“DREAM HOUSE” Movie Review. ‘Tis HERE where SWEET DREAMS are SHATTERED

“DREAM HOUSE” PRESS PREVIEW

This Reviewer is suspicious of sweet names.

Sugary stuff could lead to dubiousness and tend to be paradoxical towards the end.

“DREAM HOUSE” has a lovely adjective, the type that dreams are made of.

It connotes a heavenly abode where you’d want to go home to rest your weary head, after a hard day’s grind.

That’s the problem.

This house is anything but dreamy. It harbors female ghosts who have an unfinished task.

We are talking about the spirits of a murdered mother and  her two young daughters.

A nightmare awaits you in this dream house should you step in.

And this is where our story unfolds.

Dream House is a horror flick.

Successful publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their two girls to a quaint New England town.

But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children.

The entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived.

When Will investigates, he’s unsure if he’s starting to see ghosts.

His only clues come from Ann Paterson (Naomi Watts), a mysterious neighbor who knew the victims.

And as Will and Ann piece together the haunting puzzle, they must find out who murdered the family before he returns to kill again.

Apparently the “former residents” are still there – as apparitions lurking somewhere in the house, waiting for it to be reoccupied.

There’s a ghostly presence all over. You witness satanic writing on the basement walls, and then a psychotic murderer who has just been released from a mental institution shows up, fueling further complications.

It seems that the house carries a bad omen, that anyone who resides therein will eventually perish.

“DREAM HOUSE” is directed by Jim Sheridan with a script that is intended to keep you on edge.

You will tally pieces of the jig saw puzzle in your mind, in your race against to uncover the bizarre truth.

A work of film noir, DREAM HOUSE has, unfortunately, nothing to offer in terms of newness.

The directorial treatment could have been better, as it has its fair share of plot holes and inconsistency of editing that tend to be irksome at times.

Despite the suspense, the first half of the feature tends to plod slowly.

The film perks up during the second half  where the action and shocks are delivered in succession, and the tempo quickens.

A-listers Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weiz pitch in admirable performances.  They do not disappoint.

All in all, “DREAM HOUSE” justifies an appreciation.