Cold Creek Manor

Rating:
Summary: Great underrated suspense film.
Review: It was with extreme apprehension that I sat down to watch this film, after reading the plethora of negative criticism that has been aimed at it since its release last year. What I discovered was a surprisingly competent and well acted thriller.
The story is simple enough: after a near tragic accident involving their young son, a family decides to forsake their urban lifestyle and relocate to the country. They purchase a beautiful spacious home that has been repossessed and soon discover its chilling secrets.
Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone are excellent and very believable as the middle aged couple in peril. Stephen Dorff is nothing short of superb as the irate and sociopathic former owner of Cold Creek Manor who is hiding a terrible secret. Dorff's character is eerily reminiscent of Brad Pitt's Earle in the equally impressive Kalifornia.
My only criticism of this film would be the promotional campaign (trailers, tv commercials) that preceded it that erroneously lead the viewer to believe that there was a supernatural element to this story. In fact, all the evils presented in this film are of man's invention and all the more frightenning because of it.
Though I will admit that the film is slow moving at times, overall the story is compelling and engrossing, the characters well developed and the climax quite rewarding. Fans of suspense films like Identity, The Mothman Prophecies and Frailty should be pleased with this.

Rating:
Summary: Do not even bother
Review: You will have this plot figured out in the first 25 minutes. It was not scary, suspenseful or even interesting. I found myself wanting the last 2 hours of my life back following the completion of this movie. Generally the idea of a thriller is to keep you guessing, or at least to give ONE plot twist. Guess the writer never got that memo. Keep shopping.

Rating:
Summary: Cold Creek Manor - An undelivered psychological thriller!
Review: "Cold Creek Manor" is, simply put, a film that is intended to be a subtle psychological thriller that doesn't deliver on the thriller portion and suffers greatly from a case of predictability leaving this videophile highly disappointed given the two powerful leading actors of this film. One would seriously think that a film starring Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone would be a highly memorable film given their storied careers in film but ultimately, this film leaves one thinking that maybe they were just looking for another paycheck.

Performance wise, both Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone deliver strong performances as well as does Stephen Dorff however, their performances are severely hindered by a weak script that has more holes in it than a pound of Swiss cheese which adds to the disappointment as the potential of this film was there it just never delivers itself. What's more surprising here is Sharon Stone taking the role in the first place as her character is more or less a weak housewife type that doesn't really show any growth throughout the film. Given her extremely strong past performances one has to wonder why she chose to take this film on.

Director Mike Figgis has had some successful films in the past and granted, he probably made the best of this film that was possible but sometimes, no matter what a director does, they cannot overcome a weak script, even with a pair of Hollywood legends.

The Premise:

Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone play Cooper and Leah Tilson who are trying to raise their two children in New York City but they decide for the safety of their children to move to country and they choose a dilapidated old mansion/farmhouse still filled with the belongings of the previous owners. Not long after moving in, the former owner, Dale Massie (Stephen Dorff) shows up in the house and works his way into their lives.

What follows from there is, as stated above, is a film that is billed as a tension filled psychological thriller that fails on almost every point as Dale Massie starts doing everything he can to get this family out of his house...

For fans of films in this particular genre I would recommend this film as a rental only and most definitely not a purchase as one will soon be wishing they hadn't spent the money on it. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

-Bonus Alternate Ending
-Deleted Scenes
-"Rules of the Genre" Featurette
-"Cooper's Documentary"
-Audio Commentary with Director Mike Figgis

Rating:
Summary: Generic.
Review: This is about what you would expect from the "thriller" formula. There is the family who moves to the country to get away from the hustle-bustle and the crime, there is the run-down old house they wish to turn into their dream home, and then comes along an ex-con drifter-type who used to live there. All the ingredients for a predictable film. Everything you could think of that could happen, does. There is a house full of snakes, the family pet is slain, and the bad guy falls to his death through a beautiful stained-glass window. I really didn't give the ending away, because early in the film the children are looking around the house (tresspassing, actually) when we see them open a window and look around a central shaft of the house and on the ground floor ceiling there is the multi-colored, stained-glass window. Did the filmmakers actually think the audience was going to forget such an obvious scene? There is also the dark and stormy night by film's end, complete with a battle on the roof. One of my favorite scenes was when Dennis Quaid is alone in the house and he hears sombody walking toward him and there is a single low note played on the piano for the score. Doom! I chuckled heartily at the feeble attempt at making me scared. Back to the rooftop. There is the predictable scene when the killer has to give his monologue so that either help can arrive or the victim's-to-be figure out a way to thwart the dastardly dude. When the couple are being chased through the house, lightning flashing through the windows, Sharon Stone is supposed to look terrified, but instead I thought she needed to use the bathroom. She should try the pink stuff. She seriously overacts in more than one scene. Dennis Quaid is passable, but only just. The only actor worth his salt here is Stephen Dorff. He does a subtle yet persuasive job given that his character's agenda is so predictable. Overall, this film is pretty lame stuff. So far this film is averaging 2 stars and the distributors are trying to sell over 130 copies at this site alone. That should be warning enough to avoid this film. I actually laughed more than I jumped; or I was shaking my head and looking away with a deep sigh. This is a fine cast wasted on a generic film.

Rating:
Summary: stupid
Review: A great cast wasted in a bloody mess of a movie.stupid people doing stupid things that no normal person would ever try. zzzzzzzzzzzz.....

Rating:
Summary: Hey, we liked it
Review: Granted, there are a few moments in this movie when you're absolutely peeved at where the actors (and script) are going. The snake scene was silly and noisome. How Quaid discovers the retainer in the driveway is a bit much, too, even if we were shown a glimpse of it in the beginning - (yes, it's called foreshadowing but even so...). And why Stone and Quaid would hasten back into the house in the last 10 minutes of the movie - it offends one's sense of creduality.
But not any more so than other movies where people remain in haunted houses when it would be safer to leave. We've all had moments during films when we've screeched, "Don't go back into the house, you moron!"
But that's the deal when you're the omniscient audience.
And you can refuse to get caught up in the fiction or you can go along with it.
My husband and I rented the movie without any expectations beforehand, and we went along with it. We wanted to see a haunted house movie and that's what we got. It wasn't too difficult to be a captive audience with this one.
There was very good acting. Everyone played their parts well. I'm not going to quibble as to whether so-and-so should have been less obvious or someone else act more sophisticated. Hey, it's make-believe.
Although a few scenes were quite astute. When Quaid and his family first eat at the diner in town and the owner and his family end up sitting with them, we get some real small-town chitchat striking up. "Oh, they just met up with the Pinskys," Miss Lewis witheringly observes - or something very like it. Who hasn't encountered society like that before, and pretty much in that way?
Anyway, the script may have been elementary in places but the movie was still fun to watch and we recommend it to others.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible By Major Proportions!
Review: With actors of such class as Stone and Quaid, I was amazed at the number of mind-numbing clichés thrown about. The parents with two kids flee the dangerous life of New York City and buy a huge mansion in the woods full of the original owners belongings. They are greeted by the former owner ex-con (Dorff) who is instantly evil and unlikable (overacted). He wants his house back, but Quaid and Stone aren't smart enough to get a restraining order on him. They are too nice, so they hire him! Then there is an absolutely preposterous scene where snakes suddenly appear everywhere all at once. It's orchestrated like a cartoon and Sharon Stone just screams like she's taking screaming lessons. It's really bad. So the point of the rest of the movie is fairly well a moot point. There's lots of threatening. There's a mystery sign in the woods that begs to be lifted, but Stone forgets. Juliette Lewis plays the white trash girlfriend (again) to Dorff. Dorff rolls his eyes and gets drunk a lot. Quaid won't leave. Stone won't leave. The kids want to leave (smart). Dorff has a chase scene with Quaid. Stone falls into a mystery hole, but gets out. A lightning storm appears at just the right time. It's just so dumb. However, if you want a finale that really, really stretches the imagination, check this out. The new owners get their revenge in a truly inventive way. Dorff gets to roll his eyes again and so will you.

Extras: Do you really care at this point?

Rating:
Summary: "Creaky", Not Creepy
Review: Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone star in this dud, that through its trailers and ads, looks like a haunted house thriller but actually is a cross between "Cape Fear" by way of "Law and Order".

After a near fatal incident to there young son, Quaid and Stone decide to move there family upstate and relocate. They find a decent fixer-upper for the right price but, after the big move a former occupant of the house shows up (he's been locked up for unspecified reasons that the viewer figures out later on) looking for work. Quaid is reluctant, but, agrees and thats when the weird stuff starts to happen and the movie becomes routine, crashing and burning like an out of control airplane.

There are some major problems with this embarassment. First off the house doesn't even look like it was up for sale (even if it was for sale by a real estate agency (which it wasn't. I didn't see a sign out front)or a state sale, they are supposed to make the house appealing (mowing the lawn, getting rid of old stuff from the former houseowners, etc.). The family after being caught for trespassing, should have either gotten arrested for breaking and entering or at least got sited for trespassing, for God's sake! The snakes ruling the house scene should have been cut from the film. - Why? I literally busted a gut laughing at the whole sequence! I don't recommend this movie, unless there is nothing else on... HBO, or anything on cable, or nothing to do on the internet, or playing at the theatre... go bowling.

Rating:
Summary: Cliched but not so bad!!!
Review: Cold Creek Manor is as cliched as they get. A near accident forces NYC family to move to peaceful, idyllic suburbia. They move into the 'perfect' house, which has its share of not so perfect secrets. From there, it gets all the more predictable. So why didn't I hate this movie? The cast for one. Dennis Quaid was pretty good as the patriarch, and it was great seeing Sharon Stone back on the big screen in a very different role for her as mother. Stephen Dorff was very creepy and effective as the bad guy, and Juliette Lewis played the town slut to perfection.

Acclaimed director Mike Figgis did his best with the lackluster script, and wrote a pretty brilliant score to the film, which added to the creepiness. And while it was evident where the film was headed, the suspense did manage to build, slowly but surely. Perhaps some tight editing would have benefited the film since the audience knows what to expect and taking two hours to reach that point is quite ridiculous. However, there are some pretty terrific scenes which lead to a decent finale.

There is a tremendously long and unbearable deleted scene on the DVD I'm glad was removed. It was a15 minute scene of Quaid and Dorff playing a game of pool, which added nothing to the film. Had that been included, I might have hated this. And while the film ties things together nicely with it's an oh so perfect happy ending, the deleted alternate ending was far superior and more in the style of Mike Figgis. I think the film would have gotten an extra star with that ending in tact instead.

Overall, the film is overlong and cliched, but made fun nonetheless by the terrific cast and the director who knows how to work with his actors. It manages to be suspenseful without being a nail-biter. See it on a boring Sunday night, but don't expect much.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing. :-(
Review: STORY: Family moves out of the big city to be in an area "safer" for the kids. But when the previous owner of the home they just bought gets out of jail, they discover the country can be more dangerous than the city.

MY FEEDBACK:
1) It is always a pleasure watching Quaid and Stone. They are quality actors who have a charisma about themselves.

2) The movie takes what seems an eternity to get going. Once it does get going it seems like it is over way too quick.

3) The suspense scenes were telegraphed way in advance so they weren't suspensful after all.

4) Plot holes galore. Too many unanswered questions. A lot of potential that just went to waste.

5) The ending was dumb! The very last shot seemed to be the director's effort to leave you guessing if things are really resolved or not but it was so haphazzardly done that it felt out of place vs. a natural progression of the story.

OVERALL: If it was any actors other than big names ones like Quaid and Stone, this movie would have recieved a 1 star. Not worth renting unfortunately.