The House with a Clock in Its Walls

So it comes as no small shock that The House With a Clock in Its Walls may very well be one of the best spooky movies to ever operate under a PG rating. The man known for taking things too far also appears to know exactly where to stop.

A few minutes into The House with a Clock in Its Walls, you realize Eli Roth knows what he’s doing—and that means carefully mixing the scares and stillness for a horror comedy that’s made-to-order for certain monster-loving 10-year-olds.

An exciting and scary final act makes up for a middling kid horror fantasy that is marked by a slow start and an inappropriately comedic tone.

At his best, Roth plunders elements from countless other tales of supernatural spookery — ominous spell books, shuddering tombstones, grown men and little kids shooting lightning bolts from their fingertips — and nudges them eerily close to genuine enchantment.

The cast in House is exceedingly fancy, but they never seem to connect; Blanchett and Black are about as awkward a pairing as they sound on paper, engaged in two irreconcilable ways of going about their performances.

The book is a charmingly quaint, deeply eerie supernatural mystery about grief, necromancy, and the apocalypse. The movie version is a shrieking CGI carnival full of poop jokes and barfing pumpkins.

The film somehow manages its own witchcraft in finding the perfect un-sweet spot — it’s too scary for little kids, not scary enough for older ones, not funny or clever enough for their parents, and too redundant for everyone. Poof! Watch the audience disappear.

Cinematography: 9.439/10 The trailer does not do The House with a Clock in Its Walls justice. The film flows a lot better in viewing and is not as corny as the trailer makes it seem (at least to me). Costume Design: 8.974/10 I like the tie-ins with the wardrobes to a theme on being one's self throughout the film. Film Editing: 9.543/10 Solid. Each scene is enough. Make-up and Hair-styling: 8/10 Decent. Sound Editing: 8.782/10 I wanted to hear the clock more. Visual Effects: 8.732/10 Decent. I wanted to see more magic. Story: 8.792/10 The story is the first surprise for me. I find myself enjoying The House with a Clock in Its Walls more as the film progresses. It's a fun simple film that gets its points across with just enough. There are some torturous (yes, torturous - I've seen people walk out of theaters or fall asleep torturous - films in general, but in this case - ) family films: this is not one of them. Acting: 9.213/10 The acting is the second surprise for me. (I don't actively seek trailers, they show before the film I'm viewing, so sometimes it becomes a bit of a comparative-referential point). Plus, my interest in seeing Mid90s has grown even more watching Sunny Suljic and Owen Vaccarro acting together (that whole motley crew of kids is nice to see in The House with a Clock in Its Walls though). Personal: I'm glad about the film's turnout. Bullying is really terrible. Playing is fun. It's good to be weird in good ways. The actual process of growing is fun especially with everything in order (cause not too many kids have to pay bills, it's sad about the ones that have to and had to at far too young an age - but, no one is ever too young to begin doing what they are good at - enjoy - and making money). A kid from a well off family once told me he felt like he was losing his imagination. I told him he has to continue working on his imagination to build it - stimulate it. I do know circumstances may affect individuals in varying ways. I think The House with a Clock in Its Walls does a great job of showing the importance of belief and imagination as well as the processes occurring from experiencing a loss - of grieving and recovering. Good creativity and the imagination are so important to life. Overall: 8.934/10 -K.D. If you're into Poetry and other bits of creativity, check out my Instagram: @Dufreshest.

This movie was slightly entertaining but also funny, with a new atmosphere and decent performances, especially the characters of Jack Black and Cate Blanchett, but with a regular story and special effects.

+Beautiful 4K hdr presentation +Great cast +Excellent production value visual effects/sound/sets -Lacklustre screenplay Some odd pacing choices in combination with the well produced visual designs result in a film that seems unable to commit to a particular genre... As a result the interesting story fell flat for me... The House With A Clock In Its Walls Looks beautiful though!

I thought it was rather boring, compared to the Harry Potter Series. Perhaps it would have been better if there had been a serious background story, which was a strong feature of Harry Potter. Of course, if there had been a serious background story, then this movie would have been entirely different!

A kid’s movie directed by Eli Roth... I was bored out of my mind and almost fell asleep. I’m not the target audience for this film but I’m sure most kids will find it lame. Jack Black will always be the man, but I guess I’ll just have to keep wishing for a Tenacious D 2 Movie *Sigh*