Dream House(2011 film)

Not to be confused withDream Home.

Dream Houseis a 2011 Americanpsychological thrillerfilm directed byJim SheridanfromUniversal PicturesandMorgan Creek Productions,starringDaniel Craig,Rachel Weisz,Naomi Watts,andMarton Csokas.It was released on September 30, 2011, in the United States and Canada and was panned by critics.

Dream House
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jim Sheridan
Written by	David Loucka
Produced by	James G. Robinson David C. Robinson Daniel Bobker Ehren Kruger
Starring	Daniel Craig Naomi Watts Rachel Weisz Marton Csokas Elias Koteas
Cinematography	Caleb Deschanel
Edited by	Glen Scantlebury Barbara Tulliver
Music by	John Debney
Production company	Morgan Creek Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures(United States and Italy) eOne Entertainment(Canada)
Release date	September 30, 2011(2011-09-30)
Running time	92 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$40 million

Plot

Will Atenton, a successfuleditorfor aNew York Citypublishing house, quits his job to focus on writing a book while spending more time with his wife Libby and their young daughters, Trish and Dee Dee. The family is initially happy to live in their Fairfield County "dream house" near the forest. Soon, they grow uneasy because of a series of unsettling events. It all seems to tie to a crime committed in the house five years earlier, when a man named Peter Ward apparently murdered his wife and two children and was committed to a mental hospital from which he has been recently released due to lack of evidence.

Will approaches his neighbor Ann for help, but she is apprehensive, while her estranged husband Jack is outright hostile. Will visits the facility where Peter Ward was housed, and discovers thatheis actually Peter Ward.

During the attack that claimed the lives of his wife and daughters, Peter was shot in the head, so he has no memories of the murders. In order to cope with the grief, he fabricated adelusionin which his family is still alive and created a new identity based on his inpatient ID band "W1-1L 8-10-10". Once dismissed, Peter moved back to his abandoned house, which is nowcondemned,but in Peter's mind, is still unspoiled.

Peter is forcibly removed from the dilapidated house by authorities and taken in by Ann, who believes in his innocence. Peter ultimately discovers that he did not kill his wife and children; it was a local man named Boyce, who broke in and shot Peter's family. Libby, while aiming at Boyce, accidentally shot Peter.

Peter and Ann are attacked by Jack, who reveals that he had hired Boyce to kill Ann five years earlier in retaliation for divorcing him and to obtain full custody of their daughter, Chloe. However, Boyce went to the wrong house and mistakenly killed Peter's family. Aided by Boyce, Jack decides to kill Ann himself and set the house on fire, framing Peter. He also shoots Boyce to eliminate him as a witness (and as punishment for his mistake). Peter overpowers Jack and saves Ann with the help of his wife Libby, who is revealed to be a spirit, as are their daughters, and not Peter's mental projection. Jack burns to death when he tries to escape.

Peter says goodbye to the spirits of his wife and children. Sometime later, Peter has returned to New York and published a best-selling book calledDream House,in which he recounts his tragic experiences.

Cast

• Daniel Craigas Will Atenton/Peter Ward
• Naomi Wattsas Ann Patterson
• Rachel Weiszas Libby Atenton/Elizabeth Ward
• Claire Geare as Dee Dee Atenton/Katherine Ward
• Taylor Geare as Trish Atenton/Beatrice Ward
• Marton Csokasas Jack Patterson
• Rachel G. Foxas Chloe Patterson
• Elias Koteasas Boyce
• Jane Alexanderas Dr. Fran Greeley
• Martin Roachas Tommy
• Brian Murrayas Dr. Medlin

Production

DirectorJim Sheridanreportedly clashed with Morgan Creek'sJames G. Robinsonconstantly on the set over the shape of the script and production of the film.According to theLos Angeles Times,Sheridan tried to take his name off the film after being unhappy with it and his relationship with Morgan Creek Productions.

Reportedly Sheridan,Daniel CraigandRachel Weiszdisliked the final cut of the film.The trailer, cut by Morgan Creek Productions, was criticised for revealing the film's main plot twist.

Soundtrack

Dream House: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack albumby John Debney
Released	11 October 2011
Recorded	2011
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	56:47
Label	Varèse Sarabande
Producer	Stephanie Pereida

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Filmtracks	link

The score toDream Housewas composed byJohn Debneyand conducted by Robert Ziegler. Christian Clemmensen, reviewer ofFilmtracks,gave it four out of five stars, declaring it "among the biggest surprises of 2011" and stating, "It's not clear how badly Debney's work forDream Housewas butchered by the studio's frantic last minute attempts to make the film presentable, but Debney's contribution does feature a cohesive flow of development that is, at least on album, a worthy souvenir from this otherwise messy situation. "The soundtrack was released on 11 October 2011 and features 15 tracks of score at a running time of 56 minutes.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dream House"	5:36
2.	"Little Girls Die"	2:53
3.	"Footprints in the Snow"	3:17
4.	"Peter Searches"	6:00
5.	"Night Fever"	1:33
6.	"Intruders"	1:41
7.	"Libby Sees Graffiti"	2:33
8.	"Peter Ward's Room"	2:10
9.	"Ghostly Playthings"	3:17
10.	"Peter Ward's Story"	3:13
11.	"Ghost House"	2:37
12.	"Remember Libby"	4:05
13.	"Murder Flashback"	3:59
14.	"Peter Saves Ann/Redemption"	7:29
15.	"Dream House End Credits"	5:55

Reception

The film was not screened in advance for critics and was critically panned.On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,7% of 90 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Dream Houseis punishingly slow, stuffy, and way too obvious to be scary. "Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Peter BradshawofThe Guardiangave it 2/5 stars, calling it "a workmanlike movie that is never quite scary enough, and never quite ingenious enough, though the four leads do an honest enough job."Empire's Angie Errigo also gave it 2/5 stars, writing, "Like most of its ilk, this starts off nicely but doesn't hold up to close rational scrutiny. Craig and Weisz are gorgeous together and the mystification is diverting."Mark Savlov ofThe Austin Chroniclegave it 1/5 stars, deeming it "a confounding mess despite its impressive cast and director".

Slant Magazine's Rob Humanick was more positive. He gave the film 2.5/4 stars, writing, "Compared to profound works about family likeIn America,Dream Houseis junk, but it’s enjoyable junk with a lick of human interest and the good sense to not take itself too seriously in the end ".

Remake

In 2021, it was reported thatMorgan Creek Entertainmentwould be developing a remake of the film.

See also

• Rabbit Hole (Play)
• Rabbit Hole (Film)
• Talaash

References

• Content in this article was copied fromDream House (film)at the Universal Monsters wiki, which is licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC BY-SA 3.0) license.

External links

• Official website
• Dream HouseatBox Office Mojo
• Dream HouseatIMDb