The House with a Clock in its Walls is a 2018 horror/mystery film about a young orphan who aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.
Today the trailer dropped for Eli Roth’s playful looking thriller, The House with a Clock in its Walls, starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black. The trailer doesn’t divulge a whole lot, but here’s what we do know:
A young boy named Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro) goes to live in an old mansion that is inhabited by the quirky pairing of Mrs. Zimmerman (Blanchett) and his uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt (Black). Lewis is told by Jonathan that things are quite different at that house, which is apparent as a stained glass window begins moving behind them. As the trailer continues we see more of the house eerily come to life, and it seems as there are some secrets lurking about. We then hear Jonathan talking about the clock that is in the walls, of which all they know is that it does something horrible. The trailer wraps up to seeing more and more mayhem unleashed in the house, and Jonathan slamming the door on an invading, tentacled monster.
The first thing that I like about this trailer is that it starts by opening with the vintage Universal logo, which is remnant of all the horror classics. It’s a small touch, but sets a good vibe for this type of film. I also really enjoy the cast being led by Blanchett and Black, I think it’s an odd couple that will successfully balance a certain amount of bizarreness and humor. Mix in Kyle MacLachlan’s idiosyncrasies plus Eli Roth’s horror talent and you’ve got a perfect cast for a mysterious thriller.
In regards to the story itself, it’s hard to get a grasp on what exactly is going on other than they’re in a haunted mansion that comes to life and has an evil clock in the walls. The overall feel of the movie reminds me of the 80’s campy horror flick, House. That also had a decent amount of humor mixed in, but really upped the horror aspect at the climax. I found that to be an enjoyable enough watch, and I don’t think it had nearly the talent of our new film. The first trailer did a fair job at piquing my interest and has me eager to learn more in future trailers.