Dream House

Directed by Jim Sheridan. Starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas, Elias Koteas, Jane Alexander, Taylor Geare, Claire Geare, Rachel Fox 15A cert, general release, 92 min

WILL ATENTON (Daniel Craig) quits his job at a swish New York publishing firm so that he might spend more time with his wife Libby (Rachel Weisz) and children Trish and Dee Dee (Taylor and Claire Geare). The family have lately left the city and relocated to a Connecticut fixer- upper, not knowing that their new home boasts a troubling history.

As this is the sort of dumbass film wherein police officers are happy to discuss case particulars with complete strangers, Will soon ascertains that his gaff once housed Peter Ward, a man who killed his wife and children five years earlier. Worse still, Ward has recently been released to a nearby halfway house. Might he be the shadowy figure Will’s daughters have glimpsed through the window at night? Or are more supernatural agents at work?

It's hard to work up any enthusiasm for Dream House, a film that director Jim Sheridan attempted to have his name removed from, a film that tanked in the States, a film that Weisz and Craig have refused to promote.

The actors fell in love on the set and later married; you'd imagine they'd have a soft spot for the project. Instead, Dream Housearrives looking very deserted indeed; even the film's promoters have walked away, leaving a trailer that blatantly reveals the film's well worn "spooky" twist: half the cast are g-g-g-ghosts.

Folksongs and legend tell of clashes between Sheridan and Morgan Creek studio CEO James G Robinson. Sure enough, the finished product appears to have been hacked into its current monstrous guise. All the bad movie tropes are here: monologuing villains divulge detailed explanations in the final reel; delusional mental patients roam free; the whodunit, as on Scooby Doo, can be ascribed to the only possible suspect.

As ever, Sheridan displays an uncanny flair for coaxing convincing performances out of his younger performers: “Will you tell them how much I miss them?” says 14-year-old Rachel Fox in the film’s most affecting moment.

Ms Fox and the Geare sisters provide the only evidence of Sheridan’s stewardship. In all other respects, this is a rudderless vessel. Never mind dead people; we see a dead movie.