Tired: slowed-down dramatic cover songs in trailers. Wired: ticking clocks.
The tick–tick–tick (minus the boom) noise has recently been heard in the teasers for Dunkirk, A Wrinkle In Time, and now, The House with a Clock in Its Walls. Based on John Bellairs’ novel of the same name, the fantasy-horror movie is a departure for Eli Roth, best known for Hostel‘s torture porn and The Green Inferno‘s cannibalism. The House with a Clock in Its Walls looks more kid-friendly, with Goosebumps-level frights. Speaking of Goosebumps: the film stars Jack Black as the uncle of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who moves into a creepy old house with a “mysterious tick-tocking heart,” according to the official plot synopsis. “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 trailer above has a fun and gothic feel, and there’s a nice touch at the beginning with the old-school Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment logos. Other movies can do nostalgia, too, Ready Player One.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls — which also stars Cate Blanchett, Kyle MacLachlan (as Isaac Izard), and Colleen Camp — opens on September 21.
