Cold Creek Manor  (2003)

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Stephen Dorff

Director: Mike Figgis

Rating: R

Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Release Date: March 2, 2004
Review posted: March 3, 2004

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by Craig Younkin

SYNOPSIS

Cooper (Quaid) and Leah Tilson's (Stone) are tired of city life and so they pack up the kids and move into a big country house called Cold Creek Manor. Everything is perfect until the house's former owner, Dale Massee (Dorff) comes back from prison. The Tilson's give Dale a job working for them, but there is a dark past that concerns Dale and the house that they do not know about.  

CRITIQUE

Cold Creek Manor is a good looking movie. The camera shots of the house and the landscape in general really stand out, only they really aren't competing against much of anything else. The movie doesn't really try to be much of anything. The trailers suggest a scary thriller, but the limited scares the movie does have are tamely directed. Plus the reactions to the scares by leads Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone are so overwrought that you can't help but laugh at them.

Why are these two actors even in this movie? Why is Mike Figgis, the guy who did Leaving Las Vegas, directing this thing? These are talented people acting way below their skills. The movie doesn't ask much of them, and I’m guessing that was the only appeal. This movie seems like an easy paycheck.

Like every other horror movie, this one also makes huge jumps in common sense. The Tilson's are the kind of movie family that continually keep their front door wide open at all times. And Dale is the kind of movie character who will only kill when the movie finds it necessary. Take for example a scene where he pushes Leah down a well and has the same opportunity when Cooper comes to rescue her, but doesn't take it.

That is so we can go through the same old conventional horror movie ending back at the house where characters get really stupid and run up when they should be running down. Not to mention that we know who the villain is before the characters even move into the house. It's best you give Cold Creek Manor the cold shoulder. It is one booooring movie.

THE VIDEO

Buena Vista presents the film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.

THE AUDIO

Buena Vista presents the film in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound with optional subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending: Some are pretty inconsequential, like Leah complementing Dale on the work he is doing on the pool, and the comic relief snake catchers. But others are pretty interesting, such as a long game of pool between Cooper and Dale that eventually turns into a conversation about the murder that took place. There is also a more exciting final showdown shown here than in the movie and this alternate ending is much better as well.
 
Rules of the Game: This is where director Mike Figgis and the cast talk about how a good thriller should be created. It's pretty ironic that the movie turned out so negative considering they all seemed so confident about what they are saying. Some basic rules are to “get to the point” and “keep the element of surprise,” two rules Cold Creek Manor neglects to respect.
 
Cooper's Documentary: Cooper is a documentary filmmaker in the movie, and he eventually decides to do one on Cold Creek Manor. This just shows us how Mike Figgis got all of the documentary footage together and also tells us that he wanted to keep everything believable by having Cooper use a Final Cut Pro system in the movie. This is pretty useless information.

Audio Commentary by Mike Figgis: You can choose whether to listen to the characters or to Mike Figgis explaining each scene. In my opinion, the latter sounds a bit more appealing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This film is never as scary, competent, or intriguing as it should be. The only reason to see it would be for Figgis' incredible looking camera shots. Some of the deleted scenes are interesting, but overall the whole experience is dull.

VERDICT: RENT IT

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