Decades ago, young Lewis Barnavelt had to move into his uncle Jonathan’s strangely decorated house after his parents died in a car crash.
He was greeted warmly by his uncle and his neighboring best friend, Florence Zimmerman, and he found a bit of comfort in his uncle’s warmth. However, Lewis noticed strange things around the house, and woke up in the middle of the night to spot his uncle going crazy over a ticking noise.
At his new school, Lewis wasn’t favored by the other kids due to his giant goggle, which Lewis wore proudly. As a nerd, he wasn’t accepted by his peers, except Tarby, a boy who was only nice to him for his own agenda.
Later on, Lewis discovered that his Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman were actually wizards. And despite their disapproval at first, Lewis managed to get them to train him to become a warlock.
They also revealed to Lewis that there was a clock hidden somewhere in the house, which was a property of a warlock who had lived there before them, the evil Isaac Izard. Jonathan was trying to find out what the clock was meant to do. Thus, it explained to Lewis why Jonathan would be up at night searching the walls.
However, an apparition of his mother visited him from time to time, persuading Lewis to find a key and a book, somewhere in the house. And Lewis listened to his mother’s ghost.
And one thing led to another, as Lewis found himself one night, accidentally resurrecting Isaac Izard back to life.
The newly awakened Isaac only wanted one thing in his return, and that was his clock.
This movie won me over.
I was charmed by the setting and the cast. This is one movie that I would take my nephew and nieces to watch, and probably rewatch on Halloween or just any day, really.
The cast did a wonderful job, and I absolutely loved Cate Blanchett as Florence the purple lady. Total badass.
Also, the parenting message in this movie was just wonderful. Jonathan wasn’t cut out to raise a child, but he cared about Lewis deeply. Sometimes, parents have to make difficult choices in order to protect their children. And sometimes they have to trust the children enough that they can also protect themselves.
Little things like that made me happy. And everyone’s performance got me invested in their characters.
I truly enjoyed this movie. And I didn’t expect to, considering how this wasn’t advertised much and I didn’t see it play in many theaters.
But the House with A Clock in Its Walls got an 8/10 from me. Do watch it. Bring your little ones to see it. It’s a really entertaining movie.
OpinionHuis 