Jack Black and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett lead this family-friendly spook house feature from Amblin Entertainment, following a young orphan who goes to live with his uncle in his mysterious mansion.
The film is based on the beloved children’s classic written by John Bellairs and illustrated by Edward Gorey. Responsible for adult-only horrors like Hostel and The Green Inferno, this is director Eli Roth's first film appropriate for youngsters.
Eli Roth came out of the gate looking like he might be a new horror auteur. Cabin Fever and the Hostel films had a bit of style to go with their buckets of gore, and they had ideas behind them (whether you found those ideas puerile is another matter). Then followed a slippery slope from Green Inferno to the Death Wish reboot. Roth seemed to have run out of steam.
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Words like “happy” and “joyous” are not synonymous with the oeuvre of director and ‘torture porn’ specialist Eli Roth, whose films (which include Hostel and The Green Inferno) feel like the work of a person dropped on their head as a child. Nor will these words apply going forward, despite Roth debuting as a director of family fare with his adaptation of author John Bellair’s popular 1973 children's book The House With a Clock in Its Walls.
Full reviewRoth adapts his skills quite nicely to this project's PG rating, delivering minor jolts where appropriate, and leaning on "Goosebumps" star Jack Black to leaven things with comedy throughout.
Full reviewAn engaging new direction for Eli Roth, who offsets the odd tonal hiccup with plenty of ghoulish delights.
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No film in which Cate Blanchett head-butts a vivified jack-o'-lantern could be entirely without merit.
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A celebration of the weird, this is a movie Robert Rodriguez or Tim Burton would be proud of. Former horror enfant terrible Roth may have just found his new calling.
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Despite a fantastical premise and some truly eye-popping effects, The House With A Clock In Its Walls suffers from post-Potter fatigue; there's simply nothing here, visual or thematic, that hasn't been done before.
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At his best, Roth plunders elements from countless other tales of supernatural spookery... and nudges them eerily close to genuine enchantment.
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It largely succeeds, buoyed by Black's typical exuberance, Blanchett's typical slyness and a richly evocative rendering of a Rockwellian suburb sprinkled with goofer dust.
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...an incredibly entertaining, if derivative around the edges, family-friendly fantasy flick...
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A solid creepshow for (older) kids, which channels the visual appeal of '80s Amblin adventures while lacking their storytelling panache.
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