Review of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) by Mrmoviebuff — 03 Mar 2019

When I heard that Eli Roth would be tackling a family adventure story, it reminded me of that time when Martin Scorsese - known for gritty crime films - tackled 'Hugo' (2011), in that, you have an artist stepping out of their creative comfort zone in favor of doing something completely different.

I think Scorsese succeeded greatly with 'Hugo' (2011), and Eli Roth only just about succeeds with 'The House with a Clock in its Walls'. Based on the novel by John Bellairs, the movie focuses on a young orphaned boy named Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro) moving in with his Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) and his neighbor Florence (Cate Blanchett).

Jonathan and Florence are two very powerful wizards and the house they live in is full of dark magic. Lewis is still feeling sad that his parents have died in a car crash, this happened off-screen of course, and it seems like a tired cliche that the movie's opening and development of our main young character had parents who died in a car crash.

Why don't these people learn how to drive? Or, if it wasn't their fault, why don't any of the safety equipment in their cars work? Seat belts, Airbags etc. anyway, he discovers that his uncle always lurks around the house every night to try and find something that's been frustrating him.

It turns out, as he's told, that there is a ticking clock hidden inside the walls of the house, and that each tick is a sign that they are close to death at any literal second. They must find this clock before it's too late.

Lewis also wants to learn some magic tricks since Jonathan is technically his family. The film is surprisingly good at capturing some good spirit and heart, even if the drama and comedy are a little uneven from time to time.

I think it works best as an Eli Roth movie more than anything else, considering that he is known for his gory and sadistic horror films such as 'Hostel' (2005) to 'Knock Knock' (2015), Roth clearly shows that he can choose to switch genres as well.

The performances from the cast are good, and the movie will probably entertain your children too, some of the story does get a little lost in focus and some of the whimsy can feel a little underwhelming, but overall, I enjoyed it enough, and am curious to see what Roth will do next.