Coraline

I've been wanting to watch this film in order to review it for quit some time. The thing is, every time I mentioned it to friends they were adamant that Coraline isn't a horror film. Which it is, it very much is. Had I known it was based on a Neil Gaiman novel of the same name I would have watched and reviewed this film far sooner. Like over a year ago sooner. Admittedly I had seen small sections of Coraline over the years, catching bits on pieces while it was on at a friend's house, walking through stores as it played on display or while jumping channel surfing. But this exposure totaled less than thirty minutes of the films hundred minute run time.

Coraline opens with doll of a girl being created before being tossed off into.. a void. The
I will admit to bias as I'm a huge fan of Stop-Motion and feel it should be used more often. The look of feel adds immensely to the atmosphere of the film. Coraline could have been done live action but would have seriously lost much of its charm if it had gone that route.

I also love the films pacing. As Coraline meets new characters, we quickly get to see Coralines better versions. Which adds an amazing amount of depth to characters and lets us look as the same characters under a new light. This allows the film to build slowly and to take its time building the tension.

My only issue with the film is there's no linger dread left after. The film is given a happy ending with good winning over evil. I would have loved to see something that showed that while temporarily defeated, Bedlam isn't gone for good. Which I guess could be there since he final shot after the credits is Bedlam making a mouse. But, I find that train of thought unsatisfactory.

Final thoughts, if you have yet to see Coraline I couldn't recommend it more. Coraline has more horror elements in it as a PG film than any of the PG-13's I've reviewed to date. It manages to bring the genre to children without being violent, gory or offensive. An for that I couldn't love it more.