Movie Review - CORALINE

Sometimes horror movies aren't all hack and slash. Sometimes the greatest horror movies are the ones created in our minds back when we were children.

Coraline began as a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman writes what I call "adult fairy tales". And, make no mistake, his stuff is dark. Not necessarily bloody, but it has the stuff which creeps up on you when you least expect it and bludgeons you over the head.

It's the stuff that will give you nightmares.

Coraline is rated PG, but I don't hesitate to tell people it pretty much deserves a PG-13 rating.

If you like The Nightmare Before Christmas, you'll find a lot to like in Coraline. However, the comparison ends there. Where the horror was poked at in fun in TNBC, it's taken seriously in Coraline.

Short spoiler-free summary, Coraline and her parents move to a place in the middle of Oregon, where her folks continue their writing careers as authors of gardening books, although neither one of them has ever stuck their hands in a pile of dirt, much less planted anything.

Coraline finds herself bored and restless, and goes investigating the neighborhood, and then her 150-year-old house, for something to do. She finds a tiny door in one of the drawing rooms. A door that's been bricked up and wallpapered over. Once the key to the door is found, that's when Coraline finds a passageway to an alternate world that looks exactly like her own, except better. It also includes an Other Mother and Father who, instead of ignoring her, spends quality time with her. Plays with her. Cooks her great meals. The list goes one.

Beware the warning: If it seems too good to be true...

She quickly finds out that this other world is false and filled with terrifying things that were only glossed over with pretty colors to disguise them. When she finally discovers the true intent of her Other Mother, Coraline is forced to gather her courage and try to save her own life, as well as the lives of her real mother and father.
You don't have to be a kid to enjoy cartoons. Or, in this case, excellent stop-motion animation. If you have 3D glasses, flip the disk over for the 3D version.

My recommendation?