The House with a Clock in Its Walls
The House with a Clock in Its Walls
Directed by:
Eli RothScreenplay:
Eric KripkeCinematography:
Rogier StoffersComposer:
Nathan BarrCast:
Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sunny Suljic, Lorenza Izzo, Braxton Bjerken (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Jack Black, Cate Blanchett and Kyle MacLachlan star in The House with a Clock in its Walls. Based on the beloved children’s classic written by John Bellairs, this magical adventure tells the story of 10-year-old Lewis, who goes to live with his uncle in a creepy old house. But this town’s sleepy façade jolts to life when Lewis discovers that the house has a mysterious tick-tocking sound coming from its walls. Determined to find the ticking, Lewis uncovers a secret world of warlocks and witches and accidentally awakens the dead - forcing Lewis, his Uncle Jonathan and their neighbour, Mrs Zimmerman into a race against time to save the world. (Entertainment One)
(more)Reviews (3)
If there's anything to avoid in the cinema this year, it's the new film by Eli Roth, his worst, and, unfortunately for me, the weakest film I've seen in the cinema this year. I'm surprised that this is his highest grossing film. I saw it in the cinema a week ago and completely forgot about it, so I'm only writing about it now (after a week!), which doesn't bode well. Eli Roth is the director of The Green Inferno, Hostel, Death Wish and Knock Knock, mostly gritty brutal films, and now he has made a horror family fantasy for kids around 6 years old! I don't mind teen comedies, but family horror for the little ones I'm not really into that anymore. The main boy is annoying, Jack Black overacts a lot; only Cate Blanchet is likeable. I didn't like the school setting, the house was visually okay, but the magic and the characters coming to life were very infantile. I literally suffered in the cinema, I was bored and if I didn't have FilmBooster I would have probably left the theatre. An adequate choice if you have kids or young siblings, but a rather painful affair for adult cor horror fans. Unfortunately, I regret the money I spent on the ticket after a long time. 30%.
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It's such a shame that it's so boring. The characters were uninteresting and kind of running around saying stuff, I guess. The kids were annoying. A waste of time. And it didn’t look like the actors were enjoying it, either. I suppose it might entertain you and give you a few nightmares... if you're five. If you're over ten, I don't think you'll get too excited.
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Horror fantasy under the baton of the director of Hostel could have been worse, but also better. The House with a Clock in Its Walls has a bland child hero, but this is offset by the presence of Cate Blanchett and, for the most part, Jack Black, who wasn't as annoying as usual. The magical story itself doesn't surprise with anything, but it doesn't offend either. The verbal shootouts between Blanchett and Black were mostly good, and so were the visuals of the house and monsters. All in all, a slightly creepy and heavily unpretentious film for the whole family that is just right for one viewing.
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