The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.

Director:

Eli Roth

Writers:

John Bellairs (based on the novel by), Eric Kripke (screenplay by)

Stars:

Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Black	...	Jonathan Barnavelt
Cate Blanchett	...	Florence Zimmerman
Owen Vaccaro	...	Lewis Barnavelt
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Isaac Izard
Renée Elise Goldsberry	...	Selena Izard
Colleen Camp	...	Mrs. Hanchett
Sunny Suljic	...	Tarby Corrigan
Lorenza Izzo	...	Mother
Braxton Bjerken	...	Woody Mingo
Vanessa Anne Williams	...	Rose Rita Pottinger
Ricky Muse	...	Bus Driver (as Ricky Lynn Muse)
Charles Green	...	Soda Jerk
De'Jon Watts	...	Clark (as DJ Watts)
Aaron Beelner	...	Clown Automaton
Joshua Phillips	...	Clown Automaton

Storyline

Lewis Barnavelt, after losing his parents, is sent to Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan. He discovers his uncle is a warlock, and enters a world of magic and sorcery. But this power is not limited to good people: Lewis learns of Isaac Izard, an evil wizard who constructed a magical clock with black magic, as long as it exists it will keep ticking, counting down to doomsday. He died before he could finish the clock, but he hid the clock in his house, where Uncle Jonathan now lives. Now Lewis and Jonathan must find the clock before it finishes its countdown and ends the world.

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Plot Keywords:

basketball | mouse | bowtie | knapsack | year 1955 | 

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Taglines:

You're invited somewhere timeless.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements including sorcery, some action, scary images, rude humor and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is Eli Roth's first film to not be rated R.

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Goofs

Florence uses the phrase "24-7", a saying that didn't come into use until the mid-1980s.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jonathan Barnavelt: [writing letter] Dear Lewis: Enclosed, please find one bus ticket and two silver dollars for your trip to Michigan. I'm really sorry about the loss of your parents. Your mom was my sister, so that makes you family. And I'll do my best to make you feel right at home. As Einstein said, life is like a bicycle. To stay balanced, you got to keep moving forward. And so will we. I look forward to meeting you. Your Uncle Jonathan. PS Sorry for the stain on the letter. That's chocolate.

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Crazy Credits

The Reliance Entertainment logo is sepia-toned.

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Alternate Versions

Theatrical versions of the movie are longer by 10 seconds, with a bumper for Universal Parks and Resorts placed before the Amblin Partners logo. this is removed from home video releases however, instead cutting directly to the Amblin Partners logo after the credits.

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Connections

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

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Soundtracks

At Last I've Found You
Written by Bob Mair and Nick Vincent
Performed by Nighthawk Swingers
Courtesy of Black Toast Music

User Reviews

Decent Adaptation with Hit or Miss Moments

I was a huge fan of John Bellairs book series growing up, and was excited for a hopefully competent film adaptation. The biggest dissapointment for me was the casting of Owen Vaccaro as Lewis Barnavelt. In the books, he was a well-defined and intelligent protagonist who overcame obstacles via inventiveness. In this film, he's a crybaby with terrible character motivation and a generally useless atmosphere, with Vaccaro giving one of the worst child actor performances I've seen in years (not exaggerating, the "bully" character that we're supposed to hate is a better actor and more likeable than the lead). Jack Black does a good job with the lackluster script and Cate Blanchet's character was probably my favorite in the film. Kyle Maclachlan's brief role is also great, I'm glad he went all out for a relatively unknown movie. The set and costume design is also solid, while the CGI hurts some scenes.

While I'll never watch this movie again, I would recommend it to parents looking for a unique live action kid's film. The House With the Clock in It's Walls could have been a much more memorable film with a different lead actor, or with a script that drew more from the rich source material.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA Canada India

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

The House with a Clock in Its Walls

Filming Locations:

Greenville Street, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$26,608,020, 23 September 2018

Gross USA:

$68,549,695

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$131,457,147

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Amblin Entertainment, Mythology Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (DTS: X) Auro 11.1 IMAX 6-Track Dolby Atmos (Dolby Atmos+Vision) Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1