Cold Creek Manor Review

British director Mike Figgis has been responsible for some truly innovative movies: think 2000's split-screen, real-time flick "Timecode" or the Oscar-winning "Leaving Las Vegas." So it comes as an enormous surprise to see his name on the credits of this film, a depressing patchwork of movie clichés that holds less surprises than the popcorn box in front of you. Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid star as the ultimate New York urbanites who finally get fed up with the city and move into the sticks with their two kids. After a quick property search in Hicksville, the family don't go for the obvious in their choice for their new home. Oh no, this being movie-world, they plump for the scariest old house in the district that comes complete with distinctly un-cosy name "Cold Creek Manor" and an obviously dangerous previous inhabitant played by Stephen Dorff. Cue missing axes, unsolved murders and one heavily-muscled psychotic on the loose.

Safe to say "The Night of the Hunter" this is not. The cast do their very best with the material at hand - Quaid is particularly good at depicting his character's wounded machismo - but not even the sterling efforts of Sharon Stone can save the flick from being a just passable and entirely forgettable two hours. Growing understandably more and more desperate as the entirely predictable events unfold, the movie's score, written by the director himself, attempts to inject tension with more than one film's fair share of rattling drums. But not even a whole percussion section playing at full volume could save this movie from mediocrity.