Dir.
Walter Salles, US, 2005, 105 mins
Cast:
Jennifer Connelly, John C Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, Ariel Grade
A mother (Jennifer Connelly) and daughter escape a custody battle by retreating to a run-down apartment building where the ghost of a former resident haunts them.
Just when you thought it was safe to turn on the faucet comes Dark Water, a thriller by Brazilian filmmaker Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries, Central Station) directing Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly in an American remake of a Japanese horror hit from Ringu master Hideo Nakata.
In the canon of recent scary movies of Japanese origin -- or J-horror flicks -- Dark Water is more deeply disturbing than the remake of The Ring or The Grudge .
Dark Water is based on the hit Japanese film Ringu directed by Hideo Nakata, based on a short story by Koji Suzuki, who also wrote the novel The Ring. All the hallmarks are present. Water as a symbol of death. Cold, grey surroundings. A creepy little girl with long, dark hair.
From top to bottom, Dark Water is flawless. Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly and Tim Roth star. Brazil's Walter Salles is the director. Affonso Beato (All About My Mother) is the cinematographer. Long-time David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti composed the score. The themes are dark and so is the visual style.
This team knows how to create mood, one that's inescapably spooky from the start. No big, fast scares here. Just a slow, steady boil.
Dark Water nods to past masterpieces like The Shining and The Sixth Sense as well as the far less effective Hide and Seek with Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning.
Connelly, an Oscar winner for A Beautiful Mind adds weight and realism to a role that could have been just another wide-eyed, shrieking damsel in distress. Every emotion -- from fear to determination -- flashes vividly across her strikingly clear features. Here she plays a mother tormented by her own demons of abandonment in her own childhood, her emotions pulled in all directions as she faces a psychological meeting point between her past and present, what is real or imaginary, and the safety of both her daughter and herself. Ariel Grade, as daughter Ceci, is also superb.
J-horror fans will enjoy Dark Water. For everyone else, there is a palpable sense of suspense as the film reaches its climactic revelations.
Hyan Thiboutot
Dark Water is released on Region 2 DVD on 28th November 2005 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment and contains the following extras:
- Beneath The Surface: The Making of Dark Water
- Beyond The Horror
- An Island Apart
- A Director's Vision
- Mother And Daughter
- Water By Design
- Deep Water
- The Sound Of Terror
- Extraordinary Ensemble
- Deleted Scenes
- Dahlia At The Laundromat
- Ceci and Kyle In The Car
- Analysing Dark Water Sequences
- Blue Robe
- Wall Of Water
- Bathroom Scene (interactive)
- Interactive Bathroom Scene
- Music Only
- Effects Only
- Dialogue Only
- Sound Design Only
- Background/Foley Only
- Play With Audio Commentary
- Alternate Sequence: Wall Of Water
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