The Gateway Terrors of "Jumanji" Still Pack an Exciting Punch

When you're a kid, it's hard to not get a thrill out of watching something you're not supposed to. It's a small, yet formative act of rebellion that often contributes to your cinematic tastes and sensibilities. I got my hands on as many horror movies as I could, even if I had to take some extra steps in hiding them, and I've never looked back. Equally as exciting, however, is when a film presented as acceptable toward your age bracket reveals a darker edge than you anticipated. As most of you are aware, there was a point in time where PG-rated movies were the Wild West. "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" broke the Motion Picture Association of America and, in the process, introduced young audiences to their first-ever heart ripping ceremony. The emergence of the PG-13 rating was an indicator that a movie was only a few steps removed from something solely made with adults in mind. But every now and then, you'd get something like a PG-rated flick advertised as an adventure movie starring Robin Williams that ends up being a Stephen King story for kids. Therein lies the magic of "Jumanji." When some folks hear the word "horror," they tend to envision jump scares, blood and other tenants of the genre without realizing it can take many different forms. Joe Johnston's incredibly fun 1995 adaptation of the Chris Van Allsburg book is what I'd call prime gateway horror — the kind that challenges younger viewers to grapple with weighty themes and scary imagery without going too far. A large reason why "Jumanji" is still effective, especially in comparison to its weightless reboots, is because it entrusts its viewers to get swept up in the danger. It's something you don't really notice until you're older, but right from the beginning, "Jumanji" is structured and shot like a horror movie. A cursed artifact in the form of a board game courts an easily susceptible child named Alan Parrish with the allure of drums only he can hear. The call to adventure is too powerful to ignore, especially when it has you in its clutches, although it's not one that entices seeking treasure, but deadly enlightenment. The first 15 minutes of "Jumanji," in its lead up to the game in action, establishes young Alan as a target for bullies on account of the shadow his emotionally distant father (Jonathan Hyde) casts on the town. The mystical board game waits until Alan is on the verge of running away to present him with a terrifying manifestation of his wish. Twenty-six years later, the Parrishes are still the talk of the town, albeit as urban legends wrapped up in Alan's supposed grisly murder. A new generation joins the game, with Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) discovering the animal frights for themselves after finding Jumanji up in the attic of the abandoned manor. With the roll of dice, an adult Alan (Robin Williams) returns from his jungle purgatory to find an even greater hell waiting for him back home. But he possesses a good heart and a strong mind that compel him to end the curse of Jumanji and finish the game, which also involves tracking down a traumatized Sarah Whittle (Bonnie Hunt) to play her part. When Jumanji unleashes a new animal obstacle after every spin, they arrive on the scene as destructive and, sometimes, mischievous forces of nature. The success of "Jurassic Park" was a pioneering marvel of visual effects wizardry, which the folks at ILM attempted to carry over into this movie with a similar blending of CG-rendered animals and practical animatronics. A lot of the CGI creations look askew and don't hold up to contemporary standards, but the monkeys' low-quality resolution somehow make them even more terrifying, especially when they're brandishing weapons like a kitchen knife or a gun aimed directly at the children. The animatronics, on the other hand, are still incredible technical feats that help sell the magic of being face to face with a wild animal dead set on killing you. There's this wonderful shot of Judy and Peter in the attic where they hear some growling noises, and you can see an obscured outline of the lion submerged in the darkness. There's also the Pod plant that comes from out of nowhere to swallow one of our young protagonists whole. In "Jumanji," there's no shortage of threats with every roll of the dice. The greatest source of horror in "Jumanji," surprisingly enough, is from an emotional standpoint. Alan, Sarah, Judy and Peter make sense of their past trauma in ways unique to them, with the game forcing them to confront it head on. Alan's predicament is the most prominent, with the arrival of secondary antagonist Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde) as a violent manifestation of his anxieties toward confronting his father. Having Hyde in both roles of father and Pelt really helps sell the uncanny terror, without ever calling attention to it. Even the film's ending, where everything "goes back to normal" after Alan wins the game, is loaded with its own horrifying implications. Both he and Sarah are transported back to their 13-year-olds selves prior to playing the game, but they retain 26 years' worth of memories that never transpired. They must reconcile with living in an alternate universe of sorts caused entirely by their game of Jumanji. It's an eerie detail to leave on, despite showing the couple living a prosperous life in adulthood. "Jumanji" delivers the thrills of an adventure movie but imbues a great deal of horror that pushes the boundaries, yet never gets gruesome to the point of alienating its intended audience. Experiencing the chills of a stampede running through town or being enveloped by massive spiders is all part of the experience. It's a great movie to grow up with and discover just how haunting it is from an adult perspective. Children can be smarter than we give them credit for, a sentiment that "Jumanji" believes in, even if its toothless sequels don't. In addition to reflecting on this film through a gateway horror lens, it made me reminisce on my time in Keene. When Williams sadly passed in 2014, I was entering my sophomore year at Keene State College. Seeing the famous Parrish Shoes mural surrounded by a pile of candles and tributes showed how much both he and a '90s fantasy adventure can mean to a community. I always thought it was pretty cool that I was within walking distance of a piece of film history, especially one I watched in my childhood. For 30 years, "Jumanji" has been ingrained into the foundation of Keene and for as long as people listen to the temptations of their inner child that calls them to adventure, it will only continue to do so. Keep an ear out for those drums and make sure you don't cheat. "Jumanji" is currently streaming on Peacock.