"The House with a Clock in Its Walls" Review | Imagination and Whimsy Overshadowed by Poor Writing
At its core, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is an enjoyable, whimsical film. However, the writing surrounding its core drags it down to being an ultimately underwhelming film.
We’re almost out of what I feel like has been the biggest rut for films this entire year. With many exciting releases to expect from October and onward, there’s a lot to look forward for moviegoers. Being that I’ve been unable to see many movies the past month or so, I wanted to ease back into the moviegoing experience before things get hectic later this fall. So, as a means of dipping my toes back into the waters of going to my local theater a few times a week, I went to see The House with a Clock in Its Walls, a family fantasy movie coming from director Eli Roth. This film is quite a departure from Roth’s repertoire of Horror films and TV pilots under his belt. With that in mind, Roth manages to nail the tone and heart of a film from Amblin Entertainment. Unfortunately, Roth’s direction is dragged down by an underwhelming screenplay that does a disservice to the film’s core, making Clock in Its Walls an ultimately disappointing film.
Set in 1955, our story begins with Lewis Barnavelt, played by Owen Vacarro, moving to live with his uncle Jonathan who lives alongside his friend Florence Zimmerman. Lewis is immediately put off by the staggering presence of clocks and bizarre imagery seen in Jonathan’s house. Shortly after starting at a new school, Lewis discovers that his uncle and Mrs. Zimmerman have magical capabilities. Following this, Lewis takes this opportunity to learn magic for himself. In addition, Lewis learns that Jonathan keeps so many clocks inside their house to drown the sound of a ticking clock that was put inside the walls of their abode - a clock that’s ticking down to an ominous event that Lewis and co. must prevent.
Firstly, it’s necessary to talk about what Clock in Its Walls manages to nail: it’s atmosphere. From beginning to end, Clock in Its Walls has one of the spookiest vibes of any film I’ve seen in recent memory, and this is in large thanks to the superb set design on display throughout the film. In addition to some amazingly designed sets that really paint the imagery as a bizarre, quirky, yet imaginative and fun world, there is also the presence of a tone often synonymous with films that come out of Amblin Entertainment: whimsy. The tone of this film, at least in the way the sets are designed and the general style of the characters and their relationships with one another, feels very indicative of an ‘80s/’90s film children’s fantasy film. In that sense, this film delivers a nostalgic taste of children’s fantasy/horror films that were certainly more common 20-30 years ago than they are now. That alone makes Clock in Its Walls noteworthy.
Another one of Clock in Its Walls’ greatest strengths is its overall message: embracing the weirdness inside all of us. Lewis is a character that fears every shred of weirdness within him. From being told to not wear goggles that resemble his favorite TV personality to not using an extensive vocabulary, Lewis tries to dispel the things the differentiate him - he tries to destroy the things that make him who he is. Moreover, clings on to magic in order to impress his peers - most of which are either bullies towards Lewis, or are only friends with him to satisfy a self-interest.
Due to his craving to fit in and be normal, Lewis tries to use magic as a means of standing out and be recognized as someone worth paying attention to. However, Lewis’ dependence on magic to make him stick out more positively only backfires and creates further issues - his quest for normalcy and acceptance results in further turmoil and distress. As Lewis, Jonathan, and Mrs. Zimmerman experience further issues, Lewis is often reminded that he shouldn’t be afraid of who he is. As Lewis learns to embrace his own quirks and accepts his lack of normalcy, only then does he grow to become a more confident, happier character.
This message of embracing what makes us unique instead of conforming to what feels “normal” is one that I found to be very endearing and admirable. The film itself is fittingly weird and doesn’t necessarily do things that most other films of the same age rating would do (try to name recently released PG-rated films that have as much nightmare fuel as this film). This message is the core of the film and it keeps this film afloat, despite its bevy of issues.
Although Clock in Its Walls has an imaginative, heartfelt core, the writing surrounding that core is unfortunately quite lackluster, preventing the film from reaching its true potential. Firstly and most strikingly is the amount of exposition dumps throughout this film. As exposition is a bit of a necessity for fantasy-oriented films (and as a fantasy/sci-fi writer, myself), I’m willing to forgive a screenplay giving out a lot of exposition as long as it’s done in a natural way that keeps things interesting. Unfortunately, such isn’t the case with Clock in Its Walls. Indeed, this film struggles with lying it’s lengthy exposition scenes onto its audience in an exciting way. And with a film that, surprisingly enough, has a lot of exposition in its story, this becomes a sizable issue - many scenes have a tendency to drag due to how often prior events need to be explained for the plot to move forward.
Another struggle of the screenplay is that of character tropes. Very many characters throughout this film, whether key characters or minor supporting roles, are riddled with character tropes that we’ve seen a thousand times. A bully that’s only nice to people at certain times to gain an edge in politics, an annoyed middle-aged neighbor, a seemingly perfect mother - you’ve seen all of these characters before, and House in Its Walls doesn’t really attempt to do anything special with them.
This unfortunately extends to our protagonist, Lewis, who is poorly performed by Owen Vacarro. Child actor or not, the emotional display for Lewis’ character felt lacking, and the sight of Lewis starting to cry after being reminded that his parents died in a car accident admittedly caused my eyes to roll. Moreover, Lewis, although the film’s core relies on his uniqueness, still has a lot of, well, not unique characteristics about him. You’ve seen characters like Lewis before (especially if you’re well-versed in children’s fantasy), and he doesn’t manage to stand out as a protagonist. It certainly doesn’t help that much of his dialogue definitely didn’t feel revised.
Speaking of dialogue, a lot of it felt forced and a bit unnatural between characters Jonathan (played by Jack Black) and Mrs. Zimmerman (played by Cate Blanchett). Despite that, though, I actually enjoyed these characters’ onscreen presences. Their dialogue is fast-paced and witty, making for jubilant camaraderie between these two characters whenever they’re onscreen together (which is fortunately quite often).
Had the screenplay seen a couple more revisions to more thoughtfully-implemented exposition and less tropey characters, Clock in Its Walls might have had the potential to be one of the best children’s fantasy films I’ve seen in recent memory. The film’s core is one that I wholeheartedly admire. Moreover, the set design and tone are true indicators that a lot of passion went into this project. Unfortunately, this film’s poor screenplay keeps it from being a film for me to easily recommend. The screenplay leaves a lot to be desired, often having dialogue and characters that I can honestly see some older audience members possibly cringing at.
If anything, Clock in Its Walls is a reminder of the vital importance a screenplay has to a film’s overall quality. Clock in Its Walls is an admirably imaginative and heartfelt film with a tragically underdeveloped screenplay, making for a film that, while having a strong core, isn’t a necessity for fans of the genre.
FInal Grade: D+
What did you think of The House with a Clock in Its Walls? As always, join the conversation and let me know what you think!
