Product Details

• Actors: David Arquette, Kristen Dalton, Victor Browne, Morissa O'Mara, Alana O'Mara
• Directors: Chris Jaymes
• Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Entertainment One
• DVD Release Date: October 9, 2012
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B008I34ZDE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,606 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

A suburban couple wake up in a nightmare unable to protect themselves from the danger lurking in their own backyard when they rent out their guest cottage to a mysterious romance novelist.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A Silly Straight-To-DVD Endeavor: A Potentially Interesting Story With Sloppy Execution October 5, 2012

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Amazon Instant Video

I like David Arquette and he is certainly the best thing about "The Cottage," but that's about the only endorsement that I can give this low-budget chiller. The story at the heart of this film might have been creepy and provocative had it been explored with any sort of depth, but the end result is more cheesy and comical than scary or disturbing. I love that the DVD cover proudly proclaims that "The Cottage" is "based on a harrowing true story" because the screenplay is about as far from plausible as you can imagine. That still might have been OK if the sordid tale had not taken itself so seriously. With a bit more humor, this might have been redeemed as campy fun. But as is, it's just another "thriller" that is completely dependent on every character making the dumbest choices possible at every moment. And with so little thought to writing identifiable protagonists, I didn't much care what evil fate befell this rather lifeless brood.

"The Cottage" starts with a surreal scene of violence that raises one's initial expectations. But after this brief moment of intrigue, the main story initiates and it will be a LONG while before anything exciting happens again. We are introduced to an ordinary family looking to sublet the guest house in their back yard. Kristen Dalton and Victor Brown are the rather bland parents and their two teenage girls are unnecessarily creepy. One is a rebellious troublemaker and one is a shy do-gooder, but neither seem particularly realistic. Enter Arquette as a potential tenant. He is so over-the-top as the perfect candidate, you know he'll only bring doom and destruction. There is little mystery to his evil intentions (but they aren't explicitly stated) and a shocking revelation will surprise you only if you aren't paying attention or have never watched a movie before. Along the way, the family becomes increasingly suspicious of Arquette but never do anything sensible. Some peripheral characters are introduced only to have more potential victims, but they are handled so sloppily as to be laughable.

When we finally get to the big finale, at least "The Cottage" goes big. It's ridiculous but sometimes amusing. If the rest of the movie had committed to the lunacy of these final scenes, it might have been more entertaining. Not good, necessarily, but more entertaining. Arquette seems to be having a good time, and maybe that's enough. "The Cottage" is one of those movies that you find on cable in the middle of the night and end up watching. For free (or as a cheap rental), it might pass the time. But it is not a movie that would stand up to repeated viewings. At only 88 minutes, the first hour is glacially slow. There's some life at the end, however silly and overwrought, but it's a struggle to get there. KGHarris, 10/12.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not good at all... October 15, 2012

By Katherine A. Schneider

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

--- SPOILERS ---

The amount of times people were captured without a weapon or real threat was unbelievable, if you tried to kidnap me that way you would be dead. Then the husband and daughter go missing, meanwhile the mother keeps calling the cell phones casually asking where they are, she then thinks someone is in the house so decides to walk the house IN THE DARK.. Hmm, two members of my family have gone missing, and I have a crazy tenant, let me turn all the lights off, leave my baby and walk around the house with no weapon. SO UNREALISTIC.

Also you wouldn't leave your baby for a second if you felt under threat, yet the baby was constantly left alone to get kidnapped 3 times, you didn't learn the first time around? Then the car the baby is in which is driven by a teenager with no weapon at 5 miles an hour drives by you, and instead of chasing the car you scream and cry as if it's hopeless, really??

I want my $3.99 back, I want the 2 hours of my life back and I need a new date as mine left after I picked this movie..

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Has the feel of "Hand That Rocks The Cradle". Movie is OK, but worth watching for Arquette, very creepy in this. I say B+. October 10, 2012

By Tony Heck

Format:DVD

"You left the door unlocked you obviously wanted me to come back in." After the tenant that Chloe (Dalton) and Michael have set for their cottage falls through romance novelist Robert (Arquette) answers the ad. After meeting him the family thinks they have the perfect person to move in and are excited. But like most things in life some things are too good to be true. This is true in all genres but I think that casting in horror movies has a lot to do with how creeped out you get watching. I have always wanted to write a "Silence Of The Lambs" type movie starring Roma Downey (from Touched By An Angel), to me that would be creepy just because of who she is. Most people know David Arquette has a comedic actor in movie like "Eight Legged Freaks" and "See Spot Run" which is why he comes off so creepy in this. He gives a very laid back performance and the movie has the same vibe as "Hand That Rocks The Cradle" or "Fear". The movie itself isn't that original and if it weren't for Arquette it would be forgettable, but his performance gives the film the extra dimension it needs to make it genuinely creepy and very watchable. He took the movie from an OK made-for-TV movie to an entertaining movie movie just by who he is. That is hard to do. Overall, an OK movie made much better by the casting of Arquette. I give it a B+.