A brand new magical trailer has arrived for Eli Roth’s adaptation of the beloved gothic fantasy novel, The House with the Clock in its Walls starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett.
Adapted from the novel by John Bellairs, Roth’s cinematic version tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.
The second trailer has taken a slightly different path in its presentation compared to the first; whereas the debut trailer leads you to believe that Eli Roth’s adaptation has an air of menace, the second trailer takes us on a magical trip of wonderment into the mysterious happenings behind the doors of the gothic house. Coming from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, the trailer not only has that classic Spielberg feel but elements of a much darker Tim Burton offering; conjuring up similarities in tone to Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow.
On opening the trailer not only introduces us to Jack Black’s seemingly eccentric Uncle Jonathan, but it’s the first meeting between the 10-year-old Lewis, played by Owen Vaccaro, and his Uncle. Opening the doors to the mysterious and creepy house, Uncle Jonathan begins to reveal its history, including the deadly clock, whilst trying to contain an octopus-like creature from entering the room.
Also, making her presence felt is Cate Blanchet’s as Mrs Zimmerman, a witch and Jonathan’s neighbour and best friend. Dressed like an uptight school teacher, Jonathan and Mrs Zimmerman banter with constant insults. As Jonathan undertakes the task of teaching young Lewis how to become a powerful Warlock we discover that there are, indeed, a few secrets that the adults have taken to keeping mum about.
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Whilst the history of the house unravels, we get our first glimpse of Kyle MacLachlan, via a portrait shot, as Isaac Izard; a sinister warlock who originally owned the house and was responsible for planting the deadly clock within its walls.
The trailer doesn’t just concentrate on life inside the house, we get a brief glimpse into the school-life of young Lewis. He’s is obviously the outcast at school, the one who is always left until last to be chosen for the basketball team; and we are shown just that but as the rest of the kids are mocking him he makes a cracking shot as he bounces the ball to his peers in retaliation which bounces of the heads of the children and glides into the net.
Finally, the trailer is rounded off with a titter-worthy battle, but this is no ordinary battle as Blanchett’s Mrs Zimmerman gives Mary Poppins a run for her money and fires up her machine gun totting umbrella to take out a group of approaching killer pumpkins.
The film hits cinemas on the 28th of September. Here’s the new trailer,
