Review: Dream House

At first you may think that this film would be a haunted house type of story judging by the poster associated with it, but sadly it is just a poorly crafted film with three talented actors. I honestly wish I had something good to say about it, but I am at a loss of words when I try to say something good about it. The one thing I can say is "Boy, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts are easy on the eyes!" Weisz and Watts are joined by Daniel Craig in this film and judging by the trio you would assume that it would have some sort of quality to it. However, it just doesn't. The film is also severely hurt by the fact that the trailer gives away the big twist in the film. Even more so, the film is marketed to seem like a horror film but in fact is more of a thriller and barely one at that. The shear predictability of every twist and turn makes it less and less interesting to the viewer.

The plot follows Will Attenton (Craig) as he escapes to an idyllic home with his wife Libby (Weisz) and their two little girls Trish and Dee Dee. Will is a writer and wanted to escape to this house to start writing his next novel. He figures the snowy setting can provide the starting point for the process, but his kids begin to complain about seeing a man watching them from outside the house. Will writes it off to his children having an over-imaginative mind but when he notices foot prints outside the windows of his house, his suspicions rise. Paranoia begins to seep in at every turn for Will and then realizes that he is living in what the town calls the "Murder House." His neighbor from across the road, Ann Patterson (Watts), shows an interest in the new neighbors and seems a bit familiar to Will.

The plot continues to move in a predictable manner as Will looks into the history of the house and finds some disturbing information that rocks the very foundation of his life. Even more so he is almost positive that someone is watching him and his family at night. The paranoia of who could be this man that is watching his family becomes increasingly apparent within his character, and from this point on it becomes progressively more and more predictable. So much in fact that if I say anymore, I feel as if I would give away the plot. In fact I am half tempted to tell you the plot to save you from seeing this movie. Harsh, I know.

Save your time, save your money. Watch something else. I know it seems like it has potential to possibly be good at first, but it isn't. It is to no real surprise after I looked into this film that Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz were so disappointed with the final cut that they refused to be a part of any advertisement or interviews involving the movie. Craig does what he can with his part and really tries to bring up the film in any way possible, but there is only so much a good cast can do for a movie. It is interesting to watch the physical and mental change that Will endures throughout the course of the film. Despite the short running time, it still seems to run a bit long. That may just be attributed to being so colossally terrible. I suffered through the film figuring that it could be saved from a moderately decent ending, but I should have guessed that the climax would have been just as equally terrible. Again, save your time. If your sitting at home under the covers wanting to waste away a few hours to escape into a film, choose a different one from "Dream House."