The House with a Clock in Its Walls: Review by West Wales Columnist Adam Roberts

The House with a Clock in Its Walls: Review.

2018. Thriller/Fantasy. 1h 45m

Based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs, director Eli Roth brings us what you could say is an American style Harry Potter, staring the likes of Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro and Kyle MacLachlan. This American Fantasy film brings us an epic tale of a young orphan boy who goes to live with his uncle and ends up having the adventure of a lifetime.

Being a fan of Jack Black for many years, I was excited to see him take on a role of this magnitude. In this film he embodies everything that makes him who he is, and the addition of playing the part as a warlock makes this something a little more special.

As for Jonathan Barnavelt played by Jack Black, he’s an extremely enjoyable character to watch. Being someone who doesn’t play by the rules of society, in fact he doesn’t have any rules at all. No bedtime, no set meal times. He’s a completely free spirit. Which is what I imagine him to be like in real life. As for the warlock side, Barnavelt is extremely mediocre but he makes up for it with his playful cheery can-do attitude, playing his saxophone at three in the morning, driving the neighbour crazy.

So, it turns out Jonathan has a nephew named Lewis played by Owen Vaccaro. Recently orphaned, he’s invited to live with his uncle and soon finds that in the house, everything is not what it seems and as a boy wanting a normal childhood… normal is really something he can forget about all together as he learns the truth about his creepy yet extremely funny free-spirited uncle.

I really found the character Lewis to be quite annoying in this film but then again, I’m not really a child person… sorry if that offends anyone! But all that is made up with the relationship that Jonathan has with Florence Zimmerman played by Cate Blanchett. With there playful insults and a caring fondness for each other over decades of friendship, these two characters with their devil-may-care charm really tie the whole film together.

All that aside, this film does get somewhat creepy in most places. As the mysterious ticking clock in the walls was hidden by Jonathan’s deceased best friend and turned evil sorcerer Isaac Izard played by Kyle MacLachlan, he vows to eventually return and end the world alongside his wife Selena played by Renee Elise Goldsberry. Now of course this is not unheard of in plot sense, but Isaac did leave me with chills as his character came into play, and he played the character with believability as MacLachlan usually does. To be honest I found Selena to be creepier than Isaac!

I give The House with a Clock in Its Walls a solid 8/10.

If you want to have 105 minutes of magical fun and spookiness I do recommend going to see this movie.

Thanks for reading.