THE SPIDERWICK
CHRONICLES
 
STARRING: Michael Stahl-David,
Odet Jasmin, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Kaplan
2008, 90 Minutes, Directed by:
Matt Reeves
 Three
children, angry Jared, his studious twin brother Simon (both played by Freddie Highmore),
and fencing enthusiast older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), move into the creepy
run-down Spiderwick Estate which looks a lot like the house in The Addams
Family.
Jared is just angry enough to be considered
disturbed, or at least in need of anger management counseling, probably an odd
character choice for the hero of a family film.
One day Jared discovers hidden
in the house a very dangerous book written by his uncle Arthur who vanished
sixty years ago titled Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the
Fantastical World Around You. Despite a clear warning not to open the book, Jarad chooses to
do so. Once opened, the book unleashes a world surrounding the Spiderwick
Estate inhabited by goblins, fairies and other fantastic beings . . . many of
them unfriendly.
The film is based on the
best-selling children’s books written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony
DiTerlizzi. Written for 8 to 12-year-olds, the book was considered too tame for
a modern film. DiTerlizzi’s original drawings were still the inspiration behind
the movie though. The
premise of Spiderwick is simple, that children can see magic that adults are too
quick to dismiss as imaginary.
Spiderwick Chronicles
is more Lord of the Rings than
Harry Potter. The invisible goblins in
the film leave horrific visible bites. Spiderwick is also very scary, almost
a horror movie. Well, an old horror movie, before horror become gore-porn. It is
more adult than its family audience theme would let on. You wouldn’t want to bring
any young children to
see it. (Director Waters admitted in an interview that he didn’t show it to his
five-year-old daughter.)
Incidentally, the wily, yet helpful,
hobgoblin Hogsqueal of The Spiderwick Chronicles is voiced by Seth Rogen. After his
dramatic line “Vengeance or death!”, Seth lightly ad-libs, “Preferably
vengeance”.
This dark fantasy could have
used more humor like that . . .
- Robin Rowe
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