WHO’S IN IT?
Jack Black (School of Rock), Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok), Owen Vaccaro (Daddy’s Home), Kyle MacLachlan (Blue Velvet), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Sisters), Sunny Suljic (The Killing of a Sacred Deer), Colleen Camp (Clue), Vanessa Anne Williams (film debut), Lorenza Izzo (The Green Inferno)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Eli Roth (Cabin Fever), director; Eric Kripke (Boogeyman), writer, producer; Brad Fischer (Zodiac) and James Vanderbilt (White House Down), producers; Nathan Barr (The Last Exorcism), composer; Rogier Stoffers (Brimstone), cinematographer; Andrew S. Eisen (The Statement), editor
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In 1953, orphaned ten-year-old Lewis (Vaccaro) is sent to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan Barnavelt (Black), who later reveals himself to be a magical warlock, and that the creaky old house they live in was previously owned by powerful sorcerer Isaac Izard (MacLachlan), who before dying constructed a mysterious clock that is hidden somewhere in the walls, which if used for nefarious purposes could bring upon the end of the world. When the clock’s dark magic is unleashed, it is up to Lewis, Jonathan and their witch neighbour Florence Zimmerman (Blanchett) to put things right…
IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
Eli Roth’s first family film is an adaptation of the classic children’s supernatural novel by John Bellairs, and if it plays its cards right it could very well launch the next great family fantasy franchise.