The House with a Clock in Its Walls

Average Critic Rating:

NPR

Rating:

What's lost in this adaptation are more insinuating horror or the notion of magic as a craft that takes constant discipline and refinement to control. In a word, atmosphere. The short-term excitement of jump-scares and readily accessible spells are a poor trade-off for the steadily deepening mysteries and fears that have made Bellairs' book such an enduring classic. Bellairs and Gorey conjured images meant to play on the imagination forever. Roth's film will barely survive the ride home. Read full review

Slate

Rating:

The House With a Clock in Its Walls Is the Perfect Gateway Movie for Introducing Kids to Horror Read full review

Boston Globe

Rating:

These darker notes aren’t purely gratuitous. The movie deftly incorporates some brief, intriguing commentary on real-life horror — specifically, the inhumanity of World War II, and how it irrevocably changed everyone from MacLachlan’s lost soul to standout Blanchett’s quietly soul-sick sorceress. Tricky territory to navigate, but it ultimately lends some genuine poignancy to the story’s familiar accidental-family themes. If there’s someplace Roth makes a mark, it’s here. Read full review