Good idea lost in the noise

Boring, long, and too preachy.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I would have given this movie a 10, if not for the end. I'm not giving it away, but it made me mad. The acting was awesome and enjoyed the mystery. It did leave some things unanswered. The movie is about an hour and 40 minutes long. They could have added an extra 20 minutes and given answers to some of my questions. For example I wanted to know more about Tim Roth's character.

The wave of Japanese supernatural horror remakes that hit in the mid-2000's left its mark on the genre, with a few memorable hits ('The Ring,' 'The Grudge') and a host of lesser-known "me too" efforts ('The Eye,' 'Shutter'). Touchstone Pictures' 'Dark Water' is definitely closer to those in the later category, as the 2005 thriller disappointed at the box office and was a miss with critics.The film, directed by Walter Salles and starring Jennifer Connolly (with supporting roles handled by John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Ariel Made and others), is at its best a mild imitation of similar films that came before it. 'Water' takes place on NYC's Roosevelt Island, and if there's ever been a campaign against moving there, this is it. Connolly plays a recently divorced mom named Dahlia, who takes up residence with her young daughter Ceci in a 1970s brutalist apartment complex - with rent under $1,000/month! Of course, there's always a catch, and this one comes in the sinister form of a spirit haunting the building (specifically, the unit directly above theirs). As you can imagine, all sorts of things ensure, from Dahlia experiencing migraines to the elevator not working and lots of dark, brown water showing up in all kinds of places.While you'd think 'Water' would have all the ingredients for a solid supernatural thriller, the film falls short in a lot of areas. For one, there are too many similarities in the plot with others, namely 'The Ring.' As for the "scares" that are thrown in here, none of them are truly that scary. There are some unsettling scenes, for sure, but they mostly revolve around the mother/daughter relationship - both Dahlia and Ceci and Dahlia and her mother (as seen through flashbacks). The themes of abandonment and sacrifice are present throughout, and give the film a sense of purpose, but this is not enough to counter the multiple issues with 'Water.' From the "saw it coming" twist at the end to the constant rain that plagues NYC (did they mean for it to be Seattle?), many improvements could have been made to the film.'Dark Water' was never intended to be a masterpiece, nor was it supposed to be a huge hit with audiences. But it still managed to disappoint beneath those standards.

In the early 2000's, Japanese Horror movies remakes were the craze. Remakes like 2002 "The Ring" & 2005's "The Grudge", were making vast money. "Dark Water" directed by Walter Salles hope to be, just as big as them. Based on the 2002 Japanese film, which return is based on Floating Water, a short story by Koji Suzuki. Dark Water showed great promise, but the murky tale about a family menaced by the ghost of young girl who drown at a haunted apartment seem so watered down, and generic predictable that it kinda drown on itself. The movie tries to be stand out, yet be extremely faithful to the 2002 film, but it doesn't work. Lot of the movie feels rehashed and often full of clichés. The movie had good actors, but I really didn't think, that they were giving their 'all' in these roles. Jennifer Connelly as the lead character, Dahlia seem deep, but as the plot moves, it clearly shown to be shallow as hell. Dahlia's backstory as an abused child are never really developed or explored meaningfully in the film. They are simply thrown in to the plot in awkward fashion. Jennifer Connelly really lacks the emotional for this role. Not once, was I convince that she was angry, or she was in fear for her life. I know that her character was taking drugs, and maybe it was there to dull, her extremes, but gees- it really overcast the whole film. She did a lot of stupid things that were really bothering. First off, moving in. Most people, even desperate people, confronted with a situation like that would have moved out after a week. Second off, why didn't she move out, quicker, after the events toward the end? It doesn't make sense, to stay in, and take a bath in a murder house after you found out that there was a dead body in the water tank! For a mom so into her daughter's immediate safety and security. It doesn't make sense that she would live there. The father, Kyle (Dougray Scott) is even worst parent. I really hate, the movie for portraying the father as this creepy controlling over the top figure, and then toward the end, force us to feel sympathetic for him. I really hate, how the movie make it seem like he was trying, really hard to unnerve the main character, and make it look like he cares on what happen to Dahlia. It doesn't make any sense. I feel bad, for the kid (Ariel Gade). She's a really cute kid, but she's can't delivered the horrible one-dimensional dialogue, she was given. There are parts of the film, where she kinda shines, but for the most part, she felt like, an unrealistic girl scout, stereotype. There were some added material for some supporting roles which serves absolutely no purpose. A good example is the man the elevator (Simon Reynolds). He failed to advance the plot and he never brought back, up again. Honestly, for being a tenant in the building. You would think, he would give some more exposition, than proving information, we already knew. Tim Roth for instance has some scenes that are there only so he can get some more screen time. It's really hard to take his role as a good lawyer, serious, when he sounds like Jon Lovitz's Tommy Flanagan. The other supporting cast were pretty useless. Pete Postlethwaite as Veeck, should had been, portray more menacing, but they chose to make him, into a clumsy side-character. The only entertaining person in the film was John C. Reilly as Murray, the landlord. I like, how he makes the crappy apartment in Roosevelt Island seem better than it looks. The location does have a creepy environment. I have to give, props to the movie for that. The ghost, not so much. The ghost in the film, really doesn't show her presence, much and the movie has odd moments, where she does. Like how on earth, did was she able to haunt the school, as well? Honestly, how powerful was the ghost!? The movie really has vague answers for these questions. The movie doesn't have that many jump scares. In many ways, the movie drives the symbolism that it's always raining, a little too much. It kinda got annoying, at times. I really hate, how much water was wasted for this film. The movie has a lot of ominous music that tells you when a suspenseful moment is around the corner and creeping about in apartments over and over again. Yet, there is little suspense. The movie downplay the overt horror elements of the original and becoming more of a character study / dramatic psychological thriller with a focus on paranoia and atmosphere over scares. It kinda works, but it's also doesn't. The movie pacing moves really slowed, and not much, of the main plot, get done, during the time. The movie pacing really doesn't help push the plot, along. It just creates, more sub-plots, like Dahlia looking for work, a lawyer, and a good school. Honestly, the movie works more like a divorce drama, than a horror film. I hate how the movie is so sluggish and lazy. It reused shots, way too much. It felt cheap. The movie moves into more trouble water with the awful ending that really made the film, much worse than it could had been. I like the 2002 ending better. The movie is probably more, scary, today, then when it came out. In 2013, a woman name Elisa Lam was found death at the Cecil hotel in Los Angeles, when she drown in the hotel water tank. The circumstances of her death have been compared to plot elements in this film, such as the names of the characters, the dysfunctional elevator and discolored water gushing from the building's faucets. Overall: This character-driven film was sorely underdeveloped. I wish it was better.

"Dark Water" is a movie which has to do with a mother and daughter who are still wounded from something that happened and they can not move on with their lives. Another thing of this movie is that something were wrong with their apartment and water run-down on it.I liked this movie because is a really different horror movie from all the other movies that I have watched. I also liked the plot and the whole storyline of it and especially the drama of this mother. I believe that Jennifer Connelly who plays as Dahlia makes a really nice interpretation as also John C. Reilly does. I think that Walter Salles did a really great job in the direction of this movie and this is something that is really obvious in whole of the movie.Finally I have to say that the difference of the plot in this movie is something that makes "Dark Water" more epic.