Dream House

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Dream House

PG-13

2011

1h 32m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

7%

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86 Reviews

36%

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25,000+ Ratings

Publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits a lucrative job in New York to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their daughters to a quaint town in New England. As they settle into their home, however, the Atentons discover that a woman and her children were murdered there, and the surviving husband is the town's prime suspect. With help from a neighbor (Naomi Watts) who was close to the murdered family, Will pieces together a horrifying chain of events.

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Critics Consensus

Dream House is punishingly slow, stuffy, and way too obvious to be scary.

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London Evening Standard

Nov 25, 2011

2/5

The fragile hope that we might have a grown-up horror movie on our hands is smashed to smithereens.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Nov 25, 2011

2/5

This is a workmanlike movie that is never quite scary enough, and never quite ingenious enough, though the four leads do an honest enough job.

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Adam Woodward

Little White Lies

Nov 24, 2011

1/5

An utter waste of time and talent.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Mar 8, 2023

1/4

[Audiences will] have no idea what to make of the jumbled, mishandled mess they’ve just witnessed.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Aug 20, 2022

2/5

This is a movie featuring loads of talent and at its core a familiar but fairly interesting story. But it’s also a movie plagued with amateurish writing and an off-the-rails ending that undermines everything the movie tries to do.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Nov 30, 2020

4/10

It had plenty of potential with its story, despite the fact that it's completely derivative of two other movies.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 21, 2026

Dream House Barely scores a *2* star Movie!

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 3, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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Charles K

@RT61505695 Mar 14, 2026

Brilliant film. Almost as good as Shutter Island. Great cast and plot twists. Don't be put off by the banal "critics" who wouldn't know a good film if it punched them in the face. If you like a clever psychological thriller then you will love this.

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Nina V

@Plottwisttttt Feb 7, 2026

Not sure why this movie has low ratings. It was plot twist excellence. It was great and unexpected. Only seen a handful of movies like this and frankly these type of psychological thrillers are my favorite. I think the people rating this movie are just dense. GIVE IT A TRY.

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S S.

@SShol Jan 12, 2026

Extremely unique film, more of a somber study of grief and moving onward than a horror or thriller film. It’s not positive what genre it wants to be, but because of Craig’s good acting, he carries the film through its twists and turns (and plot twists, resolved or not). Rare for a film to act so stereotypically psychological thriller, give the reveal away before the first hour is up, and THEN get so much better. It sticks with you, and that’s rare for this genre. Kudos for the unique story

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Allison B

@AliB0912 Jan 6, 2026

I think this movie gets a bad rap. With a Shutter Island-ish quality, Dream House may not be the big box office thriller they hoped but sticking around for the ending won't disappoint.

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Jim Sheridan

Director

Daniel Craig

Will Atenton

Naomi Watts

Ann Patterson

Rachel Weisz

Libby

Marton Csokas

Jack Patterson

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Synopsis

Publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits a lucrative job in New York to relocate his wife, Libby (Rachel Weisz), and their daughters to a quaint town in New England. As they settle into their home, however, the Atentons discover that a woman and her children were murdered there, and the surviving husband is the town's prime suspect. With help from a neighbor (Naomi Watts) who was close to the murdered family, Will pieces together a horrifying chain of events.

Director: Jim Sheridan
Producer: James G. Robinson, David Robinson, Daniel Bobker, Ehren Kruger
Screenwriter: David Loucka
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Morgan Creek Productions, Bobker/Kruger Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexuality|Brief Strong Language|Terror|Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.3M
Runtime: 1h 32m

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