The House with a Clock in Its Walls

"This house knows what makes you tick."

2018 1h 45m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 2,378

ComedyFamilyFantasyHorrorMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When ten-year-old Lewis is suddenly orphaned, he is sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a creaky (and creepy) old mansion with a mysterious ticking noise that emanates from the walls. Upon discovering that his uncle is a warlock, Lewis begins learning magic, but when he rebelliously resurrects an evil warlock he must find the secret of the house and save the world from destruction.

“This house knows what makes you tick.”

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Cast

Jack Black
Jonathan Barnavelt
Cate Blanchett
Florence Zimmerman
Owen Vaccaro
Lewis Barnavelt
Kyle MacLachlan
Isaac Izard
Renée Elise Goldsberry
Selena Izard
Colleen Camp
Mrs. Hanchett
Sunny Suljic
Tarby Corrigan
Lorenza Izzo
Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Eli Roth
Writers: Jonathan Gesinski, Richard Bennett, Craig Gilmore
Languages: English
Countries: India, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: India, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Eli Roth, shot by Rogier Stoffers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nathan Barr. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Fred Raskin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Black and Cate Blanchett and Owen Vaccaro carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This house knows what makes you tick.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Eli Roth directs. Rogier Stoffers behind the camera. Nathan Barr scores. Fred Raskin cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in India, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
2Released 8 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: India, United States of America.
4Directed by Eli Roth, shot by Rogier Stoffers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Nathan Barr. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Fred Raskin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jack Black and Cate Blanchett and Owen Vaccaro carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "This house knows what makes you tick.".
9IMDB entry: tt2119543 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "based on novel or book", "clock", "halloween", "haunted house".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rogier Stoffers
Original score: Nathan Barr
Editing: Fred Raskin
Production design: Jon Hutman
Costume design: Marlene Stewart
Makeup / hair: Fleur Morell
Sound: Charlie Campagna
Stunt coordinator: Lance Gilbert
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $42,000,000
Box office: $131,523,093
Return: 313% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

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Eli Roth

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2019-01-20
★ 3/10
There was a couple of instances over the course of The House with a Clock in Its Walls, particularly early on, that had my hopes up, but by the end? God I was so disappointed. The lead is not a great actor (often a trouble when you have to cast young), and the effects are pretty bad. The worst thing though is that Clock in Its Walls can't keep its story straight, which is a pretty unforgivable sin when it's your own story. Like, you set the rules here, why are you going out of your way to break them for nothing? Final rating:★½: - Boring/disappointing. Avoid where possible.
donovanhill272019-02-17
★ 8/10
I was surprise about how much I enjoy this film. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett are great together in this film. The film felt like a 80s kids horror film. I would love to see more films with these characters. There are a few poop jokes which were the worst part of the film (but these jokes seem to be expected in modern kids films). I feel like this film would have cult film status in a few years.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-04-10
★ 7/10
Fantasy and light horror are relatively in harmony, even if this is problematic for a lot of people. I saw this movie recently and I really liked it. It's nothing original, it does what others have done equally well, but manages to entertain the public very well, and especially young people and teenagers. Alright, the movie has some scarier scenes that might impress, but they didn't strike me as unbearable. The script is based on the journey of a young orphan to his uncle's house, a former illusionist who lives in the mansion of his former partner in the show, also deceased, and who is actually really a sorcerer, even if he is not particularly gifted. The house is enchanted and the furniture and objects have a life of their own, but beyond that there is a clock hidden inside the walls, somewhere, that needs to be found to prevent something very bad from happening. The problem with films that try to harmonize comedy with light horror is that, in fact, they risk not pleasing very few people: those looking for one thing may feel uncomfortable with the other. The film, as I said, can be very appealing to young people, but the stronger scenes may make parents think twice about allowing them to see it. Jack Black is an actor I never particularly liked, not least because I only knew him from rather shallow comic films or films linked to music. This was, as far as I remember, the first of this actor's films that I liked, and it must be recognized that Black is a key part of everything in that he manages to be funny without losing the ability to look serious when necessary. Cate Blanchett is, to some extent, a surprise, she is an extremely high-rated actress that I normally associate with big productions. She's a great actress, she's excellent in this film and it's worth seeing what she's doing, especially when she appears opposite Black, with whom she seems to have established a good collaboration. Unfortunately, I didn't feel anything particularly positive about young Owen Vaccaro. Okay, he's very young and we still can't expect great work as an actor, and there are several moments when he shows signs of talent, but for now it's not much more than that. Eli Roth is not a director I particularly like. Very focused on slash horror movies, it's someone I wouldn't bet a lot on for a movie like this. Surprisingly, the director handled the task at hand with reasonable skill and competence. The film has excellent cinematography, which is solidly based on good quality CGI and a good design of the sets and costumes. The effects are also really good. I particularly liked the scene where the characters play with stars and planets in the garden of the house, and the opening sequence of the film, which is able to intrigue and conquer us. The soundtrack helps a lot, with good melodies that add to the film without stealing our attention. However, there are not only flowers here. The editing work is a little lacking, there are scenes that would benefit from being slightly shortened. The pacing also presents problems: after an excellent beginning, and before an excellent ending, the film has a whole middle part that is not so interesting, and there are several characters that were poorly used, starting with the villain, whose motivations and attitudes they are, to say the least, clichés without any kind of interest and there are, throughout the film, some disturbing scenes (the living puppets, for example) that don't seem to be in the right movie.