He isn’t wearing a kimono when he picks up Lewis… or at any point during the first, or second book. There are some smaller differences in Jonathan’s ensemble. He’s fun to be around, but is also caring and comforting toward his nephew, Lewis, who just lost his parents. The color of Jonathan’s beard in the books might be red, streaked with white, but otherwise his features are pretty close - including Jonathan’s “pot belly.” Jack Black’s demeanor is also on point. He looks like the coolest uncle ever! I think he’s perfectly cast in the role of Uncle Jonathan. Speaking of the world of Harry Potter, if there’s a jovial bearded guy besides Hagrid who was going to tell you that you were going to be a wizard… I’d want that person to be Jack Black. Also, with Fantastic Beasts not being released til November 16th, Clock is in theaters for those who want to watch a world of magic. It doesn’t matter, we’ve all seen the memes on social media of how people are anxious for Halloween to begin, so a September release is perfectly palatable. The younger fans of scary movies will already be familiar with actor Jack Black from the 2015 Goosebumps film.Īt first I thought that Clock might have done better to be released in theaters closer to Halloween, but then I saw that Goosebumps 2 was coming out October 12th. At the very least, the younger viewers will receive an introduction into the world of horror films. It sounds like Roth is prepping a whole new generation to be fans of his movies when they grow up. “A lot of my friends have kids now and they want their kids to be into scary movies… this is like a gateway movie… it’s scary and it’s fun.” I don’t know if veteran horror director Eli Roth ( Hostel, Cabin Fever) grew up with the book, but according to a recent interview, he wanted to make a scary movie that kids could watch. Certainly, the book did for screenwriter/producer of this movie, Eric Kripke ( Supernatural, Timeless), who was a fan of the book growing up. While Goosebumps got many of my generation into scary stories and Harry Potter introduced its readers to the world of magic, Clock does both. Much like Goosebumps or Harry Potter, Clock is based off a series of juvenile fiction - so if this film does well, there could be sequels. Fortunately, I’m here for you, dear readers. But I haven’t been seeing many comparisons with the 1973 novel by John Bellairs.

What’s the difference between the movie The House with a Clock in its Walls and the book that it’s based on? Many reviewers are praising this new movie as a fun and spooky movie that parents can see with their kids and still enjoy.

The house with clock in its walls book