Dark Water

DARK WATER (2005) - July 6, 2005
Another mediocre movie. The problem with this movie was that it just wasn't interesting. It was plotless, and was essentially all about Jennifer Connelly and her struggles as a newly single mother. The problem there being that she isn't all that interesting of a character. She was essentially a crazier version of the struggling single mother from the Ring. But at least in the Ring there was the whole mystery of the tape to keep us occupied; here we have nothing but the mother's plight. And yet at the same time the movie did seem to be going for a tense, Ring-like atmosphere (the film, with its stark, gray shots of the city, seemed to be inspired in more ways than one by the Ring). Long sequences which are supposed to be scary such as one set in the basement of the building, and several in which the mysterious upstairs apartment is investigated, attempt (and fail) to create a creepy vibe. In the end, this movie fails as a character study, and fails as a horror movie, essentially rendering it pointless. There were, however, some good supporting performances by John C. Reilly, Tim Roth and Pete Postlethwaite. I just wish one of them had been the focus of the movie. *1/2