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.

---

Plot Keywords:

basketball | mouse | bowtie | knapsack | year 1955 | 

---

Taglines:

This house knows what makes you tick.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name Captain Midnight was not allowed to be used for broadcasts in Australia, as it was the name by which a notorious criminal had become known.

---

Goofs

Jonathan's last name is Barnavelt, the same as Lewis. But Jonathan is Lewis' mother's brother, and his last name should be her maiden name, not Barnavelt. The only ways they both could be named Barnavelt would be if her husband's name also just happened to be Barnavelt, or if the family used a naming convention that was extremely unusual and nonconforming by the standards of 1940s-1950s America.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

During the animated main-on-end credits roll, the chair chases the griffin topiary with a chainsaw. Then a statement appears: "No chairs or topiary griffins were harmed in the making of this film."

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Big Bird's Big Break (2018)

---

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

It's not for kids so I'm going to rate it 1? STOP

(Some parents are complaining about the rating but are ignoring the quality of this movie for their little issues. It's why parent's can actually look up reviews before watching a movie with their kids. Like you guys are fine letting your kids watch prince charming kiss unconscious princesses but mild horror, oh no?)

Anyway, yeah this movie was good, and most kids will like it too, if they love Harry Potter, then this will be great for them. I did want to give it 10/10 for the rating being so low but that wouldn't be an honest review of the quality of the movie. It was definitely entertaining and thrilling for me.

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