For all its technical prowess, it can't shake the feeling that we've seen this all before... and that it was probably better the first time.
Comment
03/11/04
Secret Window (2004)
46
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:155
Fresh:72
Rotten:83
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Depp is quirkily entertaining, but the movie runs out of steam by the end.
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on a Stephen King novella, the psychological thriller SECRET WINDOW is reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock film. Eccentric author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) finds his life spiraling out of... [More]
Starring: Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Charles S. Dutton
Director: David Koepp
Reviews for Secret Window
Blandly staged and simply told.
03/11/04
Pitched between horror and comedy, Secret Window turns out to be neither terribly scary nor especially funny.
03/11/04
Top CriticThe secret becomes obvious early in the film...so thankfully there's one thing even more crucial to the movie: Johnny Depp.
03/11/04
Will appeal to...horror fans who prefer an ending that truly sinks its teeth into the story and concludes it with a crisp, satisfying crunch.
03/11/04
Even if you do figure out what's ahead, the movie's stylish execution rewards you for your cunning.
03/11/04
Depp putters around in one of his wife's old bathrobes, allowing clues to fall out of the pockets like crumpled used tissues, which is exactly what they and the movie most resemble.
03/11/04
Not scary, not suspenseful, not complex, not atmospheric.
03/11/04
We're asked to believe that John Shooter [Tuturro] is a creative writer...yeah, and I'm a nuclear physicist.
03/11/04
Secret Window is an intense thriller, adapted from a novella by Stephen King, that presents a rounded anatomy of resentment and anger.
03/11/04
With Depp in the lead, Secret Window never quite slips into mediocrity, but it's not destined to be remembered among King's finest efforts, either.
03/11/04
Familiar as it is, Secret Window is fun because writer/director David Koepp is so adept at smoothing over the cut-and-paste marks with off-kilter humor and believable human behavior.
03/11/04
[Depp] does make the experience far more watchable than it ought to be...with his eccentric, outwardly violent manifestations of his inner turmoil
03/11/04
Fosters resentment by tricking you into thinking it's going somewhere much cleverer than it actually does.
03/11/04
It provides no thrills, no remotely sympathetic characters and -- despite a tortuous plot that goes to great lengths to trick the audience -- no surprises.
03/11/04
Bloody, bone-chilling fun.
03/11/04
Taken within its genre, it's a terrifically fun ride.
03/11/04
Hitchcock would have loved it.
03/11/04
The ultimate test of one's tolerance for King's self-aggrandizing postulations about writer's block, obsessive fans and the potentially frightening manifestations of the writer's id.
03/11/04
Click to read the article
03/11/04
Latest News for Secret Window
July 06, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Dead Man's Chest" Is Overstuffed; "Scanner" Shines Darkly
This week at the movies, we've got pirates back for more box office bounty ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest") and a journey to the center of the mind... More...
March 07, 2006:
Spielberg Puts Koepp to Work on "Indy 4"
During his Oscar coverage, Fox's Roger Friedman got to share a few words with director Steven Spielberg, and the bullet points seem to be these: 1) the filmmaker wants to take... More...
April 13, 2005:
Timothy Hutton to Explore "The Kovak Box"
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds