The House with a Clock in its Walls

Ill be honest I don't know anything about this film aside from seeing the trailer while watching another movie and seeing Jack Black starring in it. So one could say one of the reason I've decided to watch this was because of Jack Black himself whom I've liked since his role in School of Rock all the way to his voicing of the adorable and funny  Po in Kung-fu Panda. Plus Cate Blanchett is in this film.

I know watching a film just cause you like a certain actor or actress isn't exactly a good thing but to be fair I did a bit of research about this film before writing this review. Plus I feel  watching a fantasy comedy that isn't a harry Potter is a nice change of pace. 

The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a fantasy comedy film directed by Eli Roth, based on the 1973 novel of the same name by John Bellairs, It stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett and Owen Vaccaro. The story follows a young boy who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house, which is haunted by the original owner's ghost, who's about to end the world with a clock he had made before his death and hidden within the house.

The movie has a decent plot and better than most movies I've seen targeted for kids and young adults. It's not going to win any awards for innovation since fantasy theme movies have been saturating the movie industry for a while now. if your a fan of Goosebumps or magical theme adventures like Harry Potter you might want to give this movie a try.

There are certain sub plots I wished they could have explored further though and certain scenes could have been executed differently or even extended to give the film a more magical appeal but that's more of personal preference in my part. But the movie does maintain a good balance of being funny and scary which I think was the idea of the movie was going for.

The movie does differ from the book as the story started in 1955 in the movie as opposed to 1947 in the book. Also Owen's character Lewis isn't fat the film as he was in the book. There's also the insertion of Captain Midnight which wasn't present in the book at all. It has this Fantastic Beast and Army of Darkness feel to it yet at the same time does its own thing.

It does boast an excellent cast as Cate and Jack Black character is one of the movies best points. The banter between Jack and Cate character is always a treat to watch. They seem so natural together as Cate serious stoic manner bounces off Blacks carefree attitude seamlessly. Especially when you factor in that Cate and Black has never been in a movie together before this.

The cgi effects was decent although not perfect and the amount of detail they did in the Victorian House in question is impressive. Each of the magical automaton they used in the movie could probably warrant their spin off horror flick. They did steer away from the blood and gore but has some jump scare and scene that is clearly would be too much for little kids. Basically a serious scare but not enough to give you nightmares.

In general the film was great for what its trying to do. Its more of a kids introduction to horror like something you would find in a Hollywood funded movie episode of Goosebumps. With the over abundance of fantasy movies coming out these past years this movie will probably go under the radar for a lot of folks. It is a very entertaining movie none the less. If you're a fan of dark horror comedy and you got the money to spare you could probably give this one a go.