The movie builds atmosphere at the expense of action, buildup at the expense of payoff.
Director Figgis doesn't help matters by keeping his camera continuously in motion, panning left and right, in and out, cutting back and forth, and generally making one seasick. Nor is the music any relief, heavy-handedly underscoring every scene and melodramatically forewarning the audience of every coming event.
When the movie finally comes to its close a la "The Shining," it's amidst a thunder storm more appropriate to a B-grade, fifties' horror flick than a modern psychological thriller. Yet, ironically, the ending develops the only hint of intensity to be found anywhere in the picture. "Cold Creek Manor" is a strange blend of the good, the bad, the ordinary, and the awful.
Video:
Despite a healthy bit rate, the 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic transfer displays a few moiré effects and more than a touch of grain, the latter perhaps inherent to the master print. The image is also a bit soft and blurry and maybe a tad too dark, overall, even for a gloomy mystery like this one. The darkness causes facial tones to appear slightly purplish. On the plus side, outdoor colors in broad daylight are clear and bright, and there are no haloes or pixilated sequences noticeable.
Audio:
The excellence of the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio almost makes up for the mediocrity of the video. There is a plentitude of realistic ambient sounds in the rear channels, noises from cars, birds, winds, rain, plus creaks and moans from the ancient house. The frequency extremes, bass, and dynamics are only average, but the stereo spread and directionality are exemplary. It's a film that's probably more fun to listen to than watch.
Extras:
The disc includes a decent if not very extraordinary assortment of bonuses. The first item is the expected audio commentary with the director, Mike Figgis. The second item is an eight-minute featurette, "Rules of the Genre," wherein director Figgis provides us with some of his ideas about making a psychological thriller. Ironically, he tells us that a good thriller has to have a proper tempo, pacing, surprise, and confrontation, in addition to a quick cut to the chase, none of which I found satisfactory in his film. He also claims a good thriller should never let its audience get ahead of the story, which, of course, happens throughout "Cold Creek Manor." Oh, well. The third item is a seven-minute look at "Cooper's Documentary," the film about the history of Cold Creek Manor and the Massie family that Cooper is putting together within the story. The irony here is that the documentary Cooper is making is mostly cut out of the film. Oh, well, again. The last major bonus item is a series of seven deleted scenes and an alternate ending that, thankfully, were all left out of the final product. Finally, there are a few Sneak Peeks at other Buena Vista movies and games and a meager twelve scene selections. English and French are the spoken languages offered, with Spanish subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Shots:
It seems a mite deceptive of Buena Vista to lead audiences to believe that "Cold Creek Manor" is going to be either a straightforward horror story or a supernatural, haunted-house movie. But what are people to think when they see ads featuring a structure straight out of "The Haunting"? Nevertheless, call it whatever you will, it still doesn't work. The movie builds atmosphere at the expense of action, buildup at the expense of payoff. I have no doubt it will find an audience among viewers who enjoy creepy, campy, old-time fright flicks. But most of "Cold Creek Manor" simply left me cold.
When the movie finally comes to its close a la "The Shining," it's amidst a thunder storm more appropriate to a B-grade, fifties' horror flick than a modern psychological thriller. Yet, ironically, the ending develops the only hint of intensity to be found anywhere in the picture. "Cold Creek Manor" is a strange blend of the good, the bad, the ordinary, and the awful.
Video:
Despite a healthy bit rate, the 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic transfer displays a few moiré effects and more than a touch of grain, the latter perhaps inherent to the master print. The image is also a bit soft and blurry and maybe a tad too dark, overall, even for a gloomy mystery like this one. The darkness causes facial tones to appear slightly purplish. On the plus side, outdoor colors in broad daylight are clear and bright, and there are no haloes or pixilated sequences noticeable.
Audio:
The excellence of the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio almost makes up for the mediocrity of the video. There is a plentitude of realistic ambient sounds in the rear channels, noises from cars, birds, winds, rain, plus creaks and moans from the ancient house. The frequency extremes, bass, and dynamics are only average, but the stereo spread and directionality are exemplary. It's a film that's probably more fun to listen to than watch.
Extras:
The disc includes a decent if not very extraordinary assortment of bonuses. The first item is the expected audio commentary with the director, Mike Figgis. The second item is an eight-minute featurette, "Rules of the Genre," wherein director Figgis provides us with some of his ideas about making a psychological thriller. Ironically, he tells us that a good thriller has to have a proper tempo, pacing, surprise, and confrontation, in addition to a quick cut to the chase, none of which I found satisfactory in his film. He also claims a good thriller should never let its audience get ahead of the story, which, of course, happens throughout "Cold Creek Manor." Oh, well. The third item is a seven-minute look at "Cooper's Documentary," the film about the history of Cold Creek Manor and the Massie family that Cooper is putting together within the story. The irony here is that the documentary Cooper is making is mostly cut out of the film. Oh, well, again. The last major bonus item is a series of seven deleted scenes and an alternate ending that, thankfully, were all left out of the final product. Finally, there are a few Sneak Peeks at other Buena Vista movies and games and a meager twelve scene selections. English and French are the spoken languages offered, with Spanish subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Shots:
It seems a mite deceptive of Buena Vista to lead audiences to believe that "Cold Creek Manor" is going to be either a straightforward horror story or a supernatural, haunted-house movie. But what are people to think when they see ads featuring a structure straight out of "The Haunting"? Nevertheless, call it whatever you will, it still doesn't work. The movie builds atmosphere at the expense of action, buildup at the expense of payoff. I have no doubt it will find an audience among viewers who enjoy creepy, campy, old-time fright flicks. But most of "Cold Creek Manor" simply left me cold.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]11474[/release]