Nonureva Really Surprised!

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Leofwine_draca Back on its release in 2003, I remember thinking that COLD CREEK MANOR was yet another spooky supernatural flick about a family moving into an old home and being terrorised by its ghostly inhabitants – I imagined something like the diabolical remake of THE HAUNTING. Suffice to say, I never bothered watching it. Seeing it on television the other night, I decided to give it a chance – and I admit I had nothing better to do at the time.I was surprised. Not because this film was any good – it's not, it's just as bland and predictable as I'd feared – but because there's no supernatural stuff going on here whatsoever. Instead this is a pure psycho-thriller, harking back to those early '90s days when the likes of THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE had audiences sitting on the edges of their seats as normal families were terrorised by crazies. The problem with COLD CREEK MANOR is that it's just plain boring.I didn't even go in wanting or expecting originality – so when I saw there was none, I wasn't disappointed. Some effective shocks and scares would have helped, but instead we get one or two silly moments, like the laughable 'snakes in the house' interlude which comes off like some lukewarm attempt to mimic ARACHNOPHOBIA. The script is mundane, dragging the straightforward, no-twists-here plot line out to what feels like an unbelievable length, and it's one of those films that had my mind wandering and my eyelids struggling to remain raised, especially in the second half.The film's biggest problem is the acting. Dennis Quaid, an actor seemingly stuck in a 'mundane' bracket since the 1980s, has a Harrison Ford haircut and that's all you'll notice. He's bland, dull, an utterly unlikable leading man – I was hoping something unpleasant would happen to him, but it never does. Sharon Stone doesn't seem to be putting much effort in playing Quaid's wife, and none of the supporting cast members stand out – Juliette Lewis is here, typecast as 'kooky' as per usual, while Stephen Dorff seems to be trying to channel Billy Zane's personality in DEAD CALM but he comes across as a laughable, non-threatening villain.Some bloodshed, some decent shocks and some atmosphere could have made this cheesy, scary or worthwhile. It has none of those elements, content instead to rehash the same old ideas, leaving plot holes wide enough for a 4x4 to drive through and generally being a pain in the backside. They could have had fun with this premise, but the po-faced seriousness of it all makes it a stifling watch. Leave it well alone...

lewiskendell Despite the presence of Juliette Lewis, Dennis Quaid, and Sharon Stone, Cold Creek Manor just comes off as a made-for-TV movie. A boring made- for-TV movie. It's predictable and unforgivably dull. The plot is as cliché as it is thin. A husband and wife move from the city to a large house in some unspecified rural area, because they think it will be good for their relationship and their two children. The house they move into has an unknown, sinister history that puts the entire family in danger. Blah, blah, blah. It's marketed as sort of a mystery/thriller, but there is precious little mystery or thrills to be had here.I'm not going to waste a lot of time with this review, because I already wasted more than enough watching the movie. There was no reason for it to be made, let alone watched.

Neil Welch For reasons which don't really matter (which is just as well, because they certainly don't make sense, the Tilson family (dad: Dennis Quaid, mum: Sharon Stone, daughter: pubescent Kristen Stewart, son: some kid) decide to get out of the city, and move out to the sticks where they buy a huge house for chump change because something bad happened and it got repossessed by the bank. They have obviously never seen a film before, because only bad things can happen in such circumstances, right? And so they do, starting when Stephen Dorff, the son of the family who used to live there and newly released from jail (which should be another warning, right?) arrives, talks them into hiring him, and things go pear shaped. Big time.This film rejigs multiple clichés into a not-very-new order, and flirts with the notion of having a supernatural element before dropping the idea. Even if you have never seen a film before, this one is going to hold few surprises for you. It is arguable that it is worth watching for a relatively high profile cast sacrificing art for a paycheck, and for l'il Kristen Stewart sulking away like mad years before she was called upon to do the same thing in the Twiglet movies.If you find yourself with an afternoon with nothing to do, and this comes up on TV (which it won't because of the bad language), find a book instead.

Catharina_Sweden This movie was a disappointment. I love movies about people moving into fantastic old mansions, discovering sinister secrets, and solving a great mystery in the end... but this was just too predictable. The culprit, the town bad boy, was also entirely the wrong kind of person for a movie in the "old mansion mystery" genre. One would have expected more class from him, some spectacular findings, and some kind of twist in the end... but nothing.The full potential of the house - which in itself should have been perfect for a haunted house story - was not used either. The movie was also much too slow. It ought to have been cut with 20-25 minutes.The main actors were both good and attractive, of course. But as always when they use big stars, one expects something more - so one just becomes more disappointed than if the actors had been unknown.