THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS. Eli Roth, director. Eric Kripke, script, based on the novel by John Bellairs. Jon Hurtman, production design. USA: Amblin Entertainment, Mythology Entertainment (production) / Universal Pictures (US distribution), 2018; DreamWorks “copyright holder only”. See IMDb for extraordinary complexities of distribution.

Fantasy with comic touches, horror, and, relevant here, some elements that are borderline science-fictional. See for demonically possessed automata/dolls but primarily the idea and images of the universe as clockwork, prefigured by many clocks in the House, and more directly by one clear and one briefly seen orrery. At the climax of the movie, there are notable images of the young hero and others trapped in clockwork, with a nod to Charles Chaplin’s Charlie in the machinery in MODERN TIMES, but scary rather than funny. The clockwork we see in the climax is literal and mechanical but magically also the clockwork of the universe. Related to the clocks: magic keys for magical mechanical locks.

RDE, Initial Compiler, 24Sept18