Review

Ne'er-do-well hick Dorff gets behind on his payments on the family estate, so well-off couple Quaid and Stone, tired of dangerous big-city living, buy the country mansion at auction for a steal. Thus begins an antagonistic relationship between city and country, haves and have-nots, clichés and ... well, more clichés. Figgis and his actors bring some immediacy and tension to some scenes, but many moments feel rote and uninspired. The film is watchable enough for a while, but the promise (at least from the trailer) that the horror has supernatural roots is false, and the "big surprise" turns out to be a big yawn; the climax is as artificial and unsatisfying as these things get, making one wish they'd spent their two hours elsewhere.

 -- Dean C. Galanis