Dark Water film review

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DARK WATER

Based on a Japanese novel, directed by a Brazilian and starring an American, Dark Water boasts an international pedigree and would be creepy in any language. It certainly comes from good stock. Koji Suzuki, the author of the short story from which the original 2002 Japanese film version of Dark Water was adapted, also penned Ringu, the novel which spawned The Ring films. Walter Salles directed the Oscar nominated Central Station and The Motorcycle Diaries while Jennifer Connelly picked up an Academy Award for A Beautiful Mind. All in all it's quite a luminary lineage for what is generally considered a slightly lower brow genre, and although Dark Water is long on style and mood, it's somewhat shorter on spine-tingling chills.

Slow and measured, Dark Water avoids the 'creaking door' syndrome readily adopted by most horror films and instead takes a more psychological tack, linking the supernatural with more down to earth feelings of abandonment. As the title alludes to, water is a critical element, one that has the presence of a character. From the perpetually drizzling weather, often viewed through rain-spattered windows, to the leaking apartment at the centre of the story, water seeps into every pore of this unnerving tale.

Another prevalent feature are the earthy tones that saturate the film's overall look. The brown hue, echoed in the clothing as well as the furnishings, help to create a world apart from the familiar surroundings.

Set on a sprawling rundown estate on Roosevelt Island, across the water from the more affluent Manhattan, Dahlia (Connelly) has been reduced to taking an apartment with her young daughter Ceci (Ariel Grade) while she and her ex-husband (Dougray Scott) battle for custody. The dilapidated building, run by the obsequious Mr Murray (John C. Reilly), is plagued by leaks. So much so that Dahlia's request to have the one in her bedroom repaired is met by indifference by Murray and the stroppy maintenance man Veeck (Pete Potlethwaite).

Shortly after moving in, Ceci develops an imaginary friend Natasha. Things become more disturbing when it is discovered Natasha is the name of a little girl who recently lived in the apartment directly above Ceci, the one from which an oily brown liquid drips down through Dahlia's bedroom ceiling.