Dark Water (2005)

I have read many reviews and seen the reasonably low score for this film and was surprised after I watched the film with an open mind. The film is a bit slow to start but gets more interesting as the custody battle between the parents becomes more strong and confusing, and the audience have to grasp with Dahlia's rightful concern of her daughter or her delusional paranoia brought on by a troubled past and stubborn migraines which I think were very well portrayed, the sound effects and emotions on Connely's face were very well portrayed, I could really feel the pain she is going through. I also felt strongly for her because I didn't know whether to trust Mr. Veck the reluctant janitor played excellently by Pete Poselthwaite and the seemingly ignorant manger played by John C Reilly. Also the threat of the "punks" who also live in the apartment and suddenly confront Dahlia in the laundry basement which issued me with a completely different reason to fear for her safety, and as the plot… more »

I have read many reviews and seen the reasonably low score for this film and was surprised after I watched the film with an open mind. The film is a bit slow to start but gets more interesting as the custody battle between the parents becomes more strong and confusing, and the audience have to grasp with Dahlia's rightful concern of her daughter or her delusional paranoia brought on by a troubled past and stubborn migraines which I think were very well portrayed, the sound effects and emotions on Connely's face were very well portrayed, I could really feel the pain she is going through. I also felt strongly for her because I didn't know whether to trust Mr. Veck the reluctant janitor played excellently by Pete Poselthwaite and the seemingly ignorant manger played by John C Reilly. Also the threat of the "punks" who also live in the apartment and suddenly confront Dahlia in the laundry basement which issued me with a completely different reason to fear for her safety, and as the plot thickens and she discovers more about this place and the apartment above hers, I found the film irresistibly paced and beautiful to watch. The film isn't as hard or confusing as I expected it to be and the ending is excellent, but very sad, I can say Dark Water is to be added to my list of films that I felt like crying at. The music which intertwines with the web of suspense throughout the film is masterfully utilised and is much more effective than music which could have been sudden and obvious to expose certain "jump out of your seat" moments which isn't what Dark Water is about. The performances all around are excellent, especially the luminous Connely and her lonely lawyer Platzer played by the great as always Tim Roth. The only thing I could complain about and in my opinion make the film better *possible spoiler following* is when Dahlia is asleep next to her daughter and she has the nightmare about going up to the apartment 10F upstairs and sees her mother/herself/Natascha's mother in the bathroom, although well done I think was slightly confusing, and on my region 2 DVD on the bonus features there is an alternate sequence for this called "Wall of Water" which was very impressive, showing Natascha summoning water to cascade down her wall like a waterfall into Dahlia's apartment, and to Dahlia's despair downstairs, her acting is serene in this scene and the use of CGI is superb, I only wish this scene was included in the final cut. A superb and surprising horror. Watch it with an open mind. 10/10. I have read the novel which is a collection of short stories and "Floating Water" from which this film is based is only about 50 pages long. I think it was excellently adapted.