Dream House

The degree to which Dream House ultimately fizzles out is, without question, rather disappointing, as the film boasts a fairly promising first half that culminates in a genuinely shocking twist at the midway point. The movie, which follows Daniel Craig’s Will, Rachel Weisz’s Libby, and their two kids as they begin to notice spooky happenings within their new home, does get off to a slow start, admittedly, as filmmaker Jim Sheridan spends a great deal of time dwelling on the central characters’ exploits in and around the house (eg Libby paints, the kids frolic, etc, etc). The periodic inclusion of decidedly sinister elements (eg Will discovers a group of goth teenagers performing some kind of ritual in his basement) perpetuates the film’s off-kilter atmosphere, and there’s little doubt that the deepening mystery proves effective at offsetting the uneventfulness of the narrative. The watchable yet far-from-engrossing vibe persists right up until the aforementioned twist rolls around, with the reveal, which has inexplicably been spoiled by the movie’s trailer, infusing the proceedings with a jolt of energy that instantly revives the viewer’s dwindling interest. The novelty of the new perspective inevitably does wear off, however, and Dream House, having painted itself in a palpable corner, subsequently devotes itself entirely to Will’s tedious and thoroughly predictable investigation into what really happened in that house. It’s finally impossible to label the movie as anything more than a pervasively erratic mess, with the incongruously over-the-top finale only confirming the film’s place as a hopelessly misguided piece of work.

** out of ****