COLD CREEK MANOR

"Get out of my house"

Cooper Tilson

Feeling the pressure of living in New York, Cooper Tilson (Quaid) decides that his family need to escape the rat race and move to the country. They find the perfect house, a run down old mansion that could, with a little work, be their dream home. Cooper and his wife Leah (Stone) decide to buy it and work begins on making it liveable. As the work starts the family are visited by Dale Massie (Dorff), the former owner of the house, who is looking for a job. Cooper's interest in the property's history however, reveals that the house has a terrible secret and the man who they have just let into their lives might be at the centre of it.

Hollywood thrillers are becoming so formulaic that the audience is crying out for something even slightly original. Cold Creek Manor isn't that movie.

On paper the film has a lot of things going for it. Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone are really good actors when they want to be and have been off the radar for a while. Stephen Dorff is extremely underrated and always plays a good villain and Juliette Lewis is always extremely watchable. Throw in the fact that British innovative director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas, Timecode and Internal Affairs) was behind the project and your expectations should be raised but what we get is so disappointing.

Every cliché of the modern Hollywood thriller is adhered to. A predictable villain will die ending, establishing the place they will die within the movie, giving hardly any reason with the villain is this way in the first place and the big reveal at the end comes as not surprise at all. The movie is just drenched in predictability and you just spend you time waiting for an end that you should know is coming as soon as you sit down to watch it.

The cast do their best with a banal script. Both Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone deserve more as their performances are good and make the film more watchable than it should be. Stephen Dorff is suitably menacing but is character is far too two-dimensional to take seriously. Juliette Lewis is wasted in a very small, underdeveloped role and Kristen Stuart is given too many chances to shine as she did in 'Panic Room'.

The biggest let down is the fact that this is a Mike Figgis film. The Oscar nominated director offers absolutely nothing new to the genre and this coming from a man noted for his innovative techniques makes the movie all the poorer.

Cold Creek Manor is a very average run of the mill thriller that offers absolutely nothing new to the genre. Formulaic in the extreme, it is the performances of the cast that drag this into the average category as they are the only thing holding your attention.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is a good transfer. The picture quality is excellent throughout, with no pixelation at all, even during the darker, more energetic scenes. The sound quality is also good, with the emphasis based strongly on the dialogue with is needed for a movie in this type of genre. The surround sound really kicks in during the finale however.

BONUS FEATURES

Director's Commentary with Mike Figgis
This informative and interesting commentary comes from a filmmaker that has an extensive knowledge of the business. Here he discusses all facets of the moviemaking process from the editing and pacing of a thriller to building character and plot. The director also reveals how hands on he is with every film he makes and talks about writing the score of the movie in a very 50s thriller style. Figgis also talks in length about the Canadian shoot and casting, especially how lucky they were in acquiring Christopher Plummer's involvement.

Cooper's Documentary (7.12 mins)
Director Mike Figgis, writer/executive producer Richard Jefferies and actors Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone talk about creating the documentary footage used in the movie. Mike Figgis reveals that both Dennis Quaid and himself shot the footage needed for the film, which included scenes in New York, old video of the Massie family and Cooper's footage of Cold Creek Manor.

Rules of the Genre (7.58 mins)
Director Mike Figgis, writer/executive producer Richard Jefferies and actors Sharon Stone, Juliette Lewis, Christopher Plummer and Dana Eskelson discuss fitting Cold Creek Manor into the rules of the thriller genre. Figgis reveals how editing, pacing, confrontation, music and surprise are all essential elements needed to construct a thriller.

Deleted Scenes & Alternative Ending (23.20 mins)
Entitled "Mrs Tilson's refreshments", "The snake catchers", "A trip to the store", "Last Rites", "Double Down", "A struggle at the Devil's Throat" and "The Staircase" theses deleted scenes are introduced by Mike Figgis, who gives explanations on why some of them were cut. Highlights include an extremely competitive pool game between Cooper and Dale. There is also an alternative ending included with doesn't have the same impact as the original.

OVERALL

While the movie is very much in the average category, this DVD is not. A very informative commentary track and some interesting extras really add value to the package. Couple this together with a very good transfer and you have a decent buy for fans of the film and a good rent for thriller fans.

DVD

Pacific Heights

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2004