I stumbled upon a trailer for this movie while watching television. I thought the special effects looked convincing and the premise interesting. After that, I decided to see it in theaters the day it came out. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

   The story begins kind of slow and shaky, but gradually gains speed as it goes on. The movie, based on the book of the same name, begins with teenage Jake trying to deal with a traumatic experience involving the mysterious killing of his grandfather, and a strange figure only he seemed to notice. Upon being bereft of his grandpa, he begins discovering clues to an island with an extraordinary orphanage that his grandfather told him about when he was little. The house in question, Jake was told, was full of children with peculiar abilities, hence the title. Everyone else believed the stories were fake, but Jake knew better. When Jake’s psychiatrist suggests that he and his clueless parents take a trip to the aforementioned island, the story truly begins to take off.

     Once he reaches the Island, the first thing on his mind is to visit the children’s home. Upon his first visit, he finds it was destroyed in the war. However, his second visit finds him being taken back in time to September 3, 1943, the last day before the home was bombed.

     Jake then meets the peculiar children themselves— an invisible youngster with a heart for mischief, a boy who projects his dreams through his eyes, and a teenage girl with the ability to produce fire from her hands, among others. Jake takes a liking to Emma, a girl who wears boots made of lead to prevent her from floating off into the sky.

     And then, of course, there’s Miss Peregrine, the head of the orphanage. She is quite strict, but it is clear she cares for the children as if they were her own. She, herself, is peculiar, her ability being the manipulation of time. At night, the exact night where the house was bombed, she magically rewinds time 24 hours back. She must do this every night, as to preserve the so-called “loop.”

     However, all is not well at this orphanage—it is being sieged by Hollows, invisible creatures who were once human, but were transformed after an experiment gone wrong. They eat the eyes of peculiar humans to return to their former state. Jake must now discover his own special abilities and use his wits and intellect—and, of course, time travel—to defeat them, and their wily leader, Mr. Barron, for good.

     This motion picture was directed by Tim Burton, who is a master at making things look extraordinary, so anyone who is familiar with his works should probably be able to figure out that the film’s special effects are superb. The tech used to make one float off the ground, appear invisible, or have a dark and scaly face could be considered groundbreaking, to say the least. However, there was this one sequence which I found the most outstanding— to be specific, a stop-motion sequence involving two puppets fighting each other to the death. I felt that the filmmakers wanted to pay homage to the filming techniques of the decade in which the film takes place. Speaking of which, the film uses muted colors during most of its substance, giving off the impression of an old-time movie. If you can, see it in 3D, as it adds an even more believable tone of color and an extra layer of depth to an already fine piece of cinema.

      Sound design and music are also important to this film’s substance. The music that is heard during the sequences at the children’s home at 1943 is very classical, like the type of quality you would hear on a phonograph machine. Likewise, one particular sequence taking place in the present day includes some typical electronic music appropriate for its time.

      To sum it up, Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is a movie that I would recommend. With its entertaining characters, decent storyline, amazing effects, and a touch of Burton’s signature dark humor, the movie is quite the cinematic masterpiece the trailers make it out to be. I highly recommend this movie to fans of Harry Potter, or to those who enjoyed some of Burton’s other creations.

Final Score: 4/5 Horseshoes