Dream House Movie Review
House of Confusion.
This movie was bitterly disappointing for me. Not because I was expecting something great. I went into it expecting it to suck. It disappointed me because I could see elements of a great movie in here that failed to surface. It’s like the ship the U.S.S. Bad Script sailed to within sight of the Port of Good Movie only to run aground on Fumble Reef. (Titanic image courtesy of the funny t shirts category)
The best way to describe this movie is confused, in that it shifts gears several times. It started off as kind of a really interesting psycho drama, then alternates back and forth between a haunted house and whodunit with a miserably predictable ending. It looked great as a psychodrama, decent as a ghost movie, and painfully stupid as a whodunit. I can almost feel the inexorable hand of the studio pulling the puppet strings to cause the tonal shifts.
The other weird thing about this film was the two stars, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, met and fell in love in real life while working on the movie yet the on screen chemistry seemed a little off. I think the problem is they acted like a new couple, which in real life they were, but in the movie they had been married for at least seven years.
Anyway, the movie. Daniel Craig quits his job as an editor in NYC to move to his new house in the burbs. His hot wife Libby (Rachel Weisz – the Mummy, the Mummy Returns, the Constant Gardener, the Fountain) and two super cute daughters (Taylor Geare – the little girl from Inception and Clair Geare, the younger little girl from Inception) are glad he is going to stay home. Things seem idyllic but there is some guy running around outside, and some teenagers holding Black Mass in the basement. Turns out the family that lived there before were all killed by the father.
I don’t want to get too into the story, as this is a mystery and a spoiler would definitely detract from your enjoyment of it. Mystery/ghost movie/psycho drama hijinks ensue in almost equal portions. The story kind of plods along, and the whole mixing genres manages to take 90% of the horror out of the film, especially at the end. There are a few startling moments, but nothing that really shocked anyone.
The stars. Daniel Craig. No one does intense like him. One star. Overall the acting from all parties was really solid. One star. Some decent camera work to reflect the shifts in tone needed for the psychodrama shifts. One star. Dialog was decent, and most of the relationships on screen seemed solid. One star. Total: Four stars.
The black holes. The movie couldn’t decide what kind of film it wanted to be when it grew up. The genre shift was really annoying, especially at the end. One black hole. The police acted unlike any police I have ever seen or heard of. One black hole. The movie kind of trudged along. Pacing was really slow. One star. The ending had a funny smell on it from being pulled out of the scriptwriters ass. One black hole. A suspense film with little to no suspense and a thriller with no thrills. One black hole. Total: five black holes.
So a total of one black hole. Kind of a neutral score, which reflects how I felt coming out of the theater. Not really dissatisfied, but not really satisfied. Is it worth seeing? Not at full price. Is it worth $5 on a Sunday? Sure, if there is nothing else playing. Honestly, if you are looking for scary seen Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. More thrilling Real Steel. Better drama 50/50. I think the biggest problem this movie faces is that there are a bunch of other, better movies out at the moment.
Thanks for reading. Sorry about the short review but when a movie doesn’t really grab me or annoy me I find it hard to write about. Follow me on Twitter @NerdKungFu. I might do a list tomorrow, or another Star Trek retrospective. I’m up to Insurrection, which means I am almost at the worst of the dross. Oh, well.
Dave
