Holly on Hollywood
“The House With A Clock In Its Walls”
by Holly McClure
“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is based on a popular children’s book and is marketed as a “starter horror movie” for families and tweens. When Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) parents die in a car crash, he’s sent to live with his estranged uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), a warlock whose next door neighbor Florence (Cate Blanchett), is his partner in sorcery. The two train the geeky kid to become a young warlock with growing powers. The three soon find themselves looking for a clock hidden somewhere in the old house that used to belong to his late friend, Issac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan). The clock signals a terrible event that Issac plotted before his death. In an effort to impress a popular kid at school, Lewis drags a forbidden magic book off the shelf and accidentally raises Issac from the dead, triggering a supernatural war to save the world.
The PG is for sorcery, creepy, scary and mean creatures, mild language, black magic, demonic toys that attack, a ghost, a morphing demon, witchcraft, the occult, good witches and warlocks, and lots of jumpy, intense scenes for young kids, so it is definitely for mature pre-teens to adults. I am shocked that this movie is rated PG because of the downright scary, creepy, forces of evil that the little boy faces. Black is his typical goofy, lovable, animated self. I was surprised to see a serious actress like Blanchett in this movie but she and Black are an amusing pair, trading insults, jokes and working together to keep Lewis safe. But it’s the creepy image of a man’s head on a baby’s body, evil attacking dolls, magical battle scenes, flying CGI pumpkins and monsters that are too much for younger children. It’s kid friendly one moment then downright creepy the next. The payoff scene is Lewis magically throwing a basketball and hitting two bullies during a game at school and positive messages about teamwork, perseverance, friendship, and facing your fears.
~Holly On Hollywood~
Holly_McClureHolly McClure is a multimedia personality with a career that spans over 20 years in the entertainment industry. Her background as a film critic, film and television producer, creative director, filmographer, radio and television host, author and pundit for family values, has established her expertise and made her a recognized advocate for family-friendly entertainment.
Holly was the first family film critic syndicated in over 365 newspapers with The Orange County Register. Her “Holly on Hollywood” movie reviews have been featured on TBN, Daystar and can now be seen on Uplift TV, The Word Network, UANetwork, Parables.tv and other affiliates.
In 2002, Mel Gibson asked Holly to come to Italy and film the behind-the-scenes interviews for The Passion of the Christ. She produced a one hour special, The Making of The Passion of the Christ (TBN, ION) and has since produced numerous press features for films like; Do You Believe, Dancer and the Dame, God’s Not Dead, The Frontier Boys, House, Thr3e, One Night With the King, Midnight Clear, The Visitation, Hangman’s Curse and others.
Holly is a charter member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and serves on the advisory boards of The Dove Foundation and The Parents Television Council. She is a proud mother, grandmother, mentor and Christian, and passionate about supporting and creating life-changing entertainment!
For more information visit Hollymcclure.com or IMDB.com
