In many ways Dark Water improves upon the memorable Japanese film it's based on. The earlier version was directed by Hideo Nakata (whose excellent shocker Ringu was remade in America as The Ring), but in the hands of director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) and screenwriter Rafael Yglesias, this psychological horror story gets an intelligent and more chillingly effective overhaul. The story is rooted in themes of love and loss that Yglesias similarly explored in his excellent screenplay for Peter Weir's Fearless, here focusing on young mother Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) as she endures difficult divorce proceedings and settles into a low-rent apartment in New York's cramped Roosevelt Island community, near Manhattan, with her young daughter Cecilia (Ariel Gade). Amidst seemingly endless rainfall, Dahlia's world slowly unravels, and Connelly is superb as a woman seemingly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Or is she? Could it be that Cecilia's imaginary friend, and the apartment's persistent leaks of dark, dripping water, are the ghostly manifestations of a young girl who had been abandoned by the previous tenant? Creepy atmosphere and high anxiety are expertly maintained by Salles, and supporting roles for Tim Roth, John C. Reilly and especially Pete Postlethwaite give the film an added edge of mystery. The tension builds slowly (gore-mongers and action fans may be disappointed), but the cumulative effect is palpably unnerving, inviting favorable comparison to Rosemary's Baby. Unlike some other remakes of Japanese horror hits, Dark Water doesn't feel redundant; it stands on its own thanks to the impressive work of everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon
Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight "A stylish thriller that rewards the patient viewer with an emotional punch..."
(132 votes)
2.
The ghosts of a haunted apartment building torment a newly single mother and her small child.
(129 votes)
3.
It all begins inside Apartment 9F. This is where a single mother, Dahlia Williams (Academy Award® winner Jennifer Connelly), is trying to make a brand-new start in life. Attempting to escape from a bitter custody battle with her estranged husband, Dahlia moves with her daughter Ceci to a dilapidated, sprawling housing block on Roosevelt Island at the very edges of New York City. Their new home provides little refuge. The rundown tower’s creepy noises, rickety elevator and sinister dark water stains are eerie enough. But Dahlia soon begins to suspect there is a far greater threat.
Just who or what is it that is playing mind games with Dahlia—and can she trust her own senses when her imagination is also running wild? As Ceci’s ghostly encounters and an array of strange occurrences continue to build, Dahlia suddenly must question who she can trust and in what she can believe. But she will stop at nothing to figure out the riddle and protect her daughter…even as the dark water closes in around them. A world of familiar household objects, moods and emotions is transformed into a realm of relentless menace and dread in DARK WATER as the mystery unfolds.
(119 votes)
4.
"Even Hitchcock Could Not Have Done It Better." -- Pete Hammond, MAXIM With a haunting mystery at its core, Dark Water is a thoroughly absorbing, suspense-filled thriller starring Jennifer Connelly. Dahlia Williams (Connelly) and her five-year-old daughter are ready to begin a new life together. But their new apartment - dilapidated and worn - suddenly seem to take on a life of its own. Mysterious noises, persistent leaks of dark water and other strange happenings in the deserted apartment above send Dahlia on a haunting and mystifying pursuit - one that unleashes a torrent of living nightmares.
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