The House with A Clock in Its Walls Film Review

MOVIE REVIEW – The House with A Clock in Its Walls

Review by Geoff Jenke

In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Goosebumps) and Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok, Blue Jasmine) star in THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS. A film for the whole family, this magical adventure tells the tale of 10-year-old Lewis, an orphan who is sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a creaky old house. But his new home is far from ordinary and soon reveals a secret world of warlocks and witches. The house is enchanted, and Lewis must transform into one of the world’s most powerful young wizards and join his uncle on a quest to discover the source of a mysterious ticking within its walls.

The movie is based on the books from John Bellairs’ timeless 12-book series: The House With A Clock In Its Walls first published back in the 1970’s. The biggest surprise is that it has taken this long for a movie of the book(s) to appear.

Jack Black as Jonathan Barnavelt plays the role a little frightening at first, then becomes the “fun” Uncle. Black has long thought of himself as a kid at heart and he brings this trait admirably to the screen. Cate Blanchett in the role of Florence Zimmerman was a major coup for the filmmakers. Cate’s role is as one of the worlds most powerful witches and she revels in the darker moments as well as the humorous ones.

It would not have been easy to cast the role of the young lad, Lewis Barnavelt. Owen Vaccaro finally landed the role, having been recently seen in Daddy’s Home and Mother’s Day. The 12-year-old certainly gives Jack and Cate a run in the acting game.

Perhaps the real star of the film is the mansion, with its secret and magical rooms. The special effects are simply amazing as the young Lewis explores the house. The house is lush and beautiful and full of magical creatures.

There is no doubt this will be the hit movie for the upcoming school holidays and deserves to be so. While it is clearly aimed at children, be a bit aware there are scary scenes. One does involve the raising of the dead so perhaps think twice about taking pre-10-year-old children. It is good though to have a children’s movie that is appropriately spooky without being too gross or horribly dark.

My mind did think of Harry Potter while watching the film with it’s magic and mystery, but to be fair these stories were written well before Harry Potter. It is a film that will appeal to adults as well as children.

Expect a sequel soon is my guess.