Review of Dream House (2011) by Doctor S — 04 Sep 2012

I watched this solely for Naomi Watts' involvement, but disappointingly her part is nearly inconsequential - they could have used any actress to get the same result for the little she has to do. Instead, this is the Daniel Craig Show, who I find a jackass at the best of times. And why does he get to be English while Rachel Weisz has to adopt an American accent?? Makes little sense, which is consistent with other parts of this movie.

This is a horror/thriller, this is the 2010's, so I hardly think I am spilling the beans by mentioning there is a twist. I set a new record with this one by correctly guessing what that was after just five minutes! I must have seen too many of these because it really isn't that obvious but I just had a hunch. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Beyond Memento, I haven't yet fully bought into another of these 'selective memory' conceits, from here to Identity to yes even Fight Club, suspecting the filmmakers each found a random guy who owns an internet degree of psychology to serve as their consultant. So that was a drag, but the good news is that there is a second twist that I didn't see coming, when Craig sets out to find the real killers and made the movie somewhat interesting again.

Even so, there aren't many thrills, the acting is serviceable but nothing memorable, and overall the movie seems to be missing several components to really work.