ELI Roth, a purveyor of gory horror and crime stories like Hostel, Cabin Fever and a dreadful Death Wish remake, eschews his graphic filmmaking profile with this fun, if slight, family-friendly fantasy.
Based on the first in a series of books by John Bellairs, it takes place in 1955 and centres on a reserved, recently orphaned boy named Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who arrives in the small Michigan town of New Zebedee to live with his eccentric uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) in his creaky old house.
Lewis meets his uncle’s peculiar neighbour Florence (Cate Blanchett), quickly discovering there’s more to his life than meets the eye when it turns out his uncle is a warlock, Florence is a witch and the house is enchanted.
Lewis is soon enlisted to help with the search for a mysterious clock hidden inside the walls of the house, left behind by evil warlock Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan), which holds the power to bring about the end of the world.
There’s no shortage of films like this in a post-Harry Potter world, and while The House with a Clock in Its Walls does feel like an amalgamation of everything from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World to Goosebumps and beyond, there’s something joyfully old-fashioned about its wide-eyed, nostalgic sense of wonderment.
Roth tones down his excesses well while still retaining some scary bite. His film comes alive in the details and the sense of place he conjures within the titular abode; live paintings breathing on the walls, armchairs running around like dogs, flying lion-shaped topiary causing mayhem.
It gets mileage out of Black’s comedic traits and he plays nicely off Blanchett who is clearly having a blast in this less serious fare. They’re good value in a film that, despite not taking us anywhere on-screen magic hasn’t before, provides an enjoyably anarchic fantasy throwback.
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