The House with a Clock in Its Walls is Eli Roth's upcoming big screen adaptation of the gothic horror children's book written by John Bellairs. The film is only a few weeks away from opening in theaters and Universal Pictures has released a fresh poster that features stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, and Owen Vaccaro. While the novel and subsequent books in the series are labeled as children's horror, the new movie is being promoted as a fantasy film, albeit a very dark version, as seen in the trailers.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls is Eli Roth's first experience working on a children's movie and has stated that he wanted to bring in some of the magic of the 1980s into the film. He cites The Gremlins, E.T., and Back to the Future as some of the influences that touched the project. In addition to being his first movie for kids, The House with a Clock In its Walls takes place in 1955, which means that is is also Eli Roth's first period piece.
Eli Roth loves children's horror movies and likes to call The House with a Clock in Its Walls a "gateway horror film." The director is hoping to influence kids to get into the horror genre with his latest project and hopes that adult fans of his will show the movie to their kids. The director also recently noted that there are no real children's horror movies out right now, which is one of the main decisions that attracted him to the project. Hopefully the kids have the reaction that Roth is trying to get from them when the movie hits theaters.
Co-produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, The House with a Clock in Its Walls tells the story of ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro), who goes to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan Barnavelt (Jack Black) in a creaky old house which has a mysterious ticking heart. Lewis begins to learn that there's a lot more to the house than he originally thought and that his Uncle Jonathan is a well-intentioned warlock, while the neighbor Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) is a powerful good witch. Zimmerman and Barnavelt can be seen in the promotional material taking humorous jabs at each other, while Lewis discovers the mysteries of the house.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls opens in theaters on September 21st, which is the perfect time for a fantasy children's horror movie to be released. In addition to Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, and Owen Vaccaro, the movie stars Kyle MacLachlan as Isaac Izard, a sorcerer who is Selena's husband and the sinister original owner of the house. Renee Elise Goldsberry plays Selena Izard, Isaac's wife, while Sunny Suljic portrays Tarby Corrigan, Lewis' classmate. Colleen Camp plays Mrs. Hanchett, a nosey, irritated neighbor of Jonathan Barnavelt, Lorenza Izzo plays Mrs. Barnavelt, Lewis' mother, and Vanessa Anne Williams portrays Rose Rita Pottinger. You can check out the latest poster for The House with a Clock in Its Walls below, thanks to Universal Pictures.
