When 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) moves in with his Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), he discovers that the curious mansion he now calls home is full of secrets. Lewis is not sure which is more astonishing: the wondrous, sprawling house… or the fact that his oddball Uncle Jonathan and Jonathan’s best friend, Mrs Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) are both powerful practitioners of the magic arts. Jonathan and Mrs Zimmerman are on a secret mission - to discover the source and the meaning of a foreboding ticking doomsday clock… hidden away somewhere within the house’s walls.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is based on the first volume in the series of books written by John Bellairs. It was a book that inspired screenwriter and producer Eric Kripke as a young boy. Producers Bradley J. Fischer and James Vanderbilt of Mythology Entertainment had long wanted to work on a project with Kripke. “Brad and Jamie asked: ‘if I could make any movie I wanted, what would I pick?’” recalls Kripke. “For me, it was no question - this book. It’s been my lifelong obsession to bring this book to the screen. It was my all-time favourite book as a kid.”
The producers sought out the likes of production company Amblin Entertainment and director Eli Roth to bring the film to life. Roth, who has built a career within the horror genre, grabbed the opportunity to make this sort of film and jumped at the chance to work with Amblin, a key influence in his film-making career.
This film is a sophisticated, dark, heart-rending, hilarious, surprising journey, and that goes back to the heart of the novel
“I want The House with a Clock in Its Walls to be side-by-side with Gremlins and Back to the Future,” declares Roth. “I wanted this movie to be very scary, and I think that you can have funny and scary at the same time. Gremlins showed that and E.T. did as well,” he adds, referencing of course two of Amblin’s most famous films of the 1980s.
For the role of Jonathan Barnavelt it was important to the team to cast someone who would serve as the relative who initially seems frightening to live with, but who turns out to be really be a fun uncle one would want to join on an adventure. “Jack just encapsulates all of it,” says Roth. “It’s hard for me to think of anyone else in the role other than him.
You think of Jack, and you just laugh; he has so much personality, so much charm and he’s so funny. But he also has such heart. In his films like School of Rock or Bernie, he’s an incredible dramatic actor. He has such humour, life and such a soulful quality to him. It’s a dream come true to watch him create this role.”
“This is a movie that kids of all ages can enjoy,” says Black, “but we want to give them a thrill. Sometimes you have to go dark to give them that.” He particularly appreciates the secret at the story’s core: “They’re living in a house that has a living clock of doom and they have to disengage the clock to save the world.”
Opposite Black as Florence Zimmerman, one of the most powerful witches on earth is Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett. “I’m so excited because I haven’t seen Cate do a role like this,” exclaims Roth. “I feel like she’s had fun in classic roles like the wicked stepmother in Cinderella. She’s so thoughtful, careful and meticulous, and she was excited to create this incredible role.”
“In the best possible way, it’s a family film,” says Blanchett of the movie. “It is genuinely scary. It’s a privilege to sit there as a parent and hold your child’s hand and say, ‘We’re going on this rollercoaster together’. I’m always disappointed when I go and see a children’s film and feel the jokes are for me. This film is a sophisticated, dark, heart-rending, hilarious, surprising journey, and that goes back to the heart of the novel.”