Movie Review

Dark Water

This is another script from the writer of the two Ring movies, Ehren Kruger (why his first name is spelled like that, I don't know). It follows along very closely to those previous entries in this genre, even while it maintains some stylistic differences (mostly due to the direction). But this thing is worse than Ring Two; it is a colossal misfire that is sure to disappoint fans.

Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) has just been divorced from her abrasive husband. She gets custody of their young daughter and is forced to find a suitable residence for just the two of them. The problem is that hubby was the breadwinner and Dahlia doesn't have too much money. But she wants her young offspring to go to a decent school, so she takes the cheapest apartment she can find on Roosevelt Island (off Manhattan) that isn't condemned. But city officials should have considered putting this building to rest a long time ago: there are, to say the least, a lot of maintenance problems. There is a head janitor guy in the form of Mr. Veeck (Pete Poslethwaite), but he's reluctant to do his job and is extremely shady to boot. Soon enough, water starts dripping from Dahlia?s ceiling and engulfing entire rooms in the building, and young daughter Ceci starts acting very strange at school. Complications keep arising, and Dahlia must find a way to deal with this incredible sense of mounting tension and insecurity in her family life.

The biggest and most heinous flaw in this film is simple: a complete and utter lack of shocks and scares. There are no jump moments, there is no sense of psychological terror, and nothing that would even categorize this as a "horror" movie. I hear now that they are backtracking and claiming that it was always meant as a straight drama with horror overtones, but that?s not how it was marketed. People hear "From the author of 'The Ring'" and see the murky ads and they know what they are supposed to expect. And this thing just does not deliver in any way.

The tone and look of the movie is actually quite decent for what they wanted to accomplish. Calling it dark and washed-out is an understatement; it's like they used a brown filter for every shot. But what else are they gonna do, have a cheerful pastel scheme going on? I can see a very small number of people being slightly unnerved by the film?s atmosphere, coupled with its themes of parental neglect and the anxiety of raising children. But this mood is a double-edged sword and ends up hurting the film more than helping it. There is so much gloom that it just becomes oppressive; there is no joy in watching this film. If you are depressed, Dark Water will make you feel even worse. There should be life and exuberance even in disturbing horror flicks.

This is the type of movie that you just get nothing out of; it would disappoint just about anybody. It's a somewhat noble effort and is filled with fine actors, but these positives are swallowed by the dreary energy of the overall production. It seems that the director (Walter Salles) has tried to distance himself from the film, and I can?t blame him. He surely would have liked to make something better, as there can be no doubt that the studio tinkered with his project and capsized it. Leave art to the people with talent! Not surprisingly, given the name, Dark Water sinks.

Scott's Grade: C-

A	15.1%
B	59.2%
C	24.5%
D	1.2%
F	0.0%