Cold Creek Manor

Reviewed by George O. Singleton

for Reel Movie Critic

HHH

Dennis Quaid Cooper Tilson

Sharon Stone Leah Tilson

Christopher Plummer Mr. Massie

Stephen Dorff Dale Massie

Juliette Lewis Ruby

Directed by Mike Figgis. A dramatic thriller. Rated R (for violence, language and some sexuality). Touchstone Pictures. Running time: 118 minutes

Country folk

Cooper and Leah Tilson (Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone) live in the Big Apple with their two young children. Cooper is a documentary filmmaker and Leah is the family breadwinner, a corporate executive about to get a major promotion, for some quid pro quo sex with her boss. She's saved from herself because of an incident with the children, which brings her home early from her business trip. When Cooper says they need to get out of the city, Leah agrees, quits her job, and they cash out the considerable equity in their Manhattan home and move to rural upstate Bellingham, where they buy a huge house in need of lots of repair.

This horror thriller involves Dale Massie (Stephen Dorff), the former owner of the home, who asks to do odd jobs on his old homestead as part of the renovation process. Problem is that he's a psychopath with an eye for Leah as well as the gas station attendant in town, Ruby (Juliette Lewis).

The house looks like someone left in a hurry, as beds are unmade, family photos remain and other things that give Cooper a good start on a documentary about the Massie family. As he puts things together, Cooper begins to suspect that foul play on the part of Dale may be the reason why his family "left" and has never been heard from. The townsfolk think they deserted him. But Dale turns the Tilson's lukewarm welcome into a cold shower.

Although the trailer for the film makes you think this is the tale of a haunted house, it's more of a mystery thriller, in which the bad guy eventually is confronted by the milquetoast good guys to get his comeuppance (a la "Panic Room"). The story is more than a little hokey but nonetheless fun and entertaining. When we meet Dale's father (Christopher Plummer), we see that the apple did not fall far from the tree.

Interesting social commentary about women who put up with unnecessary abuse (physical, sexual and mental to the point of being brainwashed) is revealed here, and how some of our biggest decisions are made in the moments we think from the gut. This R rated film is about children, revolves around them but is not for them. It's just a good, everyday family horror film (pun intended).