Dream House

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.

I was certainly interested in seeing "Dream House," since I just got back from seeing this couple in "Betrayal." Let me tell you, from a strictly visual point of view, both of them are gorgeous, not to mention both wonderful actors on stage and on screen.

I gather from reading a few reviews that this film suffers from the director having the final cut taken from him, a bad trailer, and being incorrectly advertised.

I had never heard of it until I rented it. It's a thriller about a man named Will Attenton (Craig) who quits his job in order to spend time with his wife (Weisz) and two daughters. They have bought a place away from the city, but they didn't know that three of the previous four inhabitants of the house had been murdered by the husband and father.

After some strange happenings, Will tries to find out what happened, which includes going to the institution where the father, Peter Ward, was sent after the murders. He was incapable of standing trial. What Will finds out is a huge shock.

I actually liked this film, and I would have liked to have seen the director's cut, since apparently the actors were all up in arms about Jim Sheridan not being permitted to do what he wanted with the final product.

I think for that reason, it's a tad confusing, nothing that a second viewing wouldn't solve. It's not as bad as it's been reviewed to be, and I think one poster was right - people were expecting a horror film and were disappointed.

Well, I will never be disappointed about not seeing a horror film. And I'm a sucker for Daniel Craig.

A family moves into their suburban home to live their dream but it turns out that they bought a murder house that is famous and toxic. The local teenagers tend to congregate in the basement to reenact the most famous crimes in their town's history. The one when the father of the household killed his wife and two girls in that very home. They find out that the killer has been set loose on account of a lack of evidence. This flick is well told; it comes complete with a great house as a main character. We have to go back and forth in time in order to tell the story with suspense, this conceit is never my favorite, but still and all, this is a competent movie.

For the longest time I sort of refused to watch this, because I had heard that the theatrical release was cut to receive a PG13 rating ... so I was waiting for an uncut release on disc or streaming platform now. But this isn't or wasn't succesful enough to make anyone think about an "uncut" release.

Also now that I have watched it ... I don't think a couple of extra seconds of "violence" (the reason this was initially getting an R rating) would not have swayed my opinion in any direction ... still it would have been nice. Having said all that, the quite buff Daniel Craig (you will see him shirtless - steady ladies and fellas who are into this) plays the main role. And while it may feel a bit like a mystery, anyone who has seen a few thrillers will not be too surprised where the movie will take us.

Having said all that, a lot of suspension of disbelief has to be done ... for you to enjoy the movie. Because even while a many years long gap is somewhat explained .. it is not really sufficient to make sense ... anyway, you'll know once you watch and actually think about it ... if you don't think about it, don't worry! Stellar cast and an intriguing story make this more than worthwhile ...

Luckily, I didn't read the reviews before watching this, or I may have THOUGHT I was watching a horror story, as one reviewer suggested. So, I went into this based on the talented people in the cast. I was not disappointed. I was very surprised by the twist at the end, though I did figure one part out, which I won't address here. For those who like thrillers, I think I can honestly say that you will enjoy this film. I know I did, and I'll watch it again!