Dream House (2011)

As Good As It Gets

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

First what you should know up front: "Dream House" is not a horror flick. Also it's rated PG-13 which means it's pretty tame (no gore, no explicit violence, etc), so if you're looking for something along the lines of The Exorcist you might wanna stick with The Exorcist.In lieu of buckets of blood and terrifying demons, we get a really clever and tense story about a family in a remote house slowly uncovering the details of a bizarre unsolved mass murder that happened under their roof 5 years earlier. Strap on your seatbelt because the plot has more twists and turns than the Grand Prix, and there are a few total 180 turnarounds that might lose you if you're not paying attention. But overall I thought it was a great story.My only criticism is, due to it's somewhat tame PG-13 presentation, the film loses some of its edge. At times it can feel almost like a "family film" which is totally at odds with its otherwise creepy vibe. Imagine if The Exorcist had been directed by Steven Spielberg, and maybe you'll catch my drift. In fact, "Dream House" does indeed have a Spielbergesque quality to it (as in the original "Poltergeist"), which may be to your liking, but for a lot of horror/thriller fans it's too clean and perhaps ties things up in too neat of a bundle in the end.Acting is great all around, and I have to mention the GREAT job by the 2 sisters (and real life sisters) Taylor Geare and Claire Geare. They were ages 10 and 5 respectively and did a really convincing performance, particularly in a few scenes where they bring out an otherworldly element that's hard to describe.I recommend this movie for its original story which digs deep into psychology and the twists of the human mind. No chainsaws or blood drinking vampires here, just a really interesting thriller that should captivate any mystery fan.

Some say that all homes have memories and once upon a time , there were two little girls who lived in a house . For one man, his home is the place he would kill to forget . The plot is simple and ordinary : a family unknowingly moves into a home where several grisly murders were committed only to find themselves the killer's next target and then things get worse . As soon after moving into their seemingly idyllic new home , a family learns of a cruel crime committed against former residents of the dwelling . As the hard-working publisher Will (Daniel Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife , Libby (Rachel Weisz), and two girls (Taylor Geare and Claire Geare, who act on-screen sisters, are real-life sisters) to a a weird mansion . But as they settle into their new life , they discover their perfect home was the scene of the murder of a mother and her children . And the entire city believes it was at the brutal hands of the husband who survived . After that , Will discovers strange happenings and his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Naomi Watts) , a neighbour mistreated by his husband (Marton Csokas) who was close to the family that died . As Will and Ann find out that the story of the last man to leave Will's dream house will be just as terrifying to the one who came next . Later on , Will uncovers dark secrets about the former residents that will affect his existence in his dream house . And awful events ensue when they are mercilessly pursued by a strange stalker .Mystery thriller with terror elements , plenty of twists , turns and a suspenseful finale , dealing with a happy family who moves a quaint New England town , a seemingly idyllic new home , but they learn of a heinous crime committed against former inhabitants of the dwelling . The picture contains thriller , tension , suspense , unlimited excitement and plenty of plot twists . Hitchcock style psychological mystery , resulting to be surprisingly good and compellingly made , though has some flaws , being PG-13 rating for violence , terror , some sexuality, and brief strong language . The eerie as well entertaining premise about the strange home is overspread across the movie adding some brief conventional pitfalls . Exciting and ghostly writing credits written by David Loucka and Jim Sheridan himself . However , Production Company Morgan Creek took out the film of Sheridan's hands to re-cut it themselves ; after that , Sheridan re-filmed some scenes because they did not go down well with test audiences . That's why it had commercially a failure because Morgan Creek released it with advertisements that suggested it was a terror movie more than a thriller . Main cast is frankly decent . Daniel Craig gives an acceptable acting as the successful publisher Will Atenton who investigates a family tragedy to piece together the disturbing puzzle , then things go awry . Rachel Weisz is passable as Libby , the loving as well as suffering wife . During the filming of this movie , Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz met and began a love affair , in which their relationship was publicly announced several months later and they married in a discreet wedding ceremony . Support cast is pretty good , but really wasted , such as : Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas , Elias Koteas , Brian Murray , Gregory Smith and Jane Alexander . Suspenseful and mysterious original Musical Score by John Debney . Colorful and adequate cinematography by Caleb Deschanel . The motion picture was professionally made by director Jim Sheridan who fought with Morgan Creek's head , continuously on the set over the style of the screenplay and the production of the movie . As a result , and due to the movie being heavily re-cut , Sheridan refused to promote the film to the mass media and requested in the Director's Guild of America to have his name removed from the credit titles . Filmmaker/producer/actor Jim Sheridan , who was born in Dublín , has directed good films , being a great quality director , such as : ¨In the name of the father¨ , ¨Get Rich or Die Trying'¨, ¨The boxer¨, ¨In America¨, ¨Brothers¨, ¨The field¨ and ¨My left foot¨ . And he produced "Some Mother's Son" , ¨On the edge¨, ¨Doll house¨, ¨Bloody Sunday¨, ¨Agnes Browne¨, among others.

Good suspenseful movie for the whole family. It had many twists and turns along the way. This was refreshing to see something well planned without all the gore that some movies have. The closure to the ending was not planned as well as the rest of the movie. I would have liked to have seen a better ending. Thanks for a good escape from real world for a bit.

I was expecting a classic paranormal movie with ghosts, spirits, entities, etc., but was surprised with the actual story line. It's a good movie, creative like "The Sixth Sense" was creative & different. When you make it about half way through the movie is when it starts to mess with your head as you try to figure out where the story is heading, but it keeps you guessing. The ending could of been a bit different, perhaps a bit more definitive towards answering the questions you still have, but the way it does end works well enough.