User Reviews

"Where Sleeping Dogs Lie" would have been a much better film had the director and writer tightened the screen play in which it's based. Charles Finch, the director, and Yolanda Turner, the writer, tried to put some life into the film with mixed results.

The story of Bruce, a writer that is house sitting a mansion that has seen better days, offers a lot of possibilities. Bruce made the discovery about a murder that has taken place in the house. To make matters worse, he agrees into taking a lodger, the creepy Eddie Hale. The viewer realizes right away where the story is going. The result is an uneven movie that has some good elements and with another creative team it might have been more interesting.

Dylan McDermott is Bruce, the writer. Tom Sizemore has more opportunity playing the strange Eddie Hale, who is the key to the mystery surrounding the mansion and what happened in it years ago. Sharon Stone is seen as a literary agent that wants to dare Bruce into producing a masterpiece.

"Where Sleeping Dogs Lie" is a curiosity piece that is mildly engrossing.

WHERE SLEEPING DOGS LIE is one of the least well known of the psycho thrillers that filled cinema screens in the early 1990s. The reasons for this obscurity become obvious when you start watching, because this is poor stuff indeed; it commits the cardinal sin of a thriller in that it's thoroughly boring, with hardly any incident or indeed mystery to keep it going.

The story is about a young writer (AMERICAN HORROR STORY's Dylan McDermott) who moves into a supposedly haunted old mansion and befriends a drifter (Tom Sizemore) who comes to stay. Sizemore can usually be relied upon to deliver interesting performances, and indeed is the most interesting thing about this movie, but sadly the calibre of the writing is so poor that this is near-unwatchable for the most part.

In an attempt to capitalise on current trends and popularity, Sharon Stone (BASIC INSTINCT) appears in the rather extraneous role of the writer's literary agent, although her appearance only serves to add some minor titillation and lots of dull, talky scenes which pad out this never-ending thriller that lacks both thrills and suspense.

I was left waiting, and waiting... and waiting. "Where Sleepig Dogs Lie" is a sleepy, and cold-hearted psychological thriller with a lot converstational pieces and reflective posturing which doesn't go anywhere with it all. Dylan McDermott plays a struggling writer Bruce Simmons who moonlights as a real estate agent to earn some cash, yet he moves into the house he's meant to be selling after finding himself homeless. There he accidently uncovers the house's dark history - the previous tennants were brutally slaughtered by a murderer who was never caught. So there becomes the basis of his next novel... without realising what he's really getting into. Also a stranger (Tom Sizemore) arrives on the scene asking if he could rent out a room, and Bruce obliges. However in doing so, he might dig up a past best left alone.

So the premise had me hooked, just the execution left me lukewarm. The thing is, it was predictable and you could see the twists in the story coming. So you're just waiting for the thrills and spills to make up for its uneventul progression, but they never eventuate in spite of the dangerous predictament evolving. Which makes it rather boring because you're waiting for McDermott's character to figure it out and when he eventully does (takes him long enough) you'll think suspense would be at boiling point, yet its simply flatlines and rushes through its anticlimax.

It's disappointing, because I liked Sizemore's jittery performance. He grows particularly unnerving as film goes along, and it really does faulter when he isn't on screen becuase he is the most fascinating character. Forseeable traits, yet the chemistry between McDermott and Sizemore's characters is what the plot hangs off. Details upon details lead to uncomfortable and factured truths, and two minds are presumably after one end. Its just can you live with the consequences. And the final few minutes paint it perfectly. It's just the journey to that point was too straightforward that it lacked the ups and downs to keep me fully invested.

There are three reasons to watch, and enjoy, this film... Sizemore, Sizemore and Sizemore.

Dylan McDermott is alright and all, beefcake does nothing for me. A dozen guys could've played this part. A half dozen would've made something of it. Sharon Stone... anyone could have played her part, and she acted as if she was proving just that. She looked good doing it, no surprise. A little slow moving and the plot is very predictable but a nice ending semi-twist.

It is Tom Sizemore's performance that makes this film worth watching. I always liked this guy but he does a good-to-great weirdo in this movie.

7 out of 10... Too generous?? To each his own.

There's no reason to watch this unless you're in love with Dylan McDermott.

Dylan plays a down on his luck writer, who is given a house to sell. It is a large spooky Spanish mansion. Since he is so down on his luck he doesn't even have a car with a roof on it to sleep in, he moves into the mansion.

Apparently a very brutal bloody murder has taken place in this mansion.

Shortly after he moves in, another man shows up wanting to rent a room. This oddball goes by the name of Eddie and says he works at a supermarket.

So here you have two nutty fruit loops in an old spooky mansion. It comes to nothing.

Sharon Stone puts in an appearance as Bruce's beautiful agent-- for all her role contributes to the film she might as well have not been there.

The ending is as anticlimactic as the rest of the movie.

One star.

Most will find this movie slow and sluggish. There really is not a lot of action, but plenty of dialogue and suspense. An out of work writer (Dylan McDermott)house sits a vacant mansion, where he decides to write a book about the wealthy family that was murdered there. His agent and former lover(Sharon Stone) tries to shame him into submitting a masterpiece novel for publication. The stalker/murderer who slaughtered the family arrives and ends up helping McDermott write in detail.

My favorite scene is where the tantalizing Miss Stone lifts herself up out of the swimming pool to smooch McDermott. A second viewing will help you make sense of this dark drama.

The script telegraphs all of its "surprises", the direction is strictly by-the-numbers and Dylan McDermott is a bland lead. There are only two noteworthy elements in this movie: the dangerous, edgy intensity Tom Sizemore brings to his role, and a couple of steamy moments provided by Sharon Stone, who was then at her best-looking phase; at one point she actually says to McDermott: "Don't fret, you 'll get the check in a week and you can have me now". Now that's what I call a GOOD DEAL. (**)

A struggling writer moves into an abandoned mansion and discovers

it's gruesome history.

Starring Dylan McDermott and Tom Sizemore and Sharon Stone.

Written by Yolande Turner and Charles Finch. Directed by Charles Finch.

This is like a soft porn film where somebody has taken all the soft porn out and left us with a pile of dodgy acting, terrible backing music and poor production.

The ending is obvious after about 20 minutes and the only good thing about this movie is one scene where Sharon Stone gets out of a swimming pool! This is atmospheric and creepy but sadly lacking in any excitement or production values. And the least that can be said about the cardboard extras at the end, the better.

4/10

A compete and utter snoozefest. Reminded me of a dozen similar but better- executed movies from the 80s to early 90s. The lack of action did not portend suspense. It just lulled me to sleep.

My scale:

1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre"

6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again

7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons

8- Very Good. Would watch again and recommend to others

9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings

10 - A Classic (6 of 430 movies have received this)

Sure, it's slow on action, but what atmosphere! I really enjoyed this movie the first time around, when I wasn't really paying attention, so I watched it a couple more times on cable. This was the first movie where I had really seen Tom Sizemore and known who he was, and he was absolutely chilling. I thought the interplay between Sizemore's menacing character and McDermott's kind of confused, innocent character was a lot of fun. Poor Dylan. He had no idea what he was getting into when he let that guy into his house, did he? I think the Sharon Stone sequences looked kind of tacked on - not that she didn't brighten up the screen - and I agree with other comments that the plot could have been tightened up, but overall I find it a haunting, very entertaining movie that should have gotten a lot more attention than it did at the time of its release. It didn't show up on cable until several years later. I liked it so much I picked up a copy on eBay and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes creepy suspense films.

Why is it that Hollywood has this intense hatred for Christians? Why is it that so many films involving sick, murder stories have some imagery of Christian symbols and Christian verbiage in them? You don't see these films using the Star of David or Rabbi's or Jewish imagery. Or, you don't see even Muslim symbols and lines from the Koran. Why is it OK to attack Christians like this? It's utterly disgusting that Hollywood attacks Christianity on a constant basis and makes that religion a target of the most vile things that the movie studios can concoct.

We need to let Hollywood know that it's not OK to do this.

Regardless, this film was boring and stupid. You don't care about any the characters and just can't wait until it's over. Don't waste your time.

This movie should have been great.

The acting is great. The locations are excellent, as is the photography, editing and so forth.

The premise is clever, the opening scenes of the script intriguing, and the actions of the characters logical given the circumstances. A few scenes are riveting, and the sequence of events, at least for the first half of the movie, captures your attention completely.

My feeling is that the film was cut, to the point where we are left with only the basic storyboard. The ending is questionable, probably because there are missing pieces of information.

Hopefully, the whole film was shot, and someone will go back and re-edit the final version someday. Or perhaps I am filling in a script that was not revised enough - who knows? But my gut feeling is that this film could have been quite extraordinary.

This movie was a, weekend nothing to do, can't get out of the house pick for me, so I watched it hoping it would be suspenseful, but I was wrong. It does have a nice shot of California's beautiful coastal highway, but in the end , I was just confused 😕.

This is a film that has you thinking about it later on for a few days. You can't seem to get it out of your mind. I found it absolutely enjoyable. The storyline and the acting is terrific. Suspenseful and intoxicating.

This movie is about a writer who moves into an old house to write a novel. He is played Dylan McDermott(Three To Tango). During the movie, he accidently invites the killer of a family to live with him. Eventually he goes crazy and gets himself some help. You can see Sharon Stone in this movie a agent of a the writer!!So once again , great cast!!Pathetic story!!If you like Dylan, you can see him shirtless in the beginning!!!Tom Sizemore(Bringing Out the Dead) also co-stars in this movie!!

The plot's "set up" has promise but is developed in such a pedestrian manner that it never "takes off" and never surprises us the way we want it to. However, Dylan McDermott at one point descends a curving staircase, still damp from his shower, wearing nothing but a towel tied around his waist. Aside from his shirtless appearance a few years later in "Destiny Turns on the Radio," this is probably Dylan's best "beefcake" moment and, though brief, is definitely worth savoring.

First of all, not even the title is good. I think this film would have been good if there was more of a definate plot to it. Within 25 or so odd minutes, you already get the gist of whats going to happen! It's a total "cop-out"! The only good part of this flick, was Dylan McDermott. Not only was he really believable, he brought a certain charm to the role. (The looks did help though) *smiles* One thing he (Dylan) does well in this, is scream. I mean scream at the top of his lungs, till hes purple in the face..it was heart stopping, in other words awesome. Another thing he does well, hes got a great mouth to swear with, it just sounds better. Is that weird? Anyway, see for yourself, if only to see McDermott!

My review was written in November 1991 after watching the movie at a Manhattan screening room.

A clash of two dissimilar personalities is examined with mixed success in the thriller "Where Sleeping Dogs Lie". Restrained approach compared to recent films like "Cape Fear" spells modest box office success.

Dylan McDermott portrays an unsuccessful writer in Hollywood who's frustrated by the commercial need to write blood-and-guts stories. His agent Sharon Stone puts on the pressure and he decides to write a detailed novel about a mass killer.

McDermott has just been evicted from his flat and moves into the creepy old mansion his day job real estate boss (Ron Karaatsos) has ordered him to sell. Gimmick is that he uses the house for inspiration, basing his novel on a notorious murder case that took place there.

Before the film can turn into a haunted house suspenser, Tom Sizemore shows up as a twitchy boarder. McDermott is mean to him, flauntging an air of superiority, but before long the tables are turned.

Director Charles Finch (son of the late actor Peter Finch) and his mother, co-scripter Yolande Turner, get good mileage from the insidious relationship of the Joseph Losey/Harold Pinter classic "The Servant".

Film requires a great deal of audience willingness to go along with several far-fetched plot twists notably in McDermott's character. However, both leads' good acting makes it worth the effort, leadking to its unsettling ending.

McDermott is properly macho and overbearing in the interesting departure from his previou straight-arrow roles ("The Blue Iguana", "Hardware"). Sizemore makes a strong impression as the unctuous worm who turns.

Stone ("Basic Instinct") is perfect in a small role as the bitchy agent. Est of the cat has a mere walk-on in a film that reportedly was heavily trimmed to reach its current release version. Result Is a vignette structure with little continuity between individual scenes.

Hans Zimmer and Mark Mancina's melodramatic score does a great job of setting and maintaining the creepy atmosphere.