Review by Ben Bussey
Kiddie horror is a wonderful thing which we shouldn’t be afraid to embrace as grown-ups. Most lifelong horror fans start early, and I think it’s fair to say that for a lot of us our entry point to the genre is likely to be a movie with something of a juvenile bent. As I’ve mentioned at least once or twice, for me that entry point was The Monster Squad, along with Gremlins, Critters, The Gate and other such 80s classics which redefined the boundaries for scary, grisly content and dark and doomy themes in ostensibly family-oriented films. Since that mid-80s heyday, however, new entries to the kiddie horror pantheon have been sporadic at best – at least, until last year (signs of that 2012 apocalypse anxiety at work?) when, within a few months of each other, three major horror-themed animations came out in cinemas worldwide: Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, and this one from the makers of the equally creepy and bizarre Neil Gaiman adaptation Coraline. And while I’ve still yet to see the first two, I find it difficult to envisage either being as fresh, funny, and overflowing with love for horror as this. Truly, if any modern movie could convert a generation of kiddiewinks to the pleasures of the things that go bump in the night as irrevocably as The Monster Squad did for me and thousands more, then surely ParaNorman is that movie.
From the moment we meet Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) sitting cheerily in front of the TV watching a beautiful recreation of a cheap and nasty zombie movie – replete with throbbing Carpenter-esque synth tones and cries of “BRAINS!” – we have a protagonist in which most horror fans should be able to recognise a bit of themselves. Nor is that identification likely to end with Norman’s viewing habits, or the abundance of horror-related paraphernalia that fills up his living space (boasting posters aplenty and everything from zombie slippers to a zombie alarm clock, Norman has the dream bedroom of many of us); for in common with many genre enthusiasts, Norman is also every inch the social outcast. With no friends to speak of, most of his interactions with his peers consist of dodging bullies and doing his best to ignore insults. However, Norman isn’t ostracised simply because of his taste in movies. It also has a little to do with his claims to be able to see ghosts wherever he goes, and speak to them. Even in a town built on a Salem-esque witch legend, that’s just a bit too flakey for the vast majority, including Norman’s own parents and sister (voiced by Jeff Garlin, Leslie Mann and Anna Kendrick respectively). But of course, Norman’s abilities are 100% real, and prove to be somewhat important when a pivotal date in the town’s history comes around, and Norman finds himself called on to protect the town from a centuries-old curse. That’s a lot of responsibility to put on the shoulders of a socially awkward tween, so perhaps it’s no wonder that soon enough the town finds itself beset with zombies.
It may feature a troubled, feared and hated kid who sees dead people, but any resembelance to The Sixth Sense ends there. This is no sombre slow-burner trudging its way oh-so-seriously to a corny twist ending; this is 90 minutes of fun. Happily though, writer-director Chris Butler and co-director Sam Fell have the smarts to recognise that entertainment value and serious themes need not be independent of each other. Like all the best kids movies, ParaNorman hammers home that most vital of lessons which all children must learn: the fact that all adults are utterly stupid and cannot be trusted, ever, under any circumstances. Without getting into spoilers, Norman learns that the curse upon the town originates in a heinous mistake made by senior townspeople hundreds of years earlier; an action which takes the story into very dark territory for a child-oriented film, but which is handled just delicately enough not to traumatise the little ‘uns too much. Meanwhile, the grown-ups in the present day are entirely to blame when the zombie uprising escalates into a full-scale snafu, thanks to that time-honoured let’s-kill-anything-different-from-us attitude. Again, this is handled in a family-friendly fashion with an emphasis on slapstick violence, but the message is clear. Only Norman and the other youngsters with whom he finds himself unwitting allied recognise that a change of attitude is the only way forward. While I’m hesitant to pass comment on the current situation in the US, what with my not being American and all that, I must say that the whole lay-down-your-arms philosophy on display in ParaNorman feels timely indeed. It’s also nice to note that, thanks to the presence of a character who we only learn is gay in the final scenes, ParaNorman has become the first ever animated film to be nominated for a GLAAD media award.
But whilst messages of peace, love, empathy and all that tree-hugging hippy crap may dip in and out of fashion, good old-fashioned thrills and spills never go out of style, and ParaNorman is bulging with them. We’ve got classic scenes of zombies bursting up from the ground, a phantom witch face scowling in black and purple clouds, nightmarish visions of trees coming to life and skeletal hands leaping forth from toilet paper, and plenty more such spooky delights. Sure, it’s handled in a largely light-hearted fashion, but there are still some genuinely creepy moments here, liable to get the blood pumping even in adult viewers. There’s also of course a hefty dose of gallows humour; look out for a wonderfully macabre scene in which Norman struggles to get a book from the fingers of a corpse. And, as befits any modern horror movie, there are subtle and not-so subtle nods to other genre favourites scattered all over the shop; sure to add to the fun for the seasoned veteran, and serve as an education for the fledgling gorehound.
I’ve no doubt that a large part of my affection for ParaNorman comes from the fact that I’m a parent myself, and as such I’m delighted any time a horror film comes along that I can happily share with my little ones, which we can all enjoy equally. Even so, make no mistake that, family friendly or not, ParaNorman most definitely is a horror film. After all, most of the classics on which Universal was built, not to mention most of the 50s creature features and even some of the earlier Hammer films, can now be shown to kids with little concern for their well-being; does this in any respect mean we should disavow their genre status? I don’t think so. Nor should the established horror fan of today disregard ParaNorman. As wonderful a film as this is to share with the younger generation, there’s every bit as much here for adult viewers to appreciate. I stand by my earlier declaration that this is one of the best horror movies of 2012, and if you’re still clinging to some anti-cartoon anxiety I urge you to cast that aside and check it out.
ParaNorman is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD from Universal.