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Author
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Topic: Dark Water (2005)
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Max Einhorn
Film Handler
Posts: 13
From: Middletown, PA, USA
Registered: Sep 2005
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posted 10-02-2005 09:51 AM
What started as a popular film from Japan has spawned an American remake, which is not
nearly as good as the original version. The film is very dull and slow moving, with few
scares, and when they come, all they do is disappoint. It’s a sad thing when a horror film sets
the audience up for a scare and then fails to deliver it and this film continuously falls into the
trap.
Directed by Walter Salles, Dark Water is a remake of a popular Japanese horror flick.
Salles’last film, Motorcycle Diaries, was a very high quality film, but with Dark Water he
seems to let us down. Salles swings for horror and misses, landing just short of suspense.
Dahlia Williams (Jennifer Connelly) is attempting to start a new life with a new job and a new
apartment, attempting to escape a custody fight over her daughter, Ceci (Ariel Gade) with her
husband (Dougray Scott). After moving into an apartment building managed by Mr. Murray
(John C. Reilly,) Dahlia notices a dark spot in Ceci’s room on the ceiling. It is treated as a
minor matter and Mr. Murray blames some teenagers who treat the building as if it was their
skate park. When Dahlia and Ceci get comfortable with their new apartment things take a turn
for the worse. Apparently a one- time resident of the building still lingers upstairs and isn’t
exactly a peaceful neighbor.
Throughout the film it is always either raining or extremely gloomy, an attempt to make up
for the usual scares, which, sorry to say, are few and far between. The film is way to long,
especially since much time is spent preparing the audience for scares that never materialize. By
the third or fourth time this happens you are begging for one.
Jennifer Connelly is a great actress but that is about all the film has going for it. The problem
with today’s horror films is that they are all alike. It seems that almost every horror film since
A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday The 13th has told the same old, recycled story. It is
almost always involves a ruthless force that targets a group of people all whom are most likely
under thirty. The kids run, the thing follows, all but two or three people live, the force goes
up in flames or is never seen again. Dark Water is just another version of this familiar story.
Recycled stories like this don’t usually get the same reaction from the audience that they
originally did. It is just simply a matter that it’s already been done and that’s all there is to it.
Another good example of this is the film Cursed (which I hated), which was about a brother
and sister who are attacked by a werewolf. This idea has been done before and done better in
films like American Werewolf In London, The Wolfman, Dog Soldiers, Underworld, and Dark
Shadows. Audiences and critics alike want new ideas.
In Dark Water, Connelly’s acting stands out above all else in the film, and for her first horror
flick, she isn’t bad, but the film is. To keep her reputation, she should overlook horror and
find something that meshes better with her acting. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material,
frightening sequences, disturbing images and brief language. Running Time 1 hr and 51
minutes.
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