I love psychological thrillers because, when properly done, they challenge your mind to pay attention, and gather the clues before you and figure out the truth behind what's happening- whether it's deducing who the killer is, revealing why the events are happening... and even learning if what's happening is actually happening at all...
Will Atenton and his family move into a house in a quiet suburb, only to become the target of a possible stalker. Investigating, they learn that their little house was the scene of a horrific murder. Is the stranger stalking them back to claim more victims? Soon Will and his wife, Libby, will find not just their lives in danger... but everything they believed to be real...
The most basic, spoiler free premise is pretty standard for a psychological/stalker thriller- but is sufficient to base the rest of the plot (twists included) on. At first, I was thinking that this movie wasn't going to go much further than than basic premise. Then, I found myself going, "Ooooooh! That's interesting!". Then, just as I was getting nicely complacent about where the story was going, I once again caught myself going, "Nice! It zigged instead of zagging!". And finally, just as I was getting comfortable with my perception of the events, a small detail involving wind chimes (of all things) made me go, "Wait! What? Coooooool!" This progression didn't feel contrived. It was a great organic growth of the story. Afterwards, I just sat there, enjoying the satisfaction of a well crafted story.
All of the characters in "Dream House" got developed nicely- even if they didn't get a lot of scream time. Each scene they had wasn't wasted- they contributed to the story in a meaningful way. Each one was unique, human, and believable. You come to really like and sympathize with Will and Libby as they try to protect their daughters from what they think is a simple stalker. Each little revelation added to the depth and texture of the characters involved, and served to pull me into their lives fully.
This is only enhanced by the performers. Daniel Craig as Will, and Rachel Weisz as Libby are great together, and display a nice chemistry for the characters. They bring a good understated energy to the roles they're playing, helping to make them feel more grounded and believable. Claire and Taylor Geare in the roles of the daughters were adorable, and really pulled on the heart strings- rounding out the family dynamic nicely. I enjoyed seeing Naomi Watts as Ann (the neighbour). While a supporting character, I still found her to be engaging and interesting. Marton Csokas was great as Jack (Ann's ex-husband), and really brought a strong energy to his role.
"Dream House" is NOT a fast paced movie. In fact, it develops at a slower rate than most psychological thrillers. I can see this being a major blocking point for most viewers. But if you don't mind investing the time, I think people will find this movie to be fairly satisfying. I'm going to put it in "The Good".
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