![house with the clock in the walls house with the clock in the walls](https://www.hdwallpapers.in/download/the_house_with_a_clock_in_its_walls_2018-wide.jpg)
Animated masterpieces from Pixar and its peers are on offer, of course, but it’s been a while since a live-action family-friendly fantasy really captured the imagination beyond a Sunday morning cinema trip, sticking in the memory like we all remember from our own childhoods. Now, a new generation of kids can grow up a little while watching The House With A Clock In Its Walls and experience not a melting face, but a robotic baby with Jack Black's head.At the risk of sounding very ‘old man yells at cloud’, kids films aren’t what they used to be. "You don't want to take out those scares because you're worried about the kids getting scared. Like when the dude's face melts at the end when he opens the ark, like, that's the best part of the movie," Black says.
House with the clock in the walls movie#
"I remember when I was a kid and I saw that movie there were some genuine scares. An experience that stands out for Black in this regard is seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark. And it's actually sometimes important for kids to know the truth about where we came from and where we're going."Īs adults, there are moments from childhood where we can think back and go, "Hmm, was I too young for that?" or "Wow, that was really scary," but those memories aren't usually mingled with regret. "I think kids can know about the dark history and can process that stuff. "That kind of subject matter if it's done right, it's OK," Black says. This includes references to Florence losing her daughter during the Holocaust and MacLachlan's character fighting in World War II. In addition to having some scary scenes and imagery, the film also explores dark themes that will be more apparent to adult viewers than to children. Rich Fury/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images In the end, though, he starts being true to himself - he just battles an evil, destructive magician (Kyle MacLachlan) in the process. Lewis is in a new town at a new school and his quirkiness doesn't go over so well with his classmates. In The House With A Clock In Its Walls, this means a message about kids embracing their weirdness. "I should add to that, though, as long as its mixed in with some important lessons about growing up and stuff like that. You are drawn to that kind of subject matter even as a kid," Black says. "There's something fun about creatures and beasts that can kill you. Roth has spoken about the movie as an introductory horror film something that lets kids in on the genre, but is more akin to a "fun haunted house". While the film, based on the 1973 John Bellairs book, is scary in the moment, it's not the kind of scary that sticks with you or keeps you up at night, which is why it works for kids. Like, very odd, but oh my god is that creepy and funny and great." Where is it now? "I think that goes straight to Spielberg's basement." "I just loved that little baby like it was my own child even though it was a fully formed adult Jack Black face on the body of a little baby. "When I met this little baby it was crazy, 'cause it's not just looking in the mirror at that face it's in 3D," Black explains.
![house with the clock in the walls house with the clock in the walls](https://playandgo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/house-clock-walls-movie-630x355.jpg)
And it was not just CGI, but an actual model that existed. One of the creepiest images comes toward the end of the movie when Black's head is shown on a baby's body. If it's not scary, then what's the excitement? That's why we hired Eli, because we knew he could take us there. "Yeah, they will be freaked out," he says. When I ask if children will be too spooked all of this, the actor does a maniacal muhaha laugh before answering. The thing is, the house they live in is alive, Jonathan is warlock who is best friends with a witch named Florence (Cate Blanchett), and Lewis basically (and accidentally) "unlocks the gates of hell," as Black puts it.
![house with the clock in the walls house with the clock in the walls](https://wallpapershome.com/images/wallpapers/the-house-with-a-clock-in-its-walls-3158x2434-owen-vaccaro-4k-17906.jpg)
The film follows a fourth grader, Lewis (Owen Vaccaro), who has to go live with his uncle Jonathan (Black) after his parents die. There's tons of pumpkin guts and robot fluid, but no gore. "There's not one drop of blood in this film. "To put your mind at ease, we kept him at bay and stopped him from going to his usual gory place," Black says via phone a week before the film's Sept. So, yeah, The House With A Clock In Its Walls is scarier than you might expect, and star Jack Black is all for it. But, it's also a PG-rated movie about magic directed by Eli Roth ( Cabin Fever, Hostel) that has jump scares and grotesque twitching faces and a baby with an adult head (more on that later).
![house with the clock in the walls house with the clock in the walls](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_house_with_a_clock.jpg)
(For the record, I am an adult.) If you've seen the trailer, this might come as a surprise because it's a PG-rated movie about magic. The House With A Clock In Its Walls scared me.