Dark Water DVD Review:

Going through a traumatic divorce, Dahlia Williams (Connelly) moves into an apartment block on Roosevelt Island with her daughter Ceci (Gade). As she fights for sole custody with her husband (Scott), things start going from bad to worse. Damp patches start appearing on her bedroom ceiling, footsteps and other noises start coming from the apartment above, Ceci starts talking to an imaginary friend and she can’t get any sleep with having nightmares.

As originality continues to drain away in Hollywood, the passion of Asian horror remakes continues with 'Dark Water' but this re-imagining forgets to include the main element that made the Japanese original so memorable, the scares.

Hideo Nakata's 2002 Japanese ghost story was filled with some genuinely frightening moments that would literally send shivers down your spine. Like 'Ringu', 'The Eye' and 'The Grudge' had done, this was a movie that had you jumping out of your skin as the films relied on quick frights and fast cuts to really get your blood racing. The Hollywood remakes, 'The Ring' and 'The Grudge' has also done this successfully but this version of 'Dark Water' is very different.

Acclaimed director Walter Salles and his creative team have decided to filter out most of the ghost story elements and thus the scares and replace them with more psychological, family based drama elements that make the film slightly confusing. He has keep most of the other elements, the divorcing family, the dilapidated apartment block, the mystery of the missing girl and certain elements of the haunting such as the damp patches, the flooded apartment and the black water but without the scares the movie loses its purpose and ends up feeling empty. Now you end up thinking is this all in Dahlia and Ceci's minds, as the trauma of divorce, separation and the past become too much in this isolated apartment building or is Natasha actually real and controlling their fate to get what she so desperately needs, love. Everything becomes far too bleared and the narrative and direction of the film becomes completely lost.

The performances however are what save this from becoming anything but average. Jennifer Connelly's career has gone from strength to strength since appearing in 'Requiem for a Dream' in 2000. She is no longer considered just an extremely pretty face but a talented, Oscar winning actress that has a gift for drama. 'Dark Water' does nothing but strengthen this view, as she is the traumatic heartbeat of this movie. As Dahlia becomes more and more paranoid about the situation and the revelation about her childhood come to light, Connelly's performance becomes totally mesmerising, bringing real depth to the character. Child actress Ariel Grade is also exceptionally good as Ceci. This is a key role in the movie as she goes through just as much trauma as her mother, when her pretend friend becomes more and more assertive. There is also a top-notch supporting cast of Dougray Scott, as the cheating, uncooperative husband, Pete Postlewaite as a lazy, uncaring caretaker, Tim Roth as a lawyer living out of his car and John C. Reilly as a sleazy landlord.

If the original 'Dark Water' didn't exist then this movie would be a good psychological drama with a supernatural twist but as it was, comparisons are bound to be made. The film's big mistake is getting rid of the scares that served the original so well. You have to applaud the performances and the look of the film, as they really do capture the bleakness of the location and the feeling that the characters are going through but with the ghost story elements, the movie is missing its spirit.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

Beneath the Surface: The Making of Dark Water (15.47 mins)
Director Walter Sallis, screenwriter Rafael Yglesias, producers Ashley Kramer and Bill Mechanic, production designer Thérèse DePrez and stars Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, Tim Roth and Ariel Gade take you behind the scenes of ‘Dark Water’. Split into five sections entitled ‘Beyond the horror’, ‘An Island apart’, ‘Water by Design’, ‘Deep Water’ and ‘A director’s vision’, the featurettes cover the adaptation of the original Hideo Nakata and the novel by Kôji Suzuki, the use of Roosevelt Island in the film, the construction of building set and the use of rain and water throughout the production.

The Sound of Terror (7.17 mins)
Director Walter Sallis, editor Daniel Rezende, associated editor Maria Montoreano, sound designer Frank Gaeta and re-recording artist Scott Millan talk about the role of sound within the movie. They reveal how sound enhances Roosevelt Island, the darkness, the ceiling stain and the water.

Deleted Scenes (1.51 mins)
Entitled ‘Dahlia at the Laundromat’ and ‘Ceci & Kyle in the car’, these deleted scenes are not accompanied by a commentary track so you don’t know why they are removed.

Extraordinary Ensemble (25.54 mins)
Director Walter Sallis, screenwriter Rafael Yglesias, producers Ashley Kramer and Bill Mechanic, production designer Thérèse DePrez and stars Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, Tim Roth and Ariel Gade talk about the characters of the piece, the style of the film and what it was like working with the director.

Analysing Dark Water Scenes
Director Walter Sallis, editor Daniel Rezende, associated editor Maria Montoreano, production designer Thérèse DePrez and producer Bill Mechanic analyse the scenes ‘Blue Robe’, ‘Wall of Water’ and the ‘Bathroom Scene’. They talk about the structure of the scenes and why the wall of water was removed.

Alternative Sequence: Wall of Water (4.07 mins)
Watch the full version of the removed dream sequence that Dahlia goes through while visiting the room.

OVERALL

The DVD release of ‘Dark Water’ is accompanied by some good bonus features that cover most aspects of the film production. The only thing lacking is a commentary tack but this should not put off fans from purchasing the DVD.



Jamie Kelwick