Cold Creek Manor (2003)

Director:

Mike Figgis

Writer (WGA):

Richard Jefferies (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The perfect house hides the perfect crime.

Plot:

A family relocates from the city to a dilapidated house in the country that was once a grand estate. As they begin to renovate the place they discover their new home harbors secrets, conceals a horrific past, and may not be free of the former inhabitants completely.

Plot Keywords:

Children | Dead Horse | Bare Chested Male | Corpse | Child In Peril

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Cooper Tilson
Sharon Stone	...	Leah Tilson
Stephen Dorff	...	Dale Massie
Juliette Lewis	...	Ruby
Kristen Stewart	...	Kristen Tilson
Ryan Wilson	...	Jesse Tilson
Dana Eskelson	...	Sheriff Ferguson
Christopher Plummer	...	Mr. Massie
Simon Reynolds	...	Ray Pinski
Kathleen Duborg	...	Ellen Pinski
Paula Brancati	...	Stephanie Pinski
Aidan Devine	...	Skip Linton
Wayne Robson	...	Stan Holland
Jordan Pettle	...	Declan
Ray Paisley	...	Dink

Also Known As:

La maison au fond de la baie (Canada: French title)
The Devil's Throat (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA | Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40089) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:12 (cut version) | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Italy:T | Argentina:13 | Germany:16 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Ayr, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Christopher Plummer only spent two days on the set. He was shooting one day, each with Dennis Quaid and Stephen Dorff.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When the Tilson family is moving in the house, as the camera follows them inside the house you can see the shadow of the mic following as well.

Quotes:

Jesse Tilson: Hammerhead will bash your skull and send you to devils throat!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Messengers (2007)

Soundtrack:

American Boy

Standard and Bureaucratic Thriller

The director and producer of documentaries Cooper Tilson (Dennis Quaid) and his wife, the executive Leah Tilson (Sharon Stone) have a stressed life with their two children in New York. After a minor accident with their son Jesse (Ryan Wilson), they decide to move to the country. They find a huge old house with furniture and a large field for a bargain and decide to buy it. They make a garage sale to get rid of the possessions of the former owner, and a couple of days later, Dale Massie (Stephen Dorff) visits them, introducing himself as the previous owner, who lost the house for the bank after being sent to the prison for three years for accidentally killing a man. He asks for a job in the repair team, and Cooper accepts to hire him. The life of the Tilson family changes after the arrival of Dale, and deep secrets about the former family are disclosed.

"Cold Creek Manor" is a Mike Figgis' thriller, having names such as Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Julliete Lewis and Stephen Dorff in the credits; therefore I expected a great movie. Most of the time, I kept saying to myself: "-Surprise me, surprise me". Indeed this film surprised me, in a bad sense: it is nothing but a standard and bureaucratic thriller, full of clichés and incredible situations. For example, who would hire a weird man, former owner of a property and that has just left the jail? Or when Cooper is threatened, why he stays alone in the isolated house, with doors and windows completely open? Or when Leah and Tilson are threatened, why do they look for refugee in the house, climbing to the higher floors, after seeing their car on fire? This movie is a typical commercial product, broadcast on Saturday night by the largest Brazilian open network: shallow, predictable and full of stars. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Garganta do Diabo" ("Devil's Throat")