A house boring enough to put you in Dreamland.
Released: 2011
Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery, Drama
If you ever saw a commercial/preview/poster for "Dream House," you probably thought the same thing I did: "Awesome! A horror/thriller movie where James Bond (Daniel Craig) gets to battle a haunted house!" This misleading marketing is unfortunately a huge reason that this movie failed so hard in theaters, with people hoping to see a ghost story horror, but instead getting a tired, uninspired, supernatural/psychological thriller hybrid. The premise itself - while feeling somewhat underdeveloped and recycled - isn't a horrible one, and there are enough twists here to keep things at least mildly interesting. Unfortunately, said twists are so excessively telegraphed that they come off as both predictable and painfully forced; plot developments like these should pack more of a punch, instead of coming off as weak and ham-fisted. Not everything is bad here though: the cinematography is stylized and focused, the acting is decent enough (with Craig at the helm of a competent supporting cast), and the film really does build tension quite nicely. It's a terrible shame that the execution of this movie is so poor, especially late in the film where the storyline gets significantly more engaging; instead of playing off of the intense atmosphere, the momentum grinds to a halt, the plot twists become overly-simplified, and melodrama raises its ugly head ever-so-slightly above the murky surface. This movie has potential, but collapses under its own weighted expectations, sadly failing to deliver on the excitement it promises. However, if you're looking for a mild, easily-digestible thriller, this might just be the dream you've been waiting to have.
Rating (out of 5): 2.5
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