Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-24 09:27:13

Tremendously Powerful Meeting Of Fear And Love, Drama And Darkness

This is probably the best thriller movie I've ever seen. Did everyone see the same movie that I did?Because I LOVE this one!

jonathanblack 2012-05-24 07:12:35

Utter Rubbish!

Utter Rubbish! The film is an hour and so of absolute boredom, nothingat all happens in the film to keep you gripped. bad story, and badacting. the first hour and half just drags and the last 10 minutes isjust pathetic, the film seems rushed. it is yet another failure of aremake just like the ring. it isn't one bit scary like the ring, and iwould like to know when all these Japanese horrors are going to bestopped from being remade, they're getting worse, the ring and thegrudge were bad enough until this came along. i don't know why its beenrated so 'high' it deserves to be in the bottom 100 along side thoseother terrible remakes. i advise you to miss this film as you too willsurely get bored and expect your money back.

ozjeppe 2012-05-17 22:00:07

Unnerving and creepy, with a heartfelt center.

Nope, haven't seen the original of this urban horror thriller about amother & daughter moving into a seemingly haunted NYC flat, in themiddle of a custody battle... But it's certainly unnerving and creepy,with a heartfelt center, and develops into a more psychologicallyintriguing and challenging ride than I expected. Connelly is solidlyconvincing as well.The setting itself of the hellish apartment block, immersed in seedy,tinted cinematography adds considerably to the mood. Too bad theyneeded another "as we thought everything was all over... boo!!"-ending,and Postlethwaith feels quite awkward.6 out of 10 from Ozjeppe

J Biz 2012-05-17 16:39:42

Not scary and not worth ridiculous ticket prices, but a good experience

While the Japanese version is very good and scary as well, the Americanversion is quite different. The movie was adapted into a dramatic filmwith more of a focus on the mother instead of her daughter. Also, theghost in this film does not really "haunt" in the traditional sense ofhaunting. If you like Jennifer Connelley, I recommend it. However, Ilike Jennifer Connelley and I was still a little bit disappointed bythis film. It may be a good "renting" movie since it has an interestingstory and has excellent acting from everyone in the film, but no more.Just keep in mind that it is more of a psychological drama. If you wantto be scared and have a more exciting experience, see the originalJapanese version. Or see The Ring again.I give this 3/5 for heartwarming story and great acting.

Alex James 2012-05-13 14:06:36

Excellent film!

A brilliant film, with an absorbing storyline. The characters wereplayed well, I recognised the lead actress (Jennifer Connelly) from'The Labrynth' made 15 years ago! Perhaps a better ending would've beenConnelly's daughter dying (instead of Connelly) and the police thinkingit was the mother who did it, but in fact it was Natasha... This wouldraise questions such-as: Maybe Natasha was a figment of Connelly'simagination, not her daughter's. The lawyer would then try and figureout what happened, perhaps the ghost of Natasha really did do it, andConnelly got the blame... Still an interesting and absorbing film, witha good performance from Jennifer Connely and supporting actors. One towatch.

2012-05-13 09:16:32

A depressing situation ain't scary, just depressing

I found this film to be more depressing than scary. The bulk of it seems focused on the soul numbing daily problems faced by a recently divorced young mother. I wish to forget the "rat-race" part of life when I am in that darkened dream arena, not be plunged eyeball deep in another's. For the most part, whatever few scares there are can easily be explained by natural causes, provided by the film's storyline. The music and overloud/overdramatic sound effects try desperately to drum up the suspense...but grow tiresome when there are no payoffs in the story. It's got a group of good actors that need a story with an arc that includes tension and release, ups and downs of human emotions, scenes that instill dread and suspense...drama. Not unrelenting depressing existence.

Sam Curtis 2012-05-04 12:31:32

good film but not horror

when I saw the ads for this film my thoughts were along the lines of"jesus Christ, stop with the Japanese horror remakes". As someone whowatched ring before any of this palava kicked up whereby now creepywhite kids are a staple part of any horror film I am sick to the teethof them.Prior to seeing this I had just seen the descent, a superb Britishhorror film, and somewhat had my faith restored in the genre. Thereally clincher was the fact that Waler Salles directed this and Ireally enjoyed the motorcycle diaries. I believe that you can see histouch throughout the film and are probably more likely to enjoy this ifyou've seen his previous work because you know what your getting.This is a classy drama film with tints of horror laden through it.Every time Connelly looks into the mirror (and believe me she does it alot) your waiting for the creature to appear behind her. You areconstantly waiting for that jump. The air of tension is maintained welland I the ghost itself is of a relationship between a mother and adaughter and that is essentially what this film is about. I wasdisappointed to see so many negative comments about this film because Iactually believe its the fault of the marketing campaign that peoplewill be let down. As a 20 something male I know nothing about therelationship between mother and daughter yet I really felt for thecharacters (the cast give beautiful performances a beauty mirrored inits direction) and it was handled delicately and thoughtfully. Not onlythis but it never gave in to the audience expectation of seeing thatghostly little kid or at least not in the way you expect it.A beautiful drama about motherhood, if thats what you want to see, seethis.

2012-05-04 03:11:54

Man, that apartment is almost as bad as mine...

'Dark Water' is most notable simply because it actually defies expectations to some degree. Make no mistake, it's definitely another modern ghost movie, but it takes a more character driven and more purely dramatic approach, so much so that up until the very latest portions of the film the supernatural aspects are almost a subplot. The film is actually primarily character driven, focusing on the central Dahlia character and her daughter most of all, but still leaving plenty of room for the various minor characters. Honestly, from a purely practical standpoint, we don't need to know these people as well as we come to, but this, along with the slow plotting of the film, helps generate a greater sense of reality and an overall expansiveness. I don't think this formula would work if it were repeated, horror films simply need to be more horrific then this as a whole, but for a lone attempt it's a fairly different, quite effective experience.'Dark Water' is a remake of a Hideo Nakata film from 2002. This strikes me as a peculiar film to rework, as it is a fairly effective but ultimately unremarkable film. Also, the original 'Dark Water' has cash-in written all over it: It's a 'Ringu' rehash directed by the maker of said film, based on a short story by Koji Suzuki, who wrote the original novel on which 'Ringu' is based. Of course, the remake has got cash-in written all over it too, as well as the mark of the various `Ring' films: Roughly 1/3 of the plot of this film is simply recycled from `Ring/Ringu' while the American `Ring Two' (also directed by Nakata) lifted about a third of `Dark Water's plot. (And, perhaps more significantly they have most of the same themes and motifs i.e. Girl-ghosts, water, motherhood etc.) Still, `Dark Water' manages to seem far less reiterative simply by reworking the focus, downplaying the supernatural and emphasizing the human. The film opens with a meeting between Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) and her soon to be ex husband Kyle (Dougray Scott). It's hard to think of any divorce being to pleasant, but things are obviously bound to get prett tough here. This separation means that Dahlia needs to find a new home, and shortly after this meeting she and her 6 year old daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade) move into a nasty, ultra-bland and rundown apartment complex on Roosevelt Island. (My brother said this place reminded him of the Soviet built apartments he'd seen in Russia and you can totally imagine that; it's designed to be purely functional and not aesthetically pleasing, though it frankly is something of a failure in the former respect as well.) This place has got a load of problems, the most disturbing one being the dark, viscous looking water leaking from the ceiling, and strange sound emanate from the supposedly empty apartment above.The film essentially follows the day to day life of Dahlia and Ceci, as things get increasingly weird and difficult: Ceci soon acquires an imaginary friend whom she vehemently insists is real; Dahlia, who has an ill-defined history of mental illness, begins to have disturbing dreams and to hear distant voices; the divorce grows increasingly hostile and Dahlia suspects Kyle is trying to maker her look paranoid, all while the apartment continues to fall apart around them. This all eventually comes to a head, but not until the final half hour, and I'm sure plenty of people will lose patience with it. It kept me interested, though, through the fine performances and stylish direction. Jennifer Connelly is the center of the film, and she does a fine job. Salles wisely refuses to turn her into a saint, allowing her to be fairly flawed and human, and ultimately more sympathetic. Ariel Gade is your typical cute Hollywood kid, but what can I say, she's legitimately cute and the bonding scenes between her and Connelly seem very real. There are also three fine supporting roles from Pete Postelthwaite, John C. Reilly and Tim Roth. Reilly is the best of them as the total sleaze ball owner of the complex. He spends the whole film endlessly praising the wretched apartments and dodging Dahlia's complaints. I couldn't help but like him a little; sure he's slime, but it's his job and he's good at it. Pete Postelthwaite plays his standard role, the funny-looking foreigner. He's Veeck, the apartment caretaker something, and Postelthwaite makes him a more interesting character than he has any right to be. Tim Roth is perhaps the most inexplicable of all of them as Dahlia's lawyer Jeff Platzer. He takes an odd personal interest in Dahlia's life, yet lies to her constantly for no apparent reason. One can't help but suspect that he has a romantic in her (I mean who wouldn't, ehh [nudgenudge].... even if she is crazy, so what....) but this doesn't go anywhere. Anyway, this film is a real testament to how committed acting can bring life and significance to minor roles.This is an extraordinarily depressing looking film, filled with perpetual rain and a color palette extending from dirty brown to rust red. Roosevelt island is just such a great locale as it is a total industrial wasteland. It's a block from `Eraserhead' somehow made real. The film is shot fairly elegantly, though the camerawork and staging are generally fairly unobtrusive. One major exception to this rule are the dream sequences, which have a bit of flair and choppy editing, alongside some neat effects, like melting walls and whatnot. Again, the ghostly stuff is fairly by the book, but it's sharply executed. The climax is somewhat underwhelming but perhaps this is appropriate considering the low-key flavor of the film. The denouemont is too heavy handed, but it's not that big of deal. Anyway, this is a fairly interesting, well-executed movie. It's not liable to blow you away, but it's interesting and immersive. Definitely worth a look if you're into this kinda thing.Grade: B

2012-04-26 19:15:09

Insanity or Horror?

Dark Water isn't necessarily a horror film involving supernaturalevents. It could simply be the tale of a crazy woman whose mother wascrazy, and whose daughter is also crazy. Think about that while you'rewatching it.A ghost doesn't kill Dahlia in the end, she commits suicide. Same asher mother did. And her daughter is still talking to an "imaginaryfriend." They're nuts, no ghosts involved.Another good "parallel theme" film is Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall."You never know if Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is experiencing hisvirtual spy vacation or really saving Mars from destruction. I found "Dark Water" to be much less subtle about the parallel themes.References to Dahlia's state of mental health are made almostconstantly throughout the film.

David Koston 2012-04-26 02:15:19

This movie smelled like Dark Water.

I don't even know how to begin to express my disappointment with thismovie. To simply call it bad would be insulting to things that aremerely bad. As promised, it was a dark and brooding tale, laced withsuspense, but the suspense doesn't seem to lead anywhere. I kept hopingthat it would get better, but alas, the good moments in the film werevery few and far between. John C. Reilly portrayed the scuzzy landlordbeautifully, and Pete Postlethwaite was excellent as the grumpybuilding super. Both are almost caricatures of the characters theyportray, but the moments when they are on screen together are some ofthe best in the entire movie. Tim Roth also did a wonderful job asJennifer Connely's shyster lawyer. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to getenough screen time to fully develop his character and his somewhatquirky mannerisms. Other than those three, there weren't many redeemingmoments.*****SPOILER ALERT***** If The Ring was based on the Japanese film,Ringu, then this movie was based on the film that ripped off Ringu. Thebig gotcha moment? There's a body of a dead girl in a water tank! Soundfamiliar? But wait! There's more! You'd think that the troubles of thepoor single mom who stumbles into this nightmare would be over when shediscovers the body, wouldn't you? No, they still have another little"twist" for you. I won't totally spoil it for anybody that wants towaste their time and/or money on this movie, I'll just say this: If youwant to see a beautifully made suspense film, watch The Birds.

ana_lel 2012-04-23 16:14:48

A really strong ghost-story film...

Projects, poverty, struggling mother and daughter, a nice father (asparadox as it may sounds!), a peculiar lawyer, a water tank, a HELLOKITTY bag, Russians (!? - no offence here!) and of course the littlegirl who is missing!!! Dark water, dark film!!! The only thing thatkind of bugged me was this, the extended use of dark colours, by dark Idon't mean simple dark colours, I mean the 'dirt' like colours.Especially the scenes in the bathrooms... they seemed filthy, factfreaky enough for my personality! Although I consider it to be a worthyto watch film there is no comparison that can be established betweenthis ghost story and films like the Ring and Ju-On:The Grudge (theJapanese version!!!) This film has met my expectations, the ending wasas expected. This film does not introduce anything to its viewershowever I enjoyed it!

CyMaddux 2012-04-23 03:29:54

WasteWater

Nothing new here, another aimless attempt at a thriller with Connellyfor star power and a paper-thin storyline. Many of the elements aremimiced from movies such as the Grudge, The others, and cold creekmanor. I'm surprised that Connelly took this role after winning anAcademy Award- this just isn't the type of movie that builds a career,rather its one that tears it apart. Connelly really doesn't shine, oreven impress as her role as a single mother who daintily scampersaround an apartment building having encounters with ghosts. The littlegirl does a decent job, but cannot carry the movie alone, especiallywith such a weak script. The secondary characters are VERY weak and addnothing to the story. I'm giving a 4/10 and thats pretty generous, Idid enjoy some of the backdrops of the scenery, and the little girl didan adequate job for what she was given. 4/10

DICK STEEL 2012-04-20 19:41:40

A Nutshell Review: Dark Water

I've haven't been much of a fan of the recent wave of popular Asianhorror films, and haven't really paid much attention to the Hollywoodremakes either. That is until Jennifer Connelly compelled me to take adip into Dark Water.Connelly stars as Dahlia, who's in a custody battle with her estrangedhusband (Dougray Scott) for their daughter Cecilia (Ariel Gade). Motherand daughter settle for a new run-down apartment, and experiencestrange leaks from the unit above. However, nobody occupies that unit,and soon Dahlia is drawn into the mysterious disappearance of itsoccupants.At times, this movie plays like the recent Robert DeNiro-Dakota Fanningmovie Hide and Seek, with little subplots like imaginary friends, andthe parent having some psychological problems. However, these subplotsare never fully explored, leading to an ending which somehow leaves youwith this empty feeling that more could and should have been touchedon. Obviously, there are red-herrings thrown in, but there isabsolutely no scary moment in which you'll jump right off your seat.This film though, is all about Mother's Love, and the longing for it.Many scenes in the movie make you go awww, drawing into your ownexperience of your mummy's concern for your welfare. The things that amother would do to protect her child and keep her safe from harm, arealways admirable.There are notable actors in this movie - John C Reilly, Tim Roth,Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, but they are relativelyunder-utilized, which is a pity. There is also a lack of a strongsoundtrack to punctuate the right atmosphere in a horror movie.Since I haven't watched the original, I couldn't compare it for you.However, as a horror film, Dark Water didn't cut it, as it seemed morelike a thriller/whodunnit/mystery with some mild supernatural elementsthrown in. Perhaps it's just me, but perhaps Hollywood still doesn'thave a knack in transplanting or capturing horrific elements from theoriginal.

robknoop 2012-04-20 14:43:16

better than the Ring.

Dark Water was so much better than the Ring as it "made sense". Yes Inoit's a ghost story. But it was spooky, very suspenseful and withoutgore. and The camera work and direction was excellent, as you felt like you werepeaking around corners and into rooms you weren't suppose too. You knewsomething was coming, but were still jolted to see it. The writing isgood as no words were wasted and all characters were complex andinteresting.SPOILERIn the "Ring" there was no logical reason why the little girl soughtrevenge on so many strangers, yet the little girl's ghost had a reason,not to spend the after-life alone. She either wanted a friend, or amother.I believe the hype that Dark Water was just like the Ring, cooled thebox office. Also, maybe another title would of done better with astronger message, something more urgent like to stress it's genre:"Where's My Mommy?" "Life for Rent"

2012-04-19 23:22:32

Hydro-Phobia...

My main reason for watching DARK WATER was the presence of the amazing Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth, Phenomena, Dark City, Requiem For A Dream). She has a beauty and innocence that I find captivating. As Dahlia Williams, Ms. Connelly has this same charming quality, while going through a living hell. Dahlia is being assaulted on three separate levels. She is haunted by the terrible memories of her childhood, dogged by the insanity of her current, ugly divorce, and plagued by the ghostly happenings in her apartment building. Dahlia and her daughter, Cecelia are in the middle of a black storm of overwhelming forces. A combination that would drive most souls to despair, most minds to break down. Watching this poor woman go through this ordeal is downright depressing, yet Connelly plays it w/ her usual grace. DARK WATER is a supernatural mystery. Beyond that, it is a story about the undying love of one mother for her daughter in the face of abandonment, desolation, and mounting terror. I watched it twice, and liked it more the second time around...

Lady 2012-04-19 18:16:09

More of a Drama than a Horror movie

Needless to say, when you go into this movie, you expect a good horrormovie. Well, prepared to be deceived. Dark Water has much more of atragedy than a horror...The story revolves around Cecila (Cecy) and her mother, Dahila. Dahila,is a mother who recently is just divorced, fighting over her daughterfrom her ex-husband. She moves to a lesser part of town where there isa school and an apartment complex. The movie focuses much of its energyon their apartment building and that god-forsaken leek in the bedroom.This remake isn't as good as "The Ring", and nor does it really screwwith you like that movie.The plus about this movie...it has more of a story than "pop out andscare you" and it has more of a deeper connection towards anyone whocan really associate with Dahila and Ceclia's situation. The charactersare certainly not perfect, they have their greater flaws. For instance,Dahila tends to be a little spineless...and never really takes chargeof the situation. The lawyer she hires to get full custody of herdaughter is a charming character. He has is office in his car. Heexplains that he's moving to another office, but whether this is trueor not can be arguable. He reminds me of my former lawyer too.The drawback of this movie it takes forever to progress to the actualclimax. The story can also be a double-edged sword the way theymarketed this movie as a very scary movie, using "The Author of TheRing" to their full extent. People looking for a movie similar to "TheRing" are going to be disappointed. The slow, melodramatic approachwill bore people after a while and it nearly put my friend to sleep inthe set right next to me. Needless to say, I was disappointed,wondering who and what was the ghost causing all the problems with thewater. Surprise, its just a little girl...a normal looking girl...whowas abandoned by her parents...a la Dahila. The movie leaves off at aweird note that has you questioning "WTF JUST HAPPENED?!".Personally, I did like this movie. I liked it because it was more thana horror movie, it had an actual story. The acting was very good. Thelittle 8-year-old girl who played Cecila was just too cute. She had aresounding "awww" from all the women in the audience. Jennifer Connelywas a great actress. She's very pretty, but she was damn good in thismovie. The connections to child abuse, ghosts and imaginary friends,and martial separation were probable the most terrible horrors in thismovie. I was nearly in tears when the teacher was explaining thatCecila had to go see a child psychologist in the movie. The darkwater...was disgusting leaking in the above building. Interestinglyenough, water is supposed to be scared and clear away spirits inJapanese lore. I guess dirty water was an oxymoron, along with thevengeful "yueri" in this case. Also, I kept thinking of the stories of"La Llorona" in this movie.As for this movie...1. If you're looking for a good scary movie, you'll be disappointed.Don't get your hopes up. 2. If you're looking for a horror movie withmore depth, here's your pick. 3. This movie takes a while to progress,prepare yourself for slow dialogs. 4. Anyone who can associate with thecharacters can see the automatic connection to everything.All and all, I give "Dark Water" a "B-". It was a great movie, I wasdisappointed a little because of the story, and advertisement place toomuch of an emphasis on a terrifying horror movie that was never there.But thank your lucky stars that this movie has an actual story...and itmight leave you bored.

seaview1 2012-04-18 22:03:57

Dark Water Has Creepy Moments

Koji Suzuki has enjoyed recent popularity through his minimalist horrorstories told with more atmosphere, psychological brooding and menacethan big budget effects. His first big hit, The Ring, has beenserialized in multiple sequels in Japan and redone successfully in theU.S. In Dark Water, he has fabricated another tale involving restlesssouls and unexplained events that go bump in the night. The result,while reasonably spooky, is an adequate mood piece with a few effectivescares and revelations.Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) is in an emotionally draining custody battlewith ex husband Kyle (Dougray Scott) over their young daughter Ceci(Ariel Gade). Forced to find affordable housing, mother and daughtermove into a low rent apartment presided over by the deskclerk/custodian, Veeck (Pete Postlethwaite) and an unreliable buildingmanager, Mr. Murray (John C. Reilly). Upon moving in their drab, drearyunit, strange things begin to happen. Elevator doors close and openmysteriously on the wrong floors and black water seeps in from thefloor above in increasingly grotesque amounts. Ceci attends school andbegins to talk to an imaginary friend with alarming frequency. Andwhose backpack was left on the roof of the building? Add to thisDahlia's constant battles with her ex-husband and her own dysfunctionalchildhood with a hateful mother and a father who abandoned the family.She becomes paranoid and frightened especially when she visits thetenant's who lived above in room 10F. It seems the family that livedthere had a father who abandoned them, and the mother was unable totake care of her daughter, Natasha, who is the same age as Ceci. AsDahlia fights her own sanity to discover the truth, the past will haunther in a terrifying climax.As an atmospheric, eerie, ghost story, Dark Water does succeed. Thesteady, methodical pacing works in the story's favor. Think of horrormaster Val Lewton, whose Gothic B-movies of the 1940's are memorablee.g. the original Cat People. But for those looking for a shocking,intense payoff, there will be mild disappointment. Recent horrorentries, The Ring and The Others have fared better in delivering thegoods. There just isn't a powerful, knockout scene or sufficientlystartling surprises. The parallels between Dahlia's life and themysterious family above her apartment are not fully exploited ordefined as they should be. The film tries to develop thepsychologically tortuous journey of Dahlia as the happenings in room10F are brewing, and somehow the two plot lines don't quite mesh intoan intelligent, coherent storyline. This is perhaps more a fault of thescript adaptation by Rafael Yglesias and the source material from itsJapanese authors including Suzuki, Takashige Ichise and Hideo Nakata.Director Walter Salles, fresh from a solid turn with The MotorcycleDiaries, does a decent job but takes the film's story as far as hisscript will allow him. At times the film feels like a Hitchcock piecewith its female protagonist going against difficult circumstances withlittle or no support from others. The visuals especially the watereffects are unnerving at times and photographed starkly by AffonsoBeato, and the somber score by Angelo Badalamenti reminds one of hisprevious collaborations (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) with David Lynch.Jennifer Connelly is fairly convincing as the mother who struggles withher own demons while protecting her daughter from unknown forces.Visually, her ethereal beauty is ideally suited for the subject matter.Gade is quite good as Ceci, and we are mesmerized by her actions andreactions from beginning to end. She and Connelly work well togetherand do a good job of setting up their close relationship which drivesthe storyline. John C. Reilly is amusing as an irresponsible buildingmanager. His early scenes trying to rent the apartment to Connelly'scharacter are downright funny. Tim Roth as her sympathetic lawyer isalmost unrecognizable in a role reminiscent of Charles Durning's inSisters. While it is good support, it ultimately goes nowhere.Postlethwaite scores as a bizarre character whose background isinsufficiently explored.What hurts this film is also the knowledge of previous haunted filmslike The Other, Don't Look Now, The Changeling, and Audrey Rose, allfrom the 1970's. Some moviegoers, particularly fans of The Ring willhave an easy time figuring out the hidden meanings in the plot line.When you think about it, Dark Water is a deceptively simple tale toldwith a minimum of characters in a confined setting. Like a mildly scaryghost story read at night, it comes and goes but does not stay verylong.

2012-04-18 16:02:12

It's okay, I guess.

An unsettling movie that leaves you hanging, wondering whether you're watching someones's delusions, or their submersion into a creepy reality. To me, the pay off doesn't satisfy that desire to know which it really is. But half the movie's suspense is wondering whether you're being delivered a horror movie, or a hauntingly real movie that will have some plausible explanation. In that, I was disappointed, particularly with the movies ending. I felt that no sooner was I settled into what this movie really was, the director jerked me around- for lack of a better comparison, like the ending of "Friday the 13th." Not to mislead anyone into thinking this is a movie of that genre's extent. But just as you thought in the original "13th" that the mother was doing all of the killing, BOOM! Cheatingly, a dream of a disfigured Jason emerging horrifically from the water takes you in a different direction, totally contradicting what the movie led you to believe, and in the process, setting up a slew of sequels based on that redirection. "Dark Water" had that effect on me. It seemed as if it didn't know what it wanted to be, or that it was toying with me. Is that good directing or bad directing? Perhaps that was the intention of the director all the way. Creepiness describes many aspects of this movie: the characters, the apartment and the neighborhood in which it sets and the atmosphere it creates, and the unsettlingness that comes with a divorce. To be fair, the direction is good at creating a dark atmosphere that leaves you gasping at the possibilities, including the movie's use of the 2 main actors, the mother and daughter combo of Jennifer Connelly and Ariel Gade, who both do a great job in their roles.A huge Connelly fan, I endured a movie that were it starring anyone else, I may not have sat through. In that I salute the director in his casting. Jennifer is her usual outstanding self, but this movie ranks low in her catalogue of films I've viewed (many which I own). And I was impressed with the work of the young Gade too. She didn't come off as precocious as, say, the young girl in "War of the Worlds" who early in that film spat out dialogue way beyond her age range. But I left this movie totally disastisfied. However, it is a very dark movie. Should I have expected otherwise?

2012-04-14 03:11:37

Watered down

When a newly-divorced woman moves into a creepy apartment with her young daughter, she must contend with sinister neighbors, migraine headaches, a stressful custody battle, and, perhaps, a vengeful ghost. The cast is very good and the atmosphere is creepy, but there just isn't much to this story. The narrative becomes confused by some plot elements that amount to nothing--why did the lawyer lie about being with his family? Was the husband really plotting something with the suspicious teenagers? It's a decent film, but nothing special.

sallyfifth 2012-04-13 18:05:12

Gives the original a nice dousing of reality.

This is not a "child talks to dead people" movie. You should rejoice.It's not a "woman fights supernatural forces" thriller. You should getdown on your knees and thank the powers that be. This is not "just anunnecessary re-make of the Japanese original". It's better. Nakata is famous for taking the long view of his characters. Keeping ussafe emotionally from them in order to bring the horror to life. Sallestrumps him by pulling us right into Dahlia's arms where her fear,paranoia, and despair are absolutely palpable. This is the story of a single mother trying to survive after a nastydivorce. Trying to hold onto her daughter so she can overcome her ownhistory of abandonment. The ghosts (whether real or imagined) areperipheral to her dilemma. The American Dark Water, gives us the same foreboding leak, the samebleak horrific photography, the same basic plot line, and yet by takingthe emphasis off the ghosts reaches a much stronger emotionalresonance. Highly recommended for those that submit themselves to movies, ratherthan submit movies to themselves. You know who you are.