![]() And still, Roth and his team tie it all together to the central theme of how we respond to loss, either negatively or apathetically.Īs someone who is not a fan of Eli Roth's previous efforts, I confess to really enjoying The House with a Clock in Its Walls, as his talents for quirky horror serves this production especially well. For Lewis, he desperately wants to be loved and makes friends to the point of making decisions with dangerously horrifying consequences - the usual things kids do when trying to impress others, like raising the dead corpse of a dark magician (Kyle MacLachlan). Through him, we discover not only more about the house and this world of learned magic, but he also sets the stage for everyone to cope with the pain of loss. However, Jonathan's orphaned nephew Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) setting on his own personal hero's journey to uncover the truth is a genuine joy to watch, revealing a clever, shrewd little lad behind a pernicious curiosity. Solving the mystery of a ticking clock echoing throughout the house is not as particularly engaging as Black and Blanchett, though the reason behind its creation is darkly fascinating for a children's movie, I must admit. And frankly, this mature and surprisingly touching aspect of Eric Kraipke's script elevates the film, as it opens a dialogue on the importance of confronting and dealing with past trauma. As the story progresses, we slowly learn more about the characters, revealing somewhat complicated individuals still traumatized by the events of WWII. Their back and forth is reminiscent of classic 1940s zany romcoms, which makes sense in a story taking place in the 1950s, but interestingly, their affectionate but purely platonic ribbing is also meant to mask darker secrets, one of which is hidden within the walls of the house, as hinted at in the title. Within an instant, the two as Jonathan Barnavelt and Florence Zimmerman cast a spell that's quite enchanting, convincingly squabbling and throwing quippy insults as though they were lifelong friends. Of course, a good deal of the film's charming zaniness and creepy gaiety comes from the witty banter of Jack Black and Cate Blanchett. More surprising still, Roth appears to have been the right pick for this adaptation of the popular 1973 children's horror mystery novel, carefully balancing some of the plot's spookier, occasionally nightmare-inducing aspects with a delightfully cartoonish charm and humor. But on the other hand, one could psychoanalyze a great deal about a filmmaker better known for his gruesome horror flicks who is now trying his hand at family-friendly fare. On the one hand, Roth's very brief cameo of the indomitable Comrade Ivan could be viewed as part of his quirky sense of humor, a little wink-wink nod to his fans watching. And if that's not weirdly unexpected enough, said director of The House with a Clock in Its Walls is would-be gore-meister Eli Roth. Arguably, the weirdest thing in a movie that features a creepy Victorian house with living furniture that behaves like pets and a pair of magically-talented, eccentric witches is seeing its director as the central hero of a 1950s children's programming.
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