Skip to main content

Dream House (2011)


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".
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meridian: Kiss of the Beast (1990)

Sometimes, a director/producer will surprise you- such was the case during " Terrorpolooza 2012 " when I watched Charles Band's " Meridian: Kiss of the Beast " Catherine Bomarzini has come home after her father's death.  Needing company, she asks Gina to stay with her.  Soon, the two meet a wondering troupe of performers that Catherine invites to dinner at her castle. Catherine find herself pulled into a love triangle and an ancient curse that only she can break. After watching movies like " Evil Bong ", and " Demonic Toys ", I really wasn't expecting too much from this Charles Band movie- but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The story is actually quite interesting with lots of potential for eerie scenes, and character development.  It's a nice twist on the classic " Beauty and the Beast " story.  It's a bit slower than most of Band's other works, but moves smoothly and draws you with it. I have to ad...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zombie Bikers From Detroit (2001)

Over the years, it has been shown that with very little money, a skillful director can put together a high quality horror movie (John Carpenter's " Halloween ", " The Blair Witch Project ", and " Paranormal Activity " being a few of them).  So, when it comes to determining a movie's quality, budget is no longer a negative... Ken and his mother have moved from Hell, Michigan to Grosse Pointe near Detroit.  Upon his arrival, he meets the lovely Courtney, and her jealous suitor Chad.  While Ken and Chad square off, an evil is growing within Detroit and slowly spreading towards Grosse Point... where Ken will meet his destiny ... This week's " What Movie Wednesday " winner was " Zombie Bikers From Detroit "- a low budget horror movie that feels like it was put together as a school project.  High School, or College... I can't really tell. The premise- as stated in my little synopsis is interesting- as was the title.  ...
9 comments
Read more

The Black Castle (Les Daniels)

Vampires and witches are often a good basis for a horror novel.  Through in the Spanish Inquisition, and odds are you'll get a pretty good story. In 1496, while the Spanish Inquisition is in full motion, Diego  de Villanueva is seeking a way to rise through the ranks of the Inquistion.  He will do anything he needs to... even use his brother's darkest secrets and knowledge to bring fear and hatred to the world... " The Black Castle " caught my  eye while shopping at " The Book Place ".  I was intrigued by the idea of it taking place during the Spanish Inquisition.  While I did enjoy reading this book, I was also a little disappointed. The style is very fitting to the story- it has an almost old world charm and rythm to it that I found pleasing to the ear.  It's also easy to read, and flows at a nice pace.  While, it's not "fancy", the images it creates are fairly good and atmospheric. The story itself is a really interesting idea....
Post a Comment
Read more