Two disappointing thrillers have just been released on DVD, along with a pair of solid PBS documentaries.
"Cold Creek Manor" (Touchstone, 2003; R for violence, sex, nude photos, language, drugs; $29.99). Though the ads for this thriller made it appear to be a haunted-house story, it's really just another psycho-at-large yarn.
Ex-con Stephen Dorff terrorizes Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone, who have moved with their children into his old family home, where a dark secret resides.
Juliette Lewis is Dorff's girlfriend, and Christopher Plummer, as Dorff's father, is cast against type, playing an irascible old coot in a rest home.
But the film isn't scary or thrilling; it's predictable and most of the time, it just sort of lies there.
Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, making-of featurettes, alternate ending, deleted scenes, etc.
"Sightings: Heartland Ghost" (Paramount, 2002; R for sex, nudity, violence, language; $29.99). This TV movie is a ghost story, but not a good one.
Beau Bridges plays a cynical documentary-maker, whose TV show "Sightings" enjoys ferreting out frauds. At a haunted house in Kansas, however, he meets his match, as the family living there contends with the ghost of a young child.
Along for the ride is a psychic (Miguel Ferrer), and Bridges' producer (Nia Long), with whom he has a tentative romance that feels contrived.
As does much of the film.
Extras: Full frame, etc.
"Volcano Above the Clouds" (WGBH, 2003, not rated, $19.95). The title refers to Kilimanjaro, and this is a nice exploration of the "island in the sky," which is Africa's highest peak and the world's tallest volcano.
Shown on PBS's "NOVA" series.
Extras: Widescreen, printable materials for educators, etc.
"Magnetic Storm" (WGBH, 2003, not rated, $19.95). A fascinating journey to the center of the Earth, if you will, this "NOVA" show takes a look at the Earth's molten core.
That core is described as "a violent mix of searing heat, crushing pressure and a billion trillion tons of liquid iron," which creates a magnetic shield that surrounds the planet.
Extras: Widescreen, printable materials for educators, etc.
E-mail: hicks@desnews.com