Dream House: review

Courier section writer Luke Hearfield reviews the new thriller starring Daniel Craig. 

“Everybody who lives in this house gets killed” the supposedly chilling tag line of this movie. Going in to see this movie my attitude was, new movie same recycled plot story. Surprisingly Dream House did try to deliver something a little more fresh, but unfortunately oversaturated concepts and a poorly executed plot fail to solidify a gripping tale. Despite borrowing similar narrative ideas from films like Amityville Horror and Shutter Island, it didn’t create the same impact.

Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits his job so he can spend more time with his wife (Rachel Weisz) and two little girls in there lovely new home. Failing to do his research he predictably finds out the previous family that resided there were murdered by the father named Paul Ward. Director Jim Sheridan does a semi decent job of setting up a tense thriller, but the plot is too inconsistent  and less intriguing than he was aiming for.

At first the plot has some good merits with elements of mystery, but the momentum is lost at the seemingly interesting narrative shift at the half way point. To introduce a plot twist at this point is daring but dosen’t do anything to benefit the story. It turns out Will is Paul Ward, released from prison due to inconclusive evidencesuffering an amnesic trauma and what the audience witness is his alter reality. What follows is a bland chain of events debating whether or not he was responsible , with the requisite confusion acting as a smokescreen to mask the script’s overwhelming mundanity.

VERDICT

Whilst the film does try to be more innovative than your average thriller, it feels like it’s trying too hard. Dream House lacks any emotional character depth, making the final act feel like a mediocre summary.