I really wanted to watch a strange movie, especially since Halloween is approaching. The movie “Dream House” seemed to fit the bill. I had high hopes for this film because the star-studded cast. And I wasn’t disappointed. “Dream House” is a 2011 film written by David Loucka and directed by Jim Sheridan. It stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts.

The movie is about a man named Will Atenton (Craig) and his family moving into a house in a rural town. He is a writer with his wife and two children. As soon as they move in, strange things begin to happen. A man appears to be watching them at night. In another instance, a group of teenagers break into his cellar and are caught performing a strange ritual. The neighbors also treat him with caution and are apprehensive to talk to him.

During a visit to his neighbor, he finds out that the house was a scene of a murdered family. Atenton needs to learn more, especially since it appears they are being watched. He researches the murders and find they were committed by a mental patient named Peter Ward. Atenton decides to meet with Ward in the mental hospital and finds that he is no longer there. He now fears that it is Ward that is stalking him and his family. He begins a quest to find Ward.

I saw it because I thought it would be a good ghost story. The movie kept me completely off balance, which is a good thing. The movie went from being a suspense film to a mystery, back to a suspense film and, I think, ended with an actual ghost (but I can’t be sure). I could not stop watching it because nothing was as it seemed and I wanted to find out how it would end. I cannot say what happened because it would spoil the movie but there were several parts that surprised me. I did not care for the ending. I thought it just came out of nowhere and nothing led up to it. It seemed the ending was the writer’s attempt to manufacture a happy ending. Logically, the movie really could not end happily. But the twists made the movie worth watching.

The acting was good. Craig has always been one of my favorite actors and, yes ladies, there is the obligatory shirtless scene. Craig always seems to need to show off those abs. The tense scenes always kept me on edge though there was nothing really new.

The movie was worth watching once but I would not run out and buy the DVD. I give it 3 stars out of 5.