6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.
Starring: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan, Renee Elise GoldsberryFantasy | 100% |
Family | 95% |
Comedy | 45% |
Horror | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS-HD HR 7.1
French: DTS-HD HR 7.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
With The House with a Clock in Its Walls, gore maestro Eli Roth (The Green Inferno, Cabin Fever) has left his comfort zone to expand his horizons into more family friendly filmmaking territory, shaping a tale made not of viscera and violence but rather witchcraft and wizardry with a metaphorical stab at exploring the human heart. The film follows the experiences of a young, recently orphaned boy who comes to live with his peculiar warlock uncle who himself lives in a supposedly haunted house. The film is based on the book of the same name by John Bellairs, a 1973 novel and one in a series featuring young protagonist Lewis Barnavelt, played by Owen Vaccaro (the Daddy's Home films) in this 2018 film adaptation.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
The House with a Clock in Its Walls looks very good on the UHD format and offers a nice boost in clarity, sharpness, and color depth when
compared
to the Blu-ray. The warm woods inside Jonathan's home are finer and deeper. The colorful stained glass windows enjoy more prominent color intensity
and
realism, black levels are deeper and more stabilized, and flesh tones appear more intricate. HDR proves a critical add to the movie, producing a much
more stable and expertly bold palette inside the home that better defines the contrasting warmth with the darker magics at play throughout. Additional
color splashes,
particularly in the third act, also bear the fruits of the improved depth and saturation, notably an abundance of orange pumpkins and the purple light
emanating from Florence's wand, the latter of which is one of the best uses of HDR in the movie. Texturally, the film features improvements to the core
imagery. The film was reportedly digitally shot at a resolution of 2.8K and finished at 2K. The
upscaled image boasts finer, more intimate, and more sharply defined skin and hair features. Clothes are more robust, with the more dense period
fabrics offering a satisfying, tangible intricacy. Woods in the house, nicknacks around various locations within it, and various details in and around
Lewis' school also bear the fruits of increased clarity and sharpness. One drawback is that the digital photography sometimes leaves the movie looking
a little plastic-y and artificial, yielding a more "digital" image than the Blu-ray. On the plus side, noise management is improved on the UHD. This may
not be a format standout, but it's a rock-solid presentation and an upgrade over the Blu-ray that falls somewhere on the improvement scale between
more than
modest and less than extreme.
Sound design is critical to this movie's structure, cadence, and presentation. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers it with care, attention to detail, and no shortage of big and immersive moments, yielding a very balanced track that is big on activity but capable of nuance as well. The opening moments are somewhat reminiscent of the open to Back to the Future, with ticking clock sounds encircling the listener, here mobile sounds rather than static sounds that are accompanied by a modest overhead component. The music to follow delivers the Harry Potter-influenced notes with wonderful immersion and attention to instrumental detail. The low end supports both music and effects. It's not overly pronounced, but it is noticeable, more of a complimentary delivery that adds weight but not usually excess. The track features several good "Atmos" moments, such as a school announcement declaring the winner of the fourth-grade election in chapter nine, a cacophony of noise making toys all doing their thing at one time in chapter 12, and a barrage of batty books beating poor Lewis in a key scene in the second half. The first features one of the best discrete overhead moments in the film, the second a rousing din with various pinpoint discrete effects standing out, and the third one of the more purely active, swirling sound moments in the movie. The track further handles the general atmosphere very well, particularly with regard to all those clocks, and perfectly draws the listener into the film's world. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. Positioning is firm in the front-center.
While the included Blu-ray contains all of the supplemental content for this release, the UHD disc carries over a select few items: the commentary
track, the Alternate Opening and Ending with optional commentary (2160p/SDR/5:35 total runtime), the Deleted Scenes with optional commentary
(2160p/SDR/9:20 totals runtime), and the Gag Reel (2160p/SDR/3:33). See below for full Blu-ray supplemental coverage. This release also ships with
a Movies
Anywhere digital copy code and an embossed slipcover.
Eli Roth crafts an enjoyable film with The House with a Clock in Its Walls. It can't quite find the heart it so desperately wants to uncover, though the film does balance narrative with visual effects in satisfying structural execution. Performances are strong, unsurprising with heavyweights like Black and Blanchett in lead roles, and young Owen Vaccaro capably carries the film as the protagonist. Universal's UHD delivers a quality 2160p/HDR viewing experience that is an all-around upgrade over the Blu-ray. The included Atmos track is wonderful and the supplemental content is large in number. Recommended.
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