In capitalism some people do well, while some people do poorly, just like the protagonist of Where Sleeping Dogs Lie, 1991 thriller directed by Charles Finch. Bruce Simmons (played by Dylan McDermott) is a writer who earns his living by working as a real estate agent. The business is getting slow lately and his boss gives him the last chance to keep the job - he must sell one luxurious house nobody wants because of the unsolved crime that had claimed the life of previous owner and his family. Simmons uses this opportunity to move into the house and starts writing his next book while waiting for buyers that may never come. In the meantime, he tries to put food on the table by renting rooms in the house. His first customer is Eddie Hale (played by Tom Sizemore), unusual character that might be connected with the house's tragic past.
Where Sleeping Dogs Lie was made with little budget, but it nevertheless had a lot of opportunities to be interesting, unconvential and deeply disturbing thriller. The acting team also looked promising - Dylan McDermott was perfect for the role of intellectual, and Sizemore is always reliable in the roles of psychopaths. Unfortunately, film as a whole fails to live to its potential. The pace of the film is too slow and the ending is extremely disappointing. Another problem is Sharon Stone being terribly miscast as Simmons' literary agent (and whose face appears on movie posters probably due to the great success of Basic Instinct being made in the same year). Because of that, Where Sleeping Dogs Lie looks a lot cheaper than it should have been, thus reminding viewers that there are plenty of much better and more watchable thrillers out there.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on August 5th 2002)
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Critic: A
