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Genres: ThrillerDramaMyst
Starring: Naomi Watts, Elias Koteas, Marton Csokas, David Huband, Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Gregory Smith
Director(s): Jim Sheridan
Country: USA
Year: 2011
Available Quality: DivX
IMDB Rating: 5.7 out of 10 (8752 votes)
Some say that all houses have memories. For one man, his home is the place he would kill to forget. A family unknowingly moves into a home where several grisly murders were committed...only to find themselves the killers next target. Successful publisher Will Atenton (Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Watts), a neighbor who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Wills dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.
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Visitors Review
moonfull (25 May 2012)
So predictable...
I watched this movie thinking it was a horror story. I never read theplots before seeing but do check the genre and the rating. This time Iwasn't able to... So my expectations for horror were gone when I sawthe man driving his car in a huff at he beginning (the neighbor). So Ichecked the genre and there it is a mystery, thriller. Then I thoughtthat was something about the neighbor and no supernatural thing. Stillchanging the point of view, the movie could be nice! Mr Bond was acting so solid, so I was thinking, "What's the problemwith you man?" When he came to his house, a lovely wife and twoadorable children were waiting for him. Everything was perfect. Tillthey began to figure out there was a massacre there. So what canhappen? A mysterious man came ahead, a man who killed his whole family!Spying on them? That wasn't a thriller at all. I never scared when Isaw the foot prints and etc. Still trying to understand, what about the neighbor woman? Why iseverybody acting weird? Why did the neighbor bring food? So it allbecome clear when he went to the ward (and Peter Ward) and saw hisfamily's photo there. Oh, "Shutter Island" type! They actually wantedus to believe that Peter Ward went to their home and took theirpicture? I hope not! Afterwards the movie was clear but still whatabout the neighbor? Did they kill the family? Was he having an affairwith her? Oh, I got it, brilliant idea! It was a misunderstanding! OK,I didn't like the movie at all. Could be good with unpredictable ideas,twists etc. Would prefer a dream house with scary ghosts or "ShutterIsland" was really good...
slntreader (24 May 2012)
There are better suspense thrillers out there
I go to the movies all the time with my cousin and we lovesuspense/thriller/horror (even the bad ones).This movie was okay, butdon't expect much. The story (for me) was a little bit AmityvilleHorror, an iota of Shutter Island, a taste of the Wicker Man, etc. etc.Even though we stayed for the entire movie, while I was sitting in thetheater watching, I didn't really care about the characters or what wasgoing to happen. Also, there appeared to be plot holes in the story,which were explained by the end of the film, but I couldn't get over acouple of scenes where what was taking place didn't seem plausible orrational.If you are just looking for fun and like the cast: Daniel Craig, NiaomiWatts, etc. then you might enjoy this flick. If you don't have themoney to blow on just any movie, go rent a great suspense thriller, orwait until a better one comes out.
bobbybits (23 May 2012)
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this film it is great to see the married couple work so welltogether on screen and provided such chemistry within their roles.Although sadly this movie however was very predictable, rather thenkeep you guessing it gave away its clues early. It was not a horror asthere was no real scares, nor a suspense as it didn't really want tomake you guess rather it gave away the story to you. It made a goodthriller though. I have never read the book so I cannot comment on theobvious differences. Although this film has a great feeling throughoutit and was enjoyable to watch.6.5 out of 10
raisingd (23 May 2012)
Great Movie!... Forget The Arty Farty Brigade 8.5/10
I can't give you a synopsis.. because it would kill the film. Do NOTwatch the trailers.. it will spoil the film. Its no wonder this is ahidden gem!... and don't think you have the wrong movie when you startwatching it. Hang in there through the psychological stuff, its got amassive twist. Brilliant film.. and Daniel Craig is perfect. You reallywon't expect what happens... but trust me. I'd describe it as aDrama,Mystery,Thriller.. but the beginning will throw you. If you loved6th Sense .. this is better!! You'll need a cushion and some tissuestoo! (for your eyes on both accounts) lol. I don't understand whyreviewers over analyze a film. A film it made to entertain , as long asit evoke emotions i'm a sucker for them. Enjoy!! I did.
compmend (21 May 2012)
Not a bad movie
I liked this move, kind of. The pace of the movie is slow and I foundit hard to concentrate a few times also Daniel Craig is a great actor,but, his accent is a little thick sometimes and it was difficult a fewtimes during the movie for me to make out what was being said over thevolume of the music.The plot was decent, and there was a nice twist in the movie to keep itinteresting. The only problem was that the movie dialog, cinematicpresentation, and pacing, seemed a little like a cookie cutter approachto moving the plot along. It would have been nice to have an occasionalominous music score, an upbeat tempo, a loud outburst, etc. to break upthe monotony. Instead the plot flowed along like a lazy river, the highpoints mere ripples instead of splashes.I enjoyed this movie, but, it is the sort of movie, at least for me,that I can only sit through once.
lueschow (21 May 2012)
Previews made it seem it would be something it wasn't
I went to this movie expecting to see something like "A Haunting inConnecticut" or something like it. It wasn't quite what they had madeit out to be and it turned out to be more of a psychological thriller.I found myself looking at my watch way too often during the first halfof the movie because it was moving slow and it didn't look like itwould ever get moving but they did a nice job of stitching it togetherat the end.I'm glad I hung in there because in the end I really enjoyed it.I've been in love with Rachel Wiese since the first Mummy movie and Ithought her and Daniel Craig had good Chemistry on screen. Treat herright Dan because she is a beautiful and talented woman with plenty offans :)
collipal-1 (20 May 2012)
A pathetic psychological thriller
Director Jim Sheridan's filmography includes various excellent films(The Field, The Boxer, In America and Brothers -2009-). That's thereason why it was very weird for me to see his name associated withsuch a weak and unsatisfactory film as Dream House. Sure, the conflictsSheridan had with the producers of this movie were recently revealed,as well as his disagreement with the changes made without his permit,which took him to the extreme of requesting his name to be retired fromthe credits (something which was rejected by the Directors Guild).However, none of that "industry gossip" decreased my enthusiasm forseeing what this talented director would do with a horror story.Nevertheless, I ended up hating the film, and besides, I would notconsider it from that genre.The screenplay from Dream House is absolutely tedious anduninteresting. In spite of that, Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, NaomiWatts, Marton Csokas and Elias Koteas somehow managed to bring decentperformances.Going back to the initial subject...What happened to Sheridan in here?I am not sure. I would like to think that the "suits manipulation" waswhat ruined the film, but I could not see even a remote trace ofSheridan's talent in Dream House. My theory is that Sheridan did notfeel himself very comfortable with the thriller genre, and as aconsequence, his work in Dream House feels like the one of an insecurerookie who limited himself to film what the screenplay says, butwithout any vision nor style. In conclusion, I genuinely wasted my timewatching Dream House, and I suggest you to avoid this psychologicalthriller completely lacking of any suspense at any cost.
rdhathcock (19 May 2012)
Glad I missed the trailer
None of the reviews I have read would have prepared me for Dream House.Yes, the trailer, which I watched after seeing the movie, would haveruined much of it for me. The reviews here at IMDb, even skipping thosewith spoilers, would have had me expecting a very different movie thanthe one I saw. The biggest problem of the movie itself was, of course, the script. Itwent beyond confusing, and the final bit didn't help to clear things upfor me. OTOH, had it ended without the final revelation that Craig'scharacter had written and published a book, I could have enjoyed thefilm more than most who have panned it here... that's because I work ina mental hospital. This film is an amalgamation of several genres, including TV's TheGhost Whisperer in which dead characters refuse to fully accept theirdeaths until things have been put right, secrets are revealed, andjustice is done. It also reminds me of Unknown (with Liam Neeson) witha very confused main character whose memories clash with reality. Thestruggle to understand what is real and what isn't is one our patientslive with every day.I do agree that Craig, Weisz, Watts, and the rest do their on-screenjobs very well. And I find myself wondering what the film might havebeen had Sheridan been allowed to work unmolested by panicking suitsfrom the production company. As it is, I'd recommend folks watch it onDVD once they've forgotten what was in the trailer.
marlawoods (19 May 2012)
Dream House perfect name for a distraught father/husband living in a "dream" world,
This movie was great to me. The writer didn't spoon feed everything toviewers and I think that's the reason behind all the bad reviews. Ofcourse, it could've been better, but it wasn't a bad movie at all, it'sjust for an audience who likes to think and I'm one of them. Theproblem is, everyone doesn't like to think and they want everything tobe given to them on a silver platter. Well...this isn't a movie forthem. In a nutshell, the ex-husband of the next door neighbor,Ann,(Naomi Watts) hired someone to kill her for insurance money/fraudbut the guy went to the wrong house...the house of Peter Ward/WillAtenton and thus, killed his family, the wife(Rachel Weisz (Libby) andtheir two children. Libby shot Peter accidentally in an attempt to killthe intruder and I imagine after Peter, her husband, was out, theintruder finished off the wife and the two children and fled and thatswhen the cops and ambulance or whatever arrived and discovered Wardshot in the head along with his dead wife and children...but Warddidn't die, he was sent to a mental institution and they assumed he wasresponsible for the killings because my guess is the intruder was longgone when help arrived. Ward got out of the the institution 5 yearsafter the killings and returned to the home where he lost his familyand the entire time, they were only a figment of his imagination and hewas living in a dream world. While in the institution, he had everyonecall him Will Atenton because he didn't want to accept that his realname was Peter Ward...the guy being accused of murdering his family, sohe created a new name for himself and tried to relive his life with hiswife and children who were deceased, but in his mind, they weren'tuntil he was able to come to grips with what happened and accept thatthey were gone and no matter how many times he changed his name, hewill never be able to have a life with them. Of course, all of thisdidn't come clear to me until the end and hey, that's the type of movieI like...one that will keep the viewer guessing and this one reallydid. It definitely wasn't the worse film I've ever seen and I enjoyedit.
3xHCCH (19 May 2012)
Deceptive: Not the Horror Movie I Was Expecting
I have been waiting a long time for a good horror film. So far, I wasnot satisfied with any of the horror films released this year, like"Insidious" or "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark." Then quietly, ads forthis film starring an A-list cast composed of Daniel Craig, RachelWeisz and Naomi Watts comes along and my hopes were lifted. Theintriguing poster of Craig about to open a door with his family's facesreflected on the knob added to the appeal. TI decided that this is amovie I should watch on the big screen."Dream House" is the story of Will Arterton, who gives up a successfuljob in the big city, to move out and live in his suburban "dream house"with his beautiful wife Libby (Rachel Weisz) and two adorable littleduaghters. Later on, Will discovers the terrible history of his newhouse, about a family who were murdered several years before. I willstop the story description right there. Critical revelations will bemade midway through the film that will would be better appreciatedwhile actually watching it.It is refreshing to see Daniel Craig in a vulnerable role after knowinghim more as James Bond. I have to admit that he and Rachel Weisz lookgood together as husband and wife. I guessed that this was the filmthat drew them together in real life. They also had good chemistry withthe girls who played their daughters. The both of them do very well astormented parents, particularly Craig. The rest of the cast, includingNaomi Watts and Elias Koteas had rather thankless and purposelyconfusing roles.I was surprised to see Jim Sheridan (who directed Irish-themed movieslike "My Left Foot" and "In The Name of the Father" back in the day) atthe helm of this film. The ads for the film, then treatment andexecution of the first half, were deceptive. Comparisons with "TheSixth Sense" or "Shutter Island" are inevitable, but "Dream House"pales beside those two screen classics. "Dream House" was a watchablemovie, but again, I was disappointed that this did not really turn outto be the horror film I was expecting.
george.schmidt (18 May 2012)
Craig excels in this dismal ghost story with echoes of JACOB'S LADDER & "The Twilight Zone"
DREAM HOUSE (2011) ** Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, EliasKoteas, Martin Csokas, Taylor Geare, Claire Geare, Rachel G. Fox, JaneAlexander, Brian Murray. Ghost story about an upscale editor (Craig ina low-key decent performance) whose family's move into a new home inthe secluded country discovers some dark secrets about the abode (i.e.it's haunted) and whether or not if he may or may not have killed offhis family (!!) faces a moment of clarity when he learns of his realitynot being as he truly perceives. Shades of "The Twilight Zone" and"JACOB'S LADDER" and yet scribe David Loucka keeps you guessing untilthe dismal third act which feels completely pre-fabricated by committeehence veteran helmsman Jim Sheridan's 11th hour attempt to remove hisname from the credits (!!!)
Neil Doyle (17 May 2012)
Weak, illogical script defeats an admirable cast...
I'm always in the mood for a good ghost story, so I assumed I wouldfind one in DREAM HOUSE--not to mention the fact that the cast washeaded by Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts.On the plus side, the snowy New England effects work to provide theright atmosphere, as does an eerie background score that ramps up theshock factor at every possibility. Unfortunately, there are very fewgenuine shocks and the suspense stays at a very even level throughout.The performances are valid enough too. Daniel Craig does a fine job ofacting while keeping his shirt on for most of the film and Rachel Weiszhas some nice chemistry with him as his devoted wife. The children areplayed with simplicity and charm by two adorable youngsters.But that's not enough. There has to be some logic behind the hauntedhouse story and the discovery that a family had been slaughtered thereyears before. And when the final twist comes, the viewer will befighting off boredom to such a degree that the surprise factor in thefinal scene will be a mere blip on the film's radar. And then,abruptly, the film ends.Surely, something went wrong in processing the script and bringing itto a final resolution that bears close scrutiny. But with all the talkof Jim Sheridan wanting his name off the directorial credits, I shouldhave been forewarned that this would not be a good, coherent ghoststory. Somewhere, a good story is struggling to get out.To make matters worse, I viewed the film in a theater where two girlsin the row behind me never stopped chattering and laughinginappropriately at all the tense moments. If the story had been reallygripping, I would have told them more than to stop kicking the seat.Alas, they were immature and totally unaware that they were movie pestsof the first degree and spoiled whatever enjoyment I could get from thefilm.Summing up: The script for DREAM HOUSE was a muddled mess before JimSheridan ever chose to direct it. He deserves to have his name remainon the director's credits if for no other reason that he should haveknown better than to lay a finger on it.
dalelawson-1 (17 May 2012)
Dream House Review
Dream House (Jim Sheridan, 2011) follows a father who quits his job inorder to spend more time with his family and work on a novel at home.This movie begins like any other horror film, where the protagonist,and in this case his family, live in a world of tranquillity. Thisequilibrium is however swiftly broken when one of the daughters sees afigure watching them outside the window.A "spoiler" is already leaked in the trailer where we find out that atsome point in the film, presumably the end, the protagonist will findout he is the man responsible for murdering the family in the house hehas been living in. The problem I had with this twist was not that thetrailer already showed it to me, but that it doesn't occur at the endof the film and instead actually appears about halfway through. Leavingme to wonder how an earth the film can possibly progress any further.In all my other reviews I concentrate heavily on actors' performances,but in this film there is not a single actor that stands out asfantastic or appalling. All I can really state about the actors is thatDaniel Craig and Rachel Weisz portray loving parents with ease and thetwo daughters seem sufficiently talented. They all provided realisticenough characters for me to feel empathy towards them and their plightthroughout the movie.The one film that I kept comparing the plot of Dream House to wasShutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010). In Shutter Island we seeLeonardo DiCaprio seemingly as a detective investigating a missinginmate, but as the film progresses we find out he himself is an inmatecreating a fantasy persona to escape the truth. It is a very similartruth to that in Dream House where Daniel Craig lives in a house wheredoctors say he murdered his family, which was discussed in the trailer.Both are still noticeable psychological thrillers, although Dream Housedoes contain more elements to that of a horror film than ShutterIsland.Another noticeable aspect of this movie was its lack of locations. Mostfilms, even horrors, contain multiple interior and exterior locationsand so it was a surprise to find this film only used the "dream house",the neighbours home and the psychiatric hospital. This lack oflocations restricts the characters, as the film progresses, from havingany safe haven, which in-turn increases our sense of horror.Dream House was a mediocre film. It was a very restrictingpsychological horror thriller where the plot stretched on for too longdue to an early twist. Daniel Craig, who I praised in my The Adventuresof Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn review didn't stand out so much inthis films, although my hopes are still high for The Girl with theDragon Tattoo which I hope to see (and review) soon.
DICK STEEL (16 May 2012)
A Nutshell Review: Dream House
For those in tune with tabloid fodder, this is the film that broughtDaniel Craig and Rachel Weisz together, and this closeness gottranslated on screen as they play husband and wife with two beautifulchildren who have uprooted themselves from the bustle of the city andsettled for a quiet suburban area. From the poster alone you may thinkyou're in a for one heck of a creepy supernatural horror film given thecreepy looking kids blending in with the wallpaper of the titularhouse, but this was one great misnomer, coupled with the fact thatdirector Jim Sheridan and his leading cast have boycotted what was thefinal cut of the film when it was wrestled from the director's control,so as with all troubled productions, the final film bore the brunt ofthat falling out, and it tells.If you are really keen to watch the movie anyhow, then do yourself afavour and skip the trailer. You have to, because this poorly madetrailer committed two grave mistakes in imagining things not in thefilm such as its relentless focus and edit in making one think it's ahorror film complete with boo scares at every turn, and worse, revealeda crucial plot point of the story, which made it extremely plodding forthose waiting for that particular reveal to show itself so that thefilm can then continue on for them. Granted there were a little bitmore twists and turns in store for the final act, though now theybecome an exercise of futility just waiting to happen, and didn't comeoff as much of a surprise anyway since the bulk of the game was alreadyout of the bag.Daniel Craig plays Will Atenton, an aspiring writer who leaves his dayjob in order to relocate with his family to spend more quality timewith them, as well as to work on his greatest novel. And what more cana man ask for with a perfect wife Libby (Rachel Weisz), perfectchildren Trish and Dee Dee (Taylor Geare and Claire Geare respectively)and a perfect, beautiful house to live in. And the narrative reallytook a lot of pain to paint this picture of the perfect life, that isuntil a shadowy figure started appearing in the front lawn, withinexplicable situations like a car trying to run Will down starting toincrease in number and frequency, leaving Will no choice but to do alittle bit of personal sleuthing that led to the discovery of just whohe really was, with the narrative then switching gears to discoverwhether Will was insane, or wrongly accused.Like many shows that featured spirits in them, Dream House follows themold of having a whodunnit mystery placed into its story, for theviewer to be actively engaged during the sifting through of redherrings, and the protagonist either having to encounter spirits thatinevitably assist him in his quest for truth, or impede him by scaringeveryone away. Or at least that was the intent and the potential. Whathappened was a sad state of affairs with a very ordinary narrative voidof any scares promised, and came off as more of a mystery, not even athriller, that took its time to unfold. And with the small number ofcharacters, you'll be able to guess in a jiffy just who the guiltyparty is. You can probably see shades of Jim Sheridan's intent for amontage of sequences that probably got included by way of being alreadyshot, but alas, that vision he had was not to be.Which is a pity, since this film boasted a strong cast of Craig, Weiszand severely underutilized actors in Elias Koteas who had so muchpromise to be so much more menacing, and in Naomi Campbell who stars asWill's neighbour who seemed to be ever so interested in Will's state ofaffairs and may hold they key to the secret he is looking for.Ultimately it is not that bad a film, if one can consider a prettyaverage fare with ruined twists done in by its own promotional reel,which held so much prospect in being a psychological mind-bender undera proper director's hands, rather than to become a by product of whatcould have been no thanks to politicking.
valadas (14 May 2012)
A bit confused but good after all
This begins to look like the story of a successful publisher thatdecides to quit his job and retire to the house of his dreams to livethere peacefully with his wife and children. But the story getscomplicated while it develops itself and the dream house soon becomes anightmare one after husband and wife know that terrible murders hadtaken place there five years before and strange events still related toit are still happening there and scaring them. But from then on thestory loses itself in a lot of loose ends making it very confusingalthough most of them get tied up in the end in a somewhat fancifuloutcome. After a certain time we understand that the story mixes upreality and imagination or even dream. The end of the movie may beconsidered an open ending, happy or unhappy according to the viewer'sinterpretation of the surprising final scene. The acting is good, thethrilling scenes are good enough and the plot confusion doesn't spoilthe movie whole after all.
del91 (14 May 2012)
Either the studio got in the way or the screenwriter must be really lucky to have all this talent working on a mediocre script
"Dream House" is marketed as a horror/thriller film. There are twothings wrong with this. Firstly, it is not a horror film, it is apsychological mystery drama/thriller. Some people will no doubt getturned off by this. Another thing is, a vital plot point was given awayin the trailer. This is unacceptable as it ruins the film for theunsuspecting audience.There's something that doesn't feel right about the film. Maybe itsbecause the screenplay is a pastiche of psycho thriller clichés anddoesn't go further than that. Maybe director Jim Sheridan lost himselfafter directing a string of great dramas that he decided to take abreak by lazily making this apparently by-the-numbers thriller, ormaybe producer James G. Robinson somehow tinkered with the final cut ofthe film - against Sheridan's wishes. Indeed, because the plot startsoff interestingly and subtly, before careening off the cliff of logicand common sense. Maybe it's because that vital plot point that Imentioned earlier was placed in the middle of the film instead of theend, thus losing much of its intended power.As much as I would like to complain about the film, it has its ups.Daniel Craig is great and really convincing in his role while RachelWeisz also gives out a good, solid supporting performance. Naomi Wattshad quite little screen time but she was okay. The rest of thesupporting cast are okay but by-the-numbers. The production value isgood and the cinematography by the great Caleb Deschanel is, as usual,very good. I liked some touches of the film, like when Craigcommunicates with his hallucination of his dead wife Weisz even afterboth of them know that she is a hallucination, you don't see that everyday.Overall, the film felt uneven and incomplete. I suspect executivetinkering, and hope that an extended edition or Sheridan's director'scut of the film will be released so that perhaps a better, longer andmore fleshed out version of the movie. As it stands now, its an averageHollywood thriller with great performances out of three A-list actorsand competent direction by an A-list director working their way arounda ludicrous script. Quite disappointed, but at least it was interestingto watch.Like I said, either the studio got in the way, or the screenwriter mustbe really lucky to have a cast and crew this talented working on hismediocre script.Overall rating: 58/100
Rockwell_Fassbender (13 May 2012)
Worse than you've heard.
For the entire first half of the movie I kept finding myself thinking,"This really isn't that bad." Yes, the trailer ruins the movie (it'snot the only twist but it is the major one, and is the primary reasonthat I've stopped watching trailers unless I'm unsure if I want to seethe film) and so in the back of my head was always the knowledge ofwhat was going to be revealed; I love that the producers tried to saythat it doesn't spoil the movie, so stupid.Still though, it was a relatively interesting story and Daniel Craig isalmost always a commanding actor who can keep my attention. I wasinterested enough to keep going, despite some of the more obviousclichés of the horror genre, like building up suspense then dropping itand then having a loud noise to make the audience jump. Then thetrailer twist was revealed and everything goes downhill after that. Thetone of the film entirely shifts from this horror setup to a dramaabout an unstable man. The middle act was incredibly dull, despiteCraig's best efforts it just felt like nothing was running well at all.I kept waiting for the film to end before it got worse, but boy it gotto a level of bad that I was not expecting at all.The producers kept saying that the twist in the trailer "wasn't the bigtwist" and they were right, but damn I wish they had been lying. Whenthe "big twist" comes it all feels so rushed, underdeveloped andabsolutely absurd. My mouth almost dropped open from just howhilariously stupid it was. As a huge fan of Craig, Rachel Weisz andhorror, this ended up being a major disappointment. No wonder the twoof them and Jim Sheridan refused to do any promotion for it.
Neil Welch (12 May 2012)
OK, but no better. Craig is excellent.
Editor Will Atenton (what an unusual name, it almost sounds like8-10-10) quits his job in order to spend time at home, writing a book,with his wife and two small daughters in the house they have justbought. After worrying moments involving people outside, intruders, andneighbours who won't say much, they discover that the father of thefamily who previously lived there murdered the mother and the twodaughters. Will tries to follow this story backwards, but even thepolice won't tell him much. He finally traces the murdering father downto a psychiatric hospital, where the film's big twist is revealed.Unfortunately, it is also revealed in the trailer, so it came as nosurprise to me whatsoever.From there, the film takes us into fairly familiar realms ofuncertainty - is this a psychological thriller? Is it a ghost story? Isit a crime suspense thriller? It pushes on with further twists here andthere.I think people who try to figure these films out won't have too muchtrouble. I don't, and I found a couple of the wrinkles quite pleasingalthough I do wish that the big central twist hadn't been revealed inthe trailer.Daniel Craig, as Will, is very good in this. I was as indifferent toRachel Weisz, playing his wife, in this as I am to her in anything elseI've seen her in - she joins Natalie Portman on the list of actressesin whom I am spectacularly uninterested. The kids are OK, Naomie Wattscan do better, and Marton Csokas and Elias Koteas are reliably intensein small supporting parts.I was distracted by the way everybody blithely left doors wide open ina cold and snowy setting.Although it's not quite as bad as it has been painted in some quarters,this should have been a much better film than it is.
gizmomogwai (10 May 2012)
Disappointing attempt at a psychological thriller
Last month I started going to the theatre again for the first time in 3years (seriously), and one of the trailers that intrigued me was DreamHouse. It looked like a chilling ghost story with the great NaomiWatts. Alas, Watts is wasted in this movie, which failed to grab holdof me at any point.The basic idea is that Daniel Craig's character, his wife and two girlsmove into a new house without realizing it was a crime scene in whichCraig's family was murdered- but Craig, now insane, still sees them.Craig himself is suspected to be the killer, but Watts plays aneighbour who assures him he didn't do it. It appears Watts is right,but the bad guys come back.It seems like the insane person who's not who he thinks he is has beendone before (Fight Club, Identity), so I was disappointed when themovie went down that old route. But even before then, nothing about thewriting, acting or look of the film was compelling. Watts is hardly inthis before the revelation. The idea of a crazy guy who's innocent hasalso been done better in Hitchcock's movie Spellbound (1945). DreamHouse only achieves a couple of startling moments that made me jump,but nothing afterwards put me at the edge of my seat. The charactersjust weren't worth much emotional investment, and the climax didn'tstand out as great, original action suspense. For Watts in a real ghoststory, stick to The Ring.
brainstew89 (10 May 2012)
Crap rating up there ^. This movie is honestly quite good!
That rating (5.7 when i checked) just doesn't make sense. There reallyshould be some way to keep the ratings more fair and accurate. I'm a big fan of thriller/horror movies and I can assure you that thisis miles better than most of the overrated crap that's being churnedout every year. It is good even without comparing it to films in itsown genre.I really enjoyed watching this film. It wasn't perfect in every way butit was honestly different and intriguing enough. You reach a certainpoint in this movie when you'd think "That's it? Another clichédending?". But then you realize you've just watched the first quarter ofthe film. This films takes the story beyond where other films of itskind normally take. And it does so quite entertainingly.The acting was done well throughout. All characters were portrayed wellby their actors. I recommended this film to a bunch of people andeveryone I heard from since has liked it. So is this film perfect? Isit brilliant? No. I won't go that far. But it is entertaining, cleverand absolutely worth watching.
Review total: 20, showing from 1 to 20