The House with a Clock in Its Walls review: Kid-friendly horror done right

The new kid-friendly horror flick The House with a Clock in Its Walls sees director Eli Roth tackling new territory. But is it too scary for younger audiences?

Director Eli Roth isn’t exactly known for making family films like The House with a Clock in Its Walls. The last time we saw Roth venture into horror was The Green Inferno, which saw the director making a homage to Cannibal Holocaust. His films always result in mixed reactions and that’s usually because he has a fascination with making his viewers squeamish.

Due to this, the one aspect constantly overlooked with Roth’s work is his strong sense of character. If you peel away all of his desires to make the audience flinch from gore, underneath is a very strong director who knows how to create strong characters. For example, Hostel II has strong cringe-worthy violence but if that is pushed aside, the film is a well-written comedy that subverts character expectations and what the viewer thought they may do with the franchise.

With The House with a Clock in Its Walls, we see Roth stripped down and having to use his sense of comedy and character work without the hardcore violence. While some of it might be too intense for some younger audiences, the result is one of the best kid-friendly horror films in a long time. This is thanks to a great script by Eric Kripke (Supernatural) and heartfelt direction by Roth himself.

Based on a novel by John Bellairs, the film centers on Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro) who is an orphan who recently lost both of his parents. In the film, his Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) sends for him to be his caretaker. Of course, when he finally meets his Uncle he has a lot of peculiar qualities that make Lewis skittish of him. Also within his new home lives Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) who is a “platonic” companion to his Uncle, and the two of them have a lovingly feisty relationship.

More from Movies

• The story of a French emperor: Here’s where Napoleon will stream after theaters
• The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes honors its origins and far surpasses them
• Thanksgiving movie death toll: Why [SPOILER] is still alive
• No, Thanksgiving is not streaming yet (But here’s where it’ll land)
• Trolls Band Together soundtrack guide: Which songs play in the movie?

As the setting gets established a lot of strange things begin to happen in the house. Lewis notices that every night his Uncle wakes up hearing a ticking sound within the walls of the home. He also becomes aware that the house is not what it seems and that the house is in-fact alive. To top everything off, he discovers his Uncle Jonathan is a warlock.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls then takes a fascinating turn into the magical and utilizes a lot of the same charm that made the Harry Potter films work. We see Jack Black’s character practice magic with his nephew and a lot of it is quite entertaining and funny. It’s not surprising why Jack Black was hired for this movie because only he could make this humor work.

Cate Blanchett is great in this movie as Florence Zimmerman and pretty much steals the show. She and Jack Black have wonderful chemistry in this movie and it’s a surprising change of pace to see Blanchett do something less serious. The one complaint I do have is the main character Lewis became unbearable to watch at different moments. Whether it was the acting by Owen Vaccaro or the way he was written– his character just seemed a bit too much at times.

Another great thing this movie has going for it is the involvement of Amblin Entertainment. The film has that old school feel of an Amblin property while feeling incredibly fresh. It’s not going to be as universally beloved as E.T. or Jurassic Park but much like films like Gremlins or The Goonies, this movie has a charm that will have an impact with a certain age group. If I were 10 years old I would most likely love this movie.

A note for the parents: Some of this might be too scary for some kids. I would not recommend taking kids under eight years old to see this. There are scenes that involve demons, as well as rituals that involve resurrecting corpses. Halfway through my screening, a couple of family groups left because their kids were too scared. That said, If you believe your kid can handle brief terrifying moments then absolutely go for it.

Adding to this, if the kid is 10 years or older, this might be a fun way to introduce your child to scary movies. Mainly because it does not go too far and manages to create that same element of suspense. There were two older children behind me in my screening who were having a blast with the jump scares. It was magical to see them get introduced to the horror genre this way. It’s like watching a kid experience a haunted house for the first time.

Which is probably why Eli Roth decided to make The House with a Clock in Its Walls in the first place. The material has just the right amount of suspense for him to introduce a new generation to horror without turning them inside-out. It’s basically a gateway for them to one day enjoy films like Halloween or Hostel.

Overall Thoughts

The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a great kid-friendly horror film. It may not be for all age groups but for some, this will be a fun introduction to the genre. Going into this movie I was not expecting much, but this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It shows that Eli Roth is a gifted filmmaker beyond shocking his audience with violence.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls is now in theaters.