Dream House Reviews

How did they get this cast to appear in this nonsensical piece of ridiculousness? Rachel Weisz is too good an actress to be doing stuff like this. At least she and Daniel Craig fell in love while making it and married soon after so they have happy memories of it, those will not be shared by the audience however.

The previews and commercials for Dream House led one to believe it was a horror film, it is not, not at all. I think that is where a lot of the disappointment is coming from. It is a pretty good thriller, once you get used to the fact that that is what you are watching. The storyline, basically that horrible things have happened and we the audience have to figure it out along with the main character, is not the tired thriller standard, or at least the details are different enough to not seem tired. It's actually intriguing and the answer to the mystery is not obvious miles out, even if the climax sort of is. The acting is really quite good too. People who like mystery thrillers should enjoy the film, fans of scary movies will mostly not like it. 3 Stars 5-9-13

Considering the amount of talent that was involved in making this film you could say that this is a total disaster. Dream House is lazy thriller that feels like it is put together from the leftovers of other much better films of it's kind.

To see actors like Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Elias Koteas and especially someone like Naomi Watts in a mess like this is truly a shame. I understand that there were some creative differences between the producers and director Jim Sheridan, but even if Sheridan would had his way as a director i still highly doubt that this material would turn into a interesting or even remotely entertaining film. There are so many cliches to be found in David Loucka's weak screenplay and the film is highly predictable from the beginning till the unsatisfying and weak ending.

I honestly cannot find anything to recommend here. Wisest thing for anyone is to stay away from this film. Whatever potential Jim Sheridan might once had in him seems to be gone. There is no innovation or originality to be found in here.

Fantastic cast but a unsuspenseful thriller. Intriguing to a point but flops when it truly matters!

It tries far too hard to be something it never could be. There are some good thriller moments but you never really get the pay off. It's too obvious what's going to happen.

Decent cast, crazy story. Plot really fell apart by the end...

Jim Sheridan can't get it together for Dream House.What seemingly looks like a dark fantasy or creepy thriller, Dream House plays out like neither. With a very slow pace and a monotonous aura around it all, even a story that fails to reach 90 minutes can feel like a journey. A humdrum journey at that. The most promising piece of the puzzle happens about halfway in and after that it is a slow decline downhill, leaving the midway point as the climax of the picture.There is slim to none in the way of suspense, or even anything thrilling for that matter. It's no surprise that the marketing for this film is misleading.The highly recognizable cast is a plus; however, it is a shame they were all wasted in here. Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz do deliver good performances with what they are given to work with, which isn't much. Naomi Watts is a pleasure to see, despite having a disappointing character.In conclusion, Dream House does contain a few positives, but not enough to secure a recommendation.

Dream House is a limp, ineffective thriller that has a great cast and...well, really nothing else.

I was well aware of how poorly Dream House had been received by critics and most audiences, but I was convinced I should see it, regardless. I'd yet to encounter a movie that Naomi Watts didn't make at least somewhat worthwhile for me. Until now.

There's a fine line between an interesting story and a ridiculous one, and this movie spends way too much time on the wrong of it. It's advertised as a ghost story, and it is (a very poor) one in a way, but it's also something of a (terrible) murder mystery and a (mess of a) psychological thriller. It reminded me of Shutter Island in some ways, but not in quality or coherence. Dream House is just so ridiculous and ill-conceived that I could barely make it through it.

The best cast in the world can't save a true dud, and this is just more proof of that fact. Even the biggest fans of Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz or Daniel Craig should do themselves a favor and skip Dream House. They're all wasted, as would almost surely be your time.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas, Claire Geare, Taylor Geare, Rachel G. Fox, Jonathan Potts, Lynne Griffin, Elias Koteas, Mark Wilson

Director: Jim Sheridan

Summary: Daniel Craig plays Will Atenton, a successful businessman who forsakes New York City for the rural pleasures of New England, only to discover that the tranquil abode he's moved into was the scene of an as-yet-unsolved multiple homicide. Drawn reluctantly into the mystery surrounding the tragic events, Will and his wife (Rachel Weisz) soon begin finding plenty of reasons to worry about their own safety in this psychological thriller.

My Thoughts: "From watching the trailer I was given the impression that this movie was going to be a creepy scary thriller. But instead what I got was a waste of time. The film is not creepy at all, nor is it scary and it drags way too long in to many spots. It's very clear what is going on and the twists aren't surprising at all. I thought I was going to watch a haunted house type flick, definitely not the case with this film. The acting wasn't great either. The only one's pulling out great performances in this mess was Rachel Weisz and the two little girls. Daniel Craig was OK but Naomi Watts is forgettable. I probably wouldn't have minded this film so much if it was portrayed to be what it is, a suspense thriller, then what the trailer showed as a scary thriller. Disappointed."

When I saw the trailer for this I thought it was like a horror movie. Instead, "Dream House" is a psychological thriller, that gives it's twist away early and really goes no where. Will(Daniel Craig) quits his job in New York to move with his wife(Rachel Weisz) and their two daughters to a cottage in New England. As they begin to settle in they learn that a murder had taken place at the house years ago. Weird things begin to happen, and Will begins to investigate the murder. Can't say anymore, or it will give away the rest of the movie. It's a pretty easy movie to figure out, then towards the end they throw in a wrench to the story that really kind of sucks. I'm surprised they were able to get such a great cast, with such a sub par story. This has been done so many other times, and done so much better. If you are looking for a scary movie, then this is not the movie you want to watch. If you want to watch a glorified "Law and Order" meets something like "Ghost Hunters"(that may be a really bad analogy, but I'm not the brightest crayon in the box) then this is for you. Just skip it and watch something better like "Insidious".

This was okay. To be honest, I didn't initially recognize the cast - the acting was such that I thought it was a no-name straight to DVD movie! (this copy was given to me with no cover and just the movie name on it - the credits do not roll until the end of the movie. In my defense, I do not really follow Daniel Craig or Rachel Weitz as actors, but I possibly should have recognized Naomi Watts. Haha).
The story in the beginning is of a man who quits his job to stay home with his family and write a novel. They have bought a beautiful home in the suburbs. And everything is perfect (too perfect and boarding on yucky. I guess that's why I found the acting so unconvincing). It soon transpires that all is not as it seems to be.
It occurred to me this would make a better book than movie, but it kept me interested and literally on the edge of my seat once or twice. Not something I would watch again anytime soon, but decent rental viewing for a dull weekend.

Once upon a time, there were two little girls who lived in a house.

Surprisingly good

The biggest mistake people do when going to watch this movie is expect it to be a horror film. It isn't it is a psychological drama with a very interesting film that has a lot to offer.

This is a complex film and I am afraid if I resume it I would somehow spoil things. Its packed with great and surprising twists, and is very well written. Craig does an amazing performance and I cant wait to see him in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Weisz is also good, and her chemistry with Craig is believable on screen (despite the fact they are dating). The movie has a great cast, an awesome and well written story.

However, the movie at certain points becomes very repetitive, and the twists are revealed very early into the movie. There are many ways this could have been done better but overall it is a fun interesting movie.

Trish: "Everybody who lives in this house gets killed."

Dream House was not the film that I was expecting, but as I left the theatre I felt good that I saw it. The story follows Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) who quits his publishing job to spend more time with his two girls and wife, but he suspects something mysterious about his house and the people who lived there before when people tell him the family who lived there last was killed, and he starts to suspect his neighbor Ann (Naomi Watts) knows something about them. The story is not a incredible one, but its one I really got into and loved all the twists it had, and they even have a interesting beginning where they are setting up a story and we do not even realize it, and I realize this film will get a lot of critisism, but its my opinion, and I will stick to it. The cast was actually not bad, I always love Daniel Craig and the rest of the cast did actually did well done performances, it seems to me every film Daniel Craig does he puts his heart into it and does his best, and it really shows. One problem with Dream House is the trailer makes it look like a horror film, and to be honest it wasn't scary at all, there were like three moments that made me jump but im a sucker to pop out moments, so trust me, do not see this if you are planning to be scared, because its a thriller. Dream House could have been a very scary film, instead its a average thriller B movie, but with a nicely done story and well performed cast I enjoyed it, but the film still felt like it was missing something very big that would have made it a incredle movie, and I think that is coherence. (Note: I highly recommend not seeing the trailer of this film, its big spoiler alert)

This was an entertaining movie but to my dismay the main plot twist was given away by the trailer! I would've loved this movie if the twist and the thrill (things which make mystery movies good) weren't revealed beforehand!

This mess of a film has a few interesting elements but the stupid plot wants so badly to be convoluted that it even forgets to be coherent or plausible. And beware, the trailer gives away the entire movie, including the twists, which only proves that the people in charge of the marketing are complete imbeciles.

Wow, just wow. What a mess. It COULD have been a good movie, but there were just too many things happening and not enough explanation to sustain it. First off, they use the classic Hollywood bullcrap technique of using trailers and the picture on the cover to market this off as a horror movie, people, this is not a horror movie. The trailer was just cut together from scenes in the movie that don't even make any sense when they actually play out. They are so badly edited in there, you could tell they put these completely pointless scenes in just for the trailer. Just watch it, you'll see. Alright, well first we have our main character, Generic British Writer guy, or at least that's what I'll be calling him seeing the fact that he has almost no personality at all. He really doesn't have any internal conflicts...well he does, but his acting is so bland that he doesn't show it, and even when he does they are the most cliche and overused conflicts in a thriller(once again, not horror) movie ever. I'll talk about that later. So anyway, it starts out with him at work talking with some of his friends at work about "The big move!" so yeah, the only explanation for this move is that he wants to get out of the city and move to a calm neighborhood to write his book (which is never mentioned again until the last ten minutes of the movie). This just strikes me as odd, his family is okay with this? They don't have any objections to him moving his two daughters miles away from all their friends just so he can write a book? It's not like he can just, oh I don't know, go to the library or something to write it? We don't even get to see their old house or any of the conflicts about the move, it just cuts to the new house. Well, after that pesky plot set-up is out of the way thanks to that abrupt beginning, lets talk about his family. He has a wife and two daughters...yeah, that's about it, they're all extremely flat characters with no personalities. Anyways, I should probably speed this up, you all are tired of reading all this text. So yeah, short version, there's a guy that starts stalking his family, Generic British Writer Guy finds out from a bunch of teenagers in his basement doing stupid ghost summoning crap (they still thought the house was abandoned) that the previous owner of the house, Peter Ward, killed his family and must be stalking him. He tries to run him over with a car on his own front lawn in one scene. Generic British Writer Guy manages to use his insane matador skills to dodge a moving car more than twice, all the while standing about two feet in front of it like an idiot. The police get there within seconds of the incident, and also with no one calling them (damn, neighborhood watch is really stepping up). The police don't chase after the car, even though they drove right by it on the road. Generic British Car Taunting Idiot goes to the police chief about the incident, where he reveals the most "shocking" news ever. Generic British Matador Guy is actually Peter Ward, yup, split personality. His family? Not real. His house? A pile of condemned crap. Him? Never actually convicted, but now determined to find the true murderer. His friends from work? Other crazies at the asylum(By the way, they keep mental institutions INSIDE the police stations now? Man, the economy is taking its toll on everyone.) So yeah, the entire plot of this movie as of now, is completely pointless. You thought you were going to see him save his family from a crazed madman? Well too bad, they're all dead. So sad, I got so attached to those bland, uninteresting characters. Also, mind that I'm not actually spoiling anything. This literally all happens in the first thirty minutes of the movie. This movie is an hour and a half long. They just threw one of the most overused twists in any movie at you in the very beginning. Guess how the rest of the movie plays out from here? He goes to meet one of his neighbors who knew him somehow before his family got killed, don't bother trying to figure out who she was or how she knew him. He spends the rest of the movie hunting down the killer. A couple more twists here, a couple more bland characters with no personalities there, along with the fact that the villain was someone who pretty much EVERYONE suspected to be, and you've got yourself Dream House. It's a dodgy, generic, uninteresting mess of a movie. It pretty much feels like a bunch of different movies thrown together, if only the movies stitched together didn't totally suck. It has overused plot devices, overused plots altogether ( I've seen many, many movies like this, you probably have too) and overused...everything! It just feels like a generic, overused mess. Don't see this movie.

Death, madness, and mystery. Dream House is an unexpected thriller guaranteed to satisfy the curious and the casual audience. Mad.

Here's a gigantic mess. This movie actually starts out promising. Then the storytelling shows it's hand too quickly. After the writers paint themselves into a corner, the remainder of the film unravels into a desperate, convoluted disaster. Despite the film's best efforts, it's far too predictable to create any suspense. When this is released on DVD, don't be fooled by entertaining trailers and a solid cast, this movie is garbage. Avoid.

"Dream House" starts with Will Atenton(Daniel Craig, reminding us how good a chameleon he can be) leaving behind the rat race to move to the country with his wife Libby(Rachel Weisz) and their two young children(Taylor Geare & Claire Geare). So, he can spend more time with his family, he will be writing the Great American Novel at home, not the local coffee house. Said domestic arrangement is infinitely better than the feirce arguments Ann(Naomi Watts), a neighbor, gets into with her ex-husband Jack(Marton Csokas). But all is not perfect for Will either as somebody might be watching them, the house having an "infestation of teenagers" and the creeping suspicion that their realtor failed to tell them something very important about their new house.

"Dream House" may seem ludicrous just on the components of its two plot twists, but I think the first one puts everything into sharp focus, even as it has one glaring detail without any accompanying real world logic. The real problem with it is it arrives about halfway into the movie, leaving the movie little room to go anywhere except for a perfunctory mystery. So, while the movie outsmarts itself, it forgets about any kind of meaningful substance, leaving its exemplary principal cast(along with Jane Alexander) to do their best to make this otherwise slim material of interest, as they futilely try to conjure the movie they and director Jim Sheridan, who has fared much better elsewhere, were possibly attracted to in the first place.

Dream House is decent film that grabbed my attention, even if it is a mess of a film I guess that I just thought it was better than I originally anticipated. Its got a lot of good things going for it but wastes them foolishly, such as the story, great cast, and the one thing that ruined it, the trailer. the trailer gave away the films plot twist and it ruined the experience a bit if you ask me. One positive thing I found in the film was the simplicity, usually they try to make movies like this complex but this was a simple and easy experience for an average movie watcher. Another positive thing I found in the film was Daniel Craig's performance, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. The plot is a mess, it just has a huge hole in it that made it seem completely pointless, and I am not sure if it was going for a thriller or horror, because either way it failed. This movie was not good but I certainly did not think it was bad as the other critics, but I do see where they are coming from.