, you are grabbed or slapped by things you can't see. You don't know why it happens. Furniture will fly across the floor, things will fall down ... but nothing like the house in the movie!"

Scene 22: Gaping Maw -- Nebbercracker realizes he must let go of the ghost of his wife, who died in the home. To do so, he must destroy the house.

"Nebbercracker was holding on to the spirit of his wife for so long that it clouded his judgment. We had a case where a woman was very connected to the spirits of kids in a house because she was a social worker. She couldn't bear the thought that these kids were lost, so she clung to them. Once we told her the kids don't belong here, they need to move on, then she let go."

Bonus feature: Inside "Monster House:" Lots of Dots -- This making-of footage shows how first-time director Gil Kenan used "performance-capture technology" to make the film. Actors are fitted with small dots that track their movements and expressions.

"How they pieced this film together was amazing. It seems like a well-animated movie. Then you see what these people had to work with. You have performances with people standing on a stage with a grid and nothing to work off of. It shows real acting right there. I don't think they get enough credit for that."