Fifteen years ago, “Coraline,” a stop-motion family-horror film directed by Henry Selick, made its debut. Over its years of being released it has come to be revered as one of the best stop-motion films in history. Last weekend, the film made its reappearance in theaters as a remastered 3D version in honor of the film’s 15th anniversary. 

The bones of the story felt familiar, drawing me in as it did during the first time that I watched it as a child. The story follows the journey of a young girl, Coraline, who moves into an old house where she discovers a passageway that leads her into a magical alternate reality: a reality that she thinks is perfect until she realizes the “Other Mother’s” sinister intentions. 

“Coraline” is what I consider to be the perfect gateway horror movie. As amplified in the 3D version, its chilling stop motion movements to the unsettling clay-mation expressions on the charters faces leaves viewers scared but intrigued for more. 

Its already captivating graphics become even more alive in the 3D version. One of my favorite scenes is when Coraline discovers the tunnel to the other world. The mesmerizing blue and purple mesmerizing tube lurches toward you from the screen. Other times, I felt as if the “Other Mother’s” hand was going to crawl up my spine at any point as it stretched outward across the screen. 

Many critics online believe that with its anniversary rendition that “Coraline” needed to have extra scenes or even a sequel. And although a second “Coraline” would be interesting, I think it would ruin the magic of the open ending. The reason why the film has such a cult following is because it is such an enigma. If it had extra scenes or a follow up movie, it would ruin what Selick called the aim of the movie; to help children navigate the horrors in their lives.

Despite its age, “Coraline” has withstood the test of time and its ambiguous ending is still debated even today. 

“Coraline” has long been one of my favorite animated films and after seeing it in theaters for probably the sixth time in my life — and in 3D for the first — I still felt as if I was watching something new. There aren’t many times that you see “family” and “horror” in the genre description but Coraline flawlessly executes both simultaneously — making it such  a timeless film. “Coraline” in 3D masterfully threads the line between fantasy and horror, leaving you to wonder which world, real or fake, is truly more unsettling.