Dream House
| release date | September 30 2011 |
| studio | Universal Pictures |
| director | Jim Sheridan |
| writer | David Loucka, Ehren Kruger |
| starring | Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Rachel Fox, Gregory Smith, Marton Csokas, Claire Geare, Taylor Geare |
| rating | PG13 |
| site | dreamhousemovie.net |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
2 Comments
You know I kinda liked Dream house for the most part. Although I must say it’s not a horror film and is far more surprising if you haven’t seen the trailer or the TV spots that give away about 80% of the game. Still the little twists they have left are kind of surprising , the performances are solid and the direction is generic and plausible enough. So I recommend it makes for a nice netflix viewing. But remember this is a dramatic lifetime thriller not a horror film if you expect that you’ll be satisfied.
Freakin terrible! Oh My God! I can’t believe we didnt walk out but kept hoping for SOMETHING! A complete bore-fest! Somewhat redeemed by the last 10 minutes but thats all the interesting thing abt the movie.
Mr. Disgusting got the right opinion.
First off, Dream House shouldn’t be considered a horror movie. Its not. The movie is just one of those PG-13 movies thats seems has already been edited for TV. However there are a couple bright spots in this movie and i stress a couple (as in two). The double twist actually saved this movie from being a complete pile of shit. Now, how often does a double twist work? Not often. But here it does. Daniel Craig does an ok job as the lead but he seemed to put on a somewhat strained performance. Overall, if your bored and just curious its worth a look. But don’t go expecting much at all.
I hated this film, it just doesnt work and its dull
This is not a horror film – it has more in common with Shutter Island- I enjoyed this as a nifty Mind f#$k- should have ended it 3 minutes earlier than they did – there is a Good Movie in there but it looks like Studio Interference hobbled it .
Wow, what a waste of money! I have not seen many movies as pointless as this one. First off this is not a horror movie, but that is not the problem I had with it. The problem was that it did not work in any genre, there was absolutely no suspense, the drama fell flat, and the characters sucked. I was holding out, thinking it may be okay, knowing that it was not horror, but no, nothing in this film worked. I wish I could give less than 2 skulls. One of the worst of the year, at least CREATURE was hilarious, therefore giving some entertainment (albeit unintentionally) but this was just a waste of time, money, and good acting.
Some cool twists but not very scary.
Honestly, I thought this movie was much better than others are giving it credit for. The acting was fantastic (I mean, come on! Daniel Craig, Rachel Weiz, AND Naomi Watts?!) and sure, the plot wasn’t super original or anything (especially considering how close the release of this and ‘Shutter Island’ were, and obviously SI had the upper hand) but I thought this movie was interesting and it held my attention. I actually liked the twist at the end, the big reveal and all.
My only problem: NOT SCARY AT ALL. WHATSOEVER. Like this could have been rated PG… there was almost no violence at all, no foul language almost… IT. WAS. CLEAN. AS. FUCK. hahaha.
I’d give it a 6.5 or a 7 out of 10.
To say I liked Dream House would be ridiculously overstating it. To say I hated Dream House would be ridiculously overstating it. And there, kids, is the problem. The worst kind of art is that which elicits no reaction and that’s what this did. I kind of enjoyed the movie but the twist came so ridiculously fast that there was no time for any suspense or tension to build. I’ll agree with whoever wrote that there really seemed like there was a decent movie screaming to get out but alas it was not. Thank god for DVD’s because I’d have been screaming 10 times as much if I had actually paid to see this at the theatre.
The film had too many plot twists and not enough tension and scares. It felt like one of M Night Shyamalans latest offerings, a bad script with a massive plot twist at the end.
The difference is in Dream House the massive plot twist came about an hour into the film, making the remaining hour seem pointless to watch.
Such a sad thing it is, when a director and his stars can’t even take pride in their own movie. Jim Sheridan and actors Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and Naomi Watts have openly expressed their disapproval of how “Dream House” turned out; and it’s only now that I can take part in their pain, although being a simple onlooker, I probably can’t quite relate to the feeling. But in a strange sort of way, I’m OK with that. The film is a prime example of what happens when a studio forcefully derails an artistic vision; I’m actually fairly interested in hearing how the film – which has a pretty solid and intriguing premise going for it – ended up such a stinking pile of pure horseshit. Sheridan is no hack, so it comes to a surprise that he was able to crank out something as thoroughly repulsive as this; whatever it is. Look, I’m all for derivative movies that are entertaining, and perhaps even derivative movies that are passable; but derivative movies that are bad are another thing, and boy, let me tell you – this film is really, really bad…and derivative. I don’t know what they were thinking while making it, if they were in fact thinking at all.
Businessman Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits his job so that he can spend more time with his wife Libby (Rachel Weisz) and his two young daughters. I suppose he will now take up writing or something like that. Anyways, the family has just invested in a new house; and they are renovating the premises themselves. It’s not a bad looking place, but as they will soon discover, it’s got a hell of a past. After some strange occurrences – such as the kids supposedly seeing a man outside the window, and some teenagers practicing occult rituals in the basement – Will decides to take matters into his own hands, and so begins the short-lived quest to find out the truth behind the house’s history. His findings include the former owner of the house – a man by the name of Peter Ward – and the tragic crimes that he committed towards his family.
This is the kind of movie that should be creepy for at least until the big twist is revealed, but alas, I never felt anything but boredom and plenty of yawns already pre-forming inside of me. In fact, I’d have to say the very act of yawning is more a more engaging and satisfactory way to spend my time than any time spent watching this atrocious disaster. I kept wondering: was it a thriller, was it a horror movie, or was it a drama? Perhaps it’s one of those movies that tries to be all three. Although it goes without saying that it fails miserably; but unlike a great many films, never for a moment does it have the strength or capacity to bring itself back up. I’d have to say that it starts its grand descent into horror movie hell the moment Daniel Craig utters his first line of indescribably lame dialogue, and it just keeps on falling from that point on.
The film has a lot in common with films such as “The Shining”, but instead of paying homage or respect to its influences, it takes, takes, and takes some more. It doesn’t even borrow; it just steals ideas and atmospheric queues without even asking the audience or the makers of the original material kindly. I know that I personally don’t need a film that’s entirely original – especially not in the harsh times that we find ourselves in these days when it comes to a night at the movies – but when you seem to be going out of your way to be completely unoriginal, I cannot help but be just a little bothered by your “efforts”. I’m not too sure is Sheridan was trying to make as bad a movie as he did, since his heart never seemed to be in the thing from the start, but nevertheless; his name is still attached – in spite of his noble attempts to remove it. The thing is just so goddamn bad; with ZERO charisma from the cast members – who spew the kind of dialogue that you get when you, say, put the script through the shredder – and a visual style that is competent, but really nothing special. Throw in generic, cute little girls; and you’ve got yourself a nice example of why PG-13 horror is so often looked down on as a bad thing.
It was a pain in the ass sitting through this one. I never want to see it again. If I ever do, I’ll want to either (1.) blow my brains out or (2.) burn every copy of the film that I see from thereon out. Please don’t be stupid and make the mistake that I did of watching the film in its entirety; curiosity killed the cat you know, and this time, it may very well kill the man. “Dream House” is one of the most inexcusably dull films I’ve ever seen; and I don’t put that lightly, I really mean it this time. I watch a lot of bad films, and some are sort of enjoyable in their badness, but no pleasure or salvation can be derived from this slow, plodding, tedious mess. At 90 minutes, it seems like one of those overlong 3-hour epics-that-aren’t-really-epics. And it case you didn’t know; those tend to be really, really bad.