Sharon comes in from the cold

Actress Sharon Stone announced her return from the wilderness at the premiere of a new film by British director Mike Figgis.

In the last two years she has nearly died from a brain haemorrhage and seen her career nose-dive. Her marriage broke up in July, while a long-awaited sequel to Basic Instinct became mired in litigation.

Stone, 45, whose last starring role was opposite Billy Connolly in 2000's Beautiful Joe, returns as a housewife-in-peril in Mike Figgis's Cold Creek Manor.

As the thriller premiered last night in Los Angeles, Stone, in a low-cut black dress, was back in her element on the red carpet in front of a crowd of photographers.

"I thought it would be a good way to get back to work," she said after the premiere. "I've always wanted to work with Mike Figgis. We've known each other for a long time and I think he makes such intriguing movies.

Stone has another film, A Different Loyalty, about the spy Kim Philby, awaiting release and she is about to start filming Catwoman, in which she plays Laurel, the arch-enemy of Halle Berry in the title role. She has also gueststarred in three episodes of the television series The Practice.

Her breakup with husband of five years, Phil Bronstein, had been amicable, she said. They are sharing the custody of their three-year-old son Roan.

"I think things are kind of back in the swing again and maybe I just needed to get away for a while to get some perspective," Stone said. "I look at everything in a very different way now. I don't have wants and desires the way I did before; I have more of a sense of gratitude."

Cold Creek Manor sees Stone star opposite Dennis Quaid, 49. They play a married couple who discover that the dilapidated suburban house they have moved into has some dark secrets.

The film, from Disney's Touchstone Pictures division, may not be the best possible vehicle for Stone's comeback, however. It is billed as "a chilling suspense thriller" but at an early screening in Hollywood, the audience was giggling instead of screaming.