I took my 8 year old son to see this movie. We had just finished reading the book and he wanted to see it. The character Max, was a spoiled brat. I didn't feel sorry for him or empathize with him in any way. Neither did my son. The soundtrack was depressing. There isn't one 'happy song' in the whole movie. Visually, the movie is great. The monsters are brought to life perfectly. The movie lacks color. Nearly everything in the movie is tan/brown. There are some scenes at the end which were downright scary and violent, not like the book at all. The only gem of the movie was Lauren Ambrose as KW. Honestly, she was the only part of the movie we liked. Don't waste your money.