THE HOUSE — You may be planning to head to the theater this weekend with the family and when you look at the listings you’ll see the PG-rated “The House with a Clock in Its Walls,” and you might think to yourself, “Perfect. A family film just in time to get in the Halloween spirit.”

There are a few things you should know before you mortgage your home to take your family to “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” because it may not be for you.

Here’s what parents need to know before taking their kids to “The House with a Clock in Its Walls."

Language

“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is rated PG and technically, I’d say the language falls under that purview, but it’s still a bit more than I was expecting. It’s all language that you’d hear in a sitcom on TV, but it’s a bit more frequent than I was expecting.

This is one of those areas where every parent is different about the language they are sensitive to their kids hearing. For our family, it was a bit much because our kids are basically parrots and the more they hear something the more likely they are to repeat it.

I’d say the language is appropriate for the PG rating, but it may be a bit more than what you're used to in family films today.

Horror and scariness

I alluded to this in my review of “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” yesterday, but it’s pretty scary.

As a 35-year-old man, I managed not to jump or have nightmares, but my kids were a different story. Take this with a grain of salt because what my kids do and do not find scary will never make sense to me.

For example, my son loves “Batman” with Michael Keaton and all of the “Indiana Jones” films and they don’t scare him at all. But Gaston from “Beauty and the Beast” gives him nightmares. Not the beast, but Gaston. It doesn’t really make sense to me, but this one scared him.

Review: Fanciful 'House with a Clock' is a frightening family flick for Halloween season

“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” has some really interesting ideas and is unlike most scary movies for families I’ve seen before. Here are a few reasons "The House with a Clock in Its Walls” intrigued me.

My 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter attended the screening with me and their reaction to it told me a lot. At one point, my daughter was on her knees in her seat, facing backward with her nose pressed against the back of the chair and her hands covering her ears.

My son was on my lap burying his face in my chest in tears. Then a scary part was over and they were all smiles laughing at Jack Black’s antics again. Then another scary part came along and we repeated the process.

After the credits rolled we left the theater, but the creepiness didn’t end for my kids. After several trips into our bedroom that night, my wife and I finally accepted our fate and let the two kids sleep on our floor.

Your kids may have a different reaction, but I will say for a family film there are some very creepy and quite spooky moments. There is one scene, in particular, involving a demon that could be disturbing for kids. It’s not that anything too graphic happens, but the demon himself has a design that could upset some little ones.

Heavy themes

I’m not one to turn my kids from serious themes or real-life situations or disasters, so this area didn’t bother me too much, but be aware that your kids may ask some questions after the movie is over. I’m not saying this is a problem, just letting you know your kids may not understand everything and may want some clarification.

The film takes place in the 50s and many characters are dealing with the effects of World War II. Things like bombings, mass killings and the Holocaust come up in the movie, and some younger kids who don’t catch the references will probably be curious like kids are and inquire for some insight. Again, I’m not sure this is a problem, but you may want to be prepared for some of those conversations.

Conclusion

Is “The House with the Clock in Its Walls” OK for your family? That’s got to be up to you. If you’re expecting another “Goosebumps”-type family film, it’s time to get that out of your head because this is darker and scarier. I wouldn’t call it a horror film, but rather a “scary” movie built for families.

“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is rated PG for thematic elements including sorcery, some action, scary imagery, rude humor and language.

My 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter attended the screening with me and their reaction to it told me a lot. At one point, my daughter was on her knees in her seat, facing backward with her nose pressed against the back of the chair and her hands covering her ears.

My son was on my lap burying his face in my chest in tears. Then a scary part was over and they were all smiles laughing at Jack Black’s antics again. Then another scary part came along and we repeated the process.

After the credits rolled we left the theater, but the creepiness didn’t end for my kids. After several trips into our bedroom that night, my wife and I finally accepted our fate and let the two kids sleep on our floor.

Your kids may have a different reaction, but I will say for a family film there are some very creepy and quite spooky moments. There is one scene, in particular, involving a demon that could be disturbing for kids. It’s not that anything too graphic happens, but the demon himself has a design that could upset some little ones.

Heavy themes

I’m not one to turn my kids from serious themes or real-life situations or disasters, so this area didn’t bother me too much, but be aware that your kids may ask some questions after the movie is over. I’m not saying this is a problem, just letting you know your kids may not understand everything and may want some clarification.

The film takes place in the 50s and many characters are dealing with the effects of World War II. Things like bombings, mass killings and the Holocaust come up in the movie, and some younger kids who don’t catch the references will probably be curious like kids are and inquire for some insight. Again, I’m not sure this is a problem, but you may want to be prepared for some of those conversations.

Conclusion

Is “The House with the Clock in Its Walls” OK for your family? That’s got to be up to you. If you’re expecting another “Goosebumps”-type family film, it’s time to get that out of your head because this is darker and scarier. I wouldn’t call it a horror film, but rather a “scary” movie built for families.

“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is rated PG for thematic elements including sorcery, some action, scary imagery, rude humor and language.

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