Majikat An enjoyable film, with a good creepy character. City people in a small town discovering something more sinister. Worthy of a watch.

gregeichelberger Originally published on Sept. 19, 2003If one is looking for by-the-numbers textbook Hollywood horror/thriller movie-making, look no further than Touchstone's newest release, "Cold Creek Manor," directed by Mike Figgis, for the basic instincts of the craft. First, there is the hassled city family, the Tilson's (parents Cooper, played by Dennis Quaid, and Leah, Sharon Stone, along with children Kristen Stewart and Ryan Wilson), who decide to move to a small town and purchase a dilapidated farmhouse that looks like something Herman Munster would pass by (it's even named "Cold Creek Manor" for crying out loud).But wait, there are even more clichés - the town's residents who naturally mistrust the newcomers, the creepy house and the mysteries it holds, an enigmatic old man who is the key to hidden horrors, the home's psychotic previous owner, the reluctance of local law enforcement to believe ANYTHING the new owners try to tell them, an invasion of vicious reptiles (which would have been my first clue to something unusual), several accounts of foreshadowing (when a camera shot lingers on particular objects that will play a huge role later in the story) and the climactic struggle between good and evil.Yep, it's all here. Unfortunately, anyone who has seen a horror film in the last, say, 20 years or so, can figure everything out about this one way ahead of time and the whole family-in-peril thing that has been done to death a million times is multiplied tenfold in "Cold Creek Manor."Plus, will someone PLEASE tell Juliette Lewis that her drugged-up, slow- witted slut character from "Natural Born Killers" and "Cape Fear" is getting really old, really fast already? Thank you. The film is rated "R" because of violence and some situations, but it offers nothing new to the genre - and, sadly, no one of any age will be very frightened at the proceedings.

juneebuggy Based on reviews this wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It has a good cast, which I think helped and an interesting initial setup, so that you feel like its going to develop into a decent thriller or haunted house type movie once things get going. Unfortunately they never do.The plot is kinda predictable, including the score of cheesy "be scared now" piano music, but I think the biggest problem is that this never manages to get into spooky or even thriller-ish territory, its just sort of bland. There were attempts made -Christopher Plummer as the creepy old man, the sheep killing instruments, the "evil" plaque in the woods, and the snakes but ultimately never followed through.I like Dennis Quaid and he does a decent job here as the Dad who relocates his New York family to the country where they buy a large house in a foreclosure sale. The Cold Creek house was once an elegant manor but is now in shambles and still filled with the possessions of the previous family. Turning it into their dream home soon becomes a nightmare when the previous owner gets out of prison.Stephen Dorff is the bad guy here, reminding me of a somewhat toned down version of Brad Pitt in Kalifornia. Ha, I just realized his character is also dating Juliette Lewis, who is wasted in a role I've seen her play multiple times. Sharon Stone, wow she's pretty awful as the mother, adding another of the "bland" elements to this movie. I did enjoy seeing a young Kristen Stewart as the daughter, all making faces and bratty kid, Yay you got me a pony. But can he swim? 3/15/15

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.