Within an instant, the two as Jonathan Barnavelt and Florence Zimmerman cast a spell that's quite enchanting, convincingly squabbling and throwing quippy insults as though they were lifelong friends. Of course, a good deal of the film's charming zaniness and creepy gaiety comes from the witty banter of Jack Black and Cate Blanchett. More surprising still, Roth appears to have been the right pick for this adaptation of the popular 1973 children's horror mystery novel, carefully balancing some of the plot's spookier, occasionally nightmare-inducing aspects with a delightfully cartoonish charm and humor. But on the other hand, one could psychoanalyze a great deal about a filmmaker better known for his gruesome horror flicks who is now trying his hand at family-friendly fare.
On the one hand, Roth's very brief cameo of the indomitable Comrade Ivan could be viewed as part of his quirky sense of humor, a little wink-wink nod to his fans watching. And if that's not weirdly unexpected enough, said director of The House with a Clock in Its Walls is would-be gore-meister Eli Roth. Arguably, the weirdest thing in a movie that features a creepy Victorian house with living furniture that behaves like pets and a pair of magically-talented, eccentric witches is seeing its director as the central hero of a 1950s children's programming.
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