DVD review: The House With A Clock In Its Walls

Reviewed by: Samantha Keogh

Review made possible by: Empire Entertainment

“That was brilliant, but good luck writing a review,” my father gleefully said as the credits rolled.

The problem isn’t that the movie had a single thing wrong with it, the problem is that the concept was so far-fetched that doing it justice in a few words is nigh impossible.

Aside from a really fun story line, there are so many delightful individual people, parts and things to enjoy that you’ll have to watch this film multiple times just to truly appreciate each one.

The film is based on the 1973 novel of the same name by John Bellairs, and stars Jack Black (uncle Jonathan) and Cate Blanchett (Florence Zimmerman) as delightful wizards fighting, it turns out, to find the clock that will end the world, before the man who created the clock returns to his house to wind it up.

A simple task you may think but you must bear in mind that the dark wizard is dead, the clock is hidden somewhere in the house from where it can be heard but no easily recovered and there’s a little boy about to complicate this tiring task.

Enter 10-year-old Lewis Barnavelt who comes to live with his uncle Jonathan after his parents are both killed in a car crash.

Lewis soon hears the ticking, finds his uncle hammering at the walls in a mad frenzy and runs for the exit believing what his new school friends told him about his uncle being a killer and the house being haunted.

Jonathan is then forced to tell Lewis that he is a wizard and explains the significance of the ticking.

Lewis decides he too wants to be a wizard and the game’s afoot.

While learning his new craft he is helped along by his uncle, Florence, a chair that thinks it is a dog and a frisky griffin topiary with a penchant for pooing in the pool.

Aside from learning all there is to know about becoming a wizard, Lewis must also help Jonathan and Florence find the clock after he inadvertently brings the clock’s creator, Isaac Izard, back from the dead to start the clock.

Throw in a few killer pumpkins and what’s not to love about this fantasy film?

Jack Black, of course, is always a treat to watch and Cate Blanchett’s biting character is the perfect accompaniment to his dry humour and (not so) witty repartee.

If you love fantasy and can appreciate the wild imaginations of the creators, this is a film you’ll want to keep at the top of the pile to be watched multiple times.

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