Fantasy films based on children’s books are becoming a big thing these days. With the success of the HARRY POTTERbooks and films, turning fantasy books into films has become a risk that studios have been willing to take. If you think about it over the past few years we’ve had the NARINA series turned into films, and other book to films include THE GOLDEN COMPASS, THE SEEKER, STARDUST, ERAGON, and now THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. The flocculation of fantasy films seems to be growing in popularity, and SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is one of the better ones I’ve seen to date.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on a series of novels by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. The film is about a mother and her three kids whom move to their great uncle Arthur Spiderwick estate in the woods of New England. Little do they know that in the woods around the estate lies a whole other world full of fairies, goblins, trolls and more. Arthur Spiderwick spent his whole life tracking the creatures and wrote a field guide to their world. However the great evil goblin Mulgarath, sent all the trolls and goblins in the land to get the book so he can learn the magic and the secrets of the land. Arther Spiderwick, using his knowledge and magic sealed his house off so no evil could get in and hid the book in a secret room in the house.
Almost eighty years later when the Grace kids and their mother move in the trouble maker of the family, Jared, finds the secret room and find the book. Avoiding all the warnings, he opens the book and reads its contents. Little does he know by doing so he has opened up a can of worms and now Mulgarath once again knows where the book is when Jared crosses over the threshold, book in hand; that protects the house and the book itself. By doing so all the goblins swarm towards the house and attack anyone who tries to leave and enter the house. Now Jared along with his sister and brother must try to fight the evil after the book. With the help of a few mystical creatures, they set off to solve the mystery of the book, while avoiding evil at all costs.
The script for THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is actually very well written. While towards the beginning of the film the script does drag along with it’s development of the plot and characters it quickly picks up and the action begins. The dialogue is written decently and the overall flow of the story works out right up to the films conclusion. The acting and overall production value is also pretty decent. I particularly enjoyed the characters in the film all of whom were voiced by the likes of Nick Nolte whom plays the villain Mulgarath, Martin Short and Seth Rogan. The film has some great animated characters and the fantasy world visuals in this film are very good. For fans of horror this film does have some light gore like scenes when it comes to goblin attacks and attacking goblins. Overall the film as a whole has some decent acting and great production value.
The Blu-Ray disc, does have the pretty much the same features as the “Two disc field guide edition” DVD, but all the features are in HD on the blu-ray. These features include Spiderwick: It’s all True and It’s a Spiderwick World Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide, Spiderwick: Meet the Clan, Making Spiderwick, The Magic of Spiderwick! A Final Word of Advice… Deleted Scenes and a ton more. It’s a good disc with plenty of extra features for fans who enjoy more than just the movie.
Overall, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is a great film not just for kids, but for adults as well. It’s not a watered down fantasy film, and it does have some decent fantasy scares and a little bit of blood and slime here and there. Sure it’s toned down to fit it’s PG rating, but it’s a fun film for everyone to enjoy.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
