Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for The House with a Clock in Its Walls, the new family-friendly gothic thriller from Eli Roth and Amblin Entertainment about a ten-year-old who goes to live with his uncle in “a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart” and finds himself in a world of magic when he accidentally awakens the dead. The film stars Jack Black as the uncle, a small-town Warlock, and Cate Blanchett as the witch next door, who get caught up in the young boy’s magical adventure.

Any movie that features Kyle MacLachlan as a warlock already has my attention, and indeed it's an odd feeling for me to be genuinely excited about an Eli Roth film. The filmmaker known for his gore and violence has made a straight-up kids movie, and it looks to feature the appropriate concoction of fun, creepy, and dangerous. This looks like it could become something of a Halloween staple if it delivers the goods, and while this trailer gives away a lot, I'm still looking forward to sitting down and enjoying what twists and turns the full film has up its sleeve.

Check out the trailer below. The House with a Clock in Its Walls also stars Owen Vaccaro, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Vanessa Anne Williams, and Sunny Suljic. The film arrives in theaters on September 21st.

Here’s the official synopsis for The House with a Clock in Its Walls:

In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black and two-time Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett star in The House with a Clock in Its Walls, from Amblin Entertainment. The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town’s sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.

 

Based on the beloved children’s classic written by John Bellairs and illustrated by Edward Gorey, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is directed by master frightener Eli Roth and written by Eric Kripke (creator of TV’s Supernatural). Co-starring Kyle MacLachlan, Colleen Camp, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Vanessa Anne Williams and Sunny Suljic, it is produced by Mythology Entertainment’s Brad Fischer (Shutter Island) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), as well as Kripke.