The House With a Clock in Its Walls Review: Thrills, Chills and Jack Black

If you want to scare the kiddies but still keep them giggling, Jack Black is your man. This peerless comic actor can do more with an arched eyebrow than a crazy-car stuffed with clowns, and its that old Black magic that ignites The House With a Clock in Its Walls, a supernatural tale set in 1955 in New Zebedee, Michigan (a town with its very own haunted mansion). The School of Rock star plays Jonathan, the warlock who occupies the premises; when he isnt trying to find the source of the menacing tick-tock emanating from the walls, hes trading congenial insults with the witch next door, Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett, all dry wit and good-sport gusto). Classy company. Then a young stranger moves in. Hes Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro), a 10-year-old whose parents have both died in a car crash. Uncle Jonathan is all this misfit kid has. So what if its weird to live in a place where furniture comes to life, and the house pet is a living shrubbery that farts?

Based on the acclaimed 1973 childrens novel by John Bellairs, The House With a Clock in Its Walls with a busy script by Eric Kripke lacks the books artfully unnerving Edward Gorey illustrations. What it does have, besides Jon Hutmansdazzling production design, is Eli Roth in the directors chair. Dont lock up the kids. Freaky-deaky Roth is not indulging in the torture porn that made his name in a series of Hostel horrorshows. The filmmaker treads gently this time, though fans should know that the PG rating hasnt neutered him. When Owen accidentally brings evil warlock Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan) back from the dead, the film raises the spectre of Nazi terror with the bad guys plan to eliminate the human race. Tough topic for kids to digest with cookies and milk. Luckily, Roth keeps the plot on the run and the visuals eye popping. When Owen brings up the possibility of romance between Florence and his uncle, she quickly points out theres nothing kissyface going on.

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Thats a relief funny how global annihilation is always preferable to personal intimacy in family entertainment. Recalling Gremlins, The Goonies and every other fantasy that Steven Spielberg dreamed up in the 1980s, this bustling magic show promises a thrill ride of scares and giggles. The something extra comes with watching Black and Blanchett match wits, especially the former; he radiates his signature comic moxie with glimmers of the dramatic chops he demonstrated in movies like Bernie (2011) and this years Dont Worry, He Wont Get Far on Foot. There are shadows even in a funhouse mirror, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls works best when it lets us see there are real feelings at stake.