DarK WateR

Question

Hi,Two days ago,I and my school friends went to the cinema.We were unable to decide which film was good or not.And eventually we decided to see Dark Water..(instead of charlie and the...cos they found it too childish but I don't think so I'll watch it asap) anyway I wish we hadn't seen it..I mean there was nothing frightening..Every scene was almost the same and the plot was really nonsense and boring.In my opinion it is the worst film that I had ever seen..Well what do you think about it?

Rwiles · Accepted Answer

Hi DJ Bueno.

The first thing I'd like to know, is have you seen 'The Ring?'

Hideo Nakata also directed the Ring (apologies if I'm being obvious to you, but other readers of this thread may not know as much about Asian films as you), and before the hype took over it was an incredible find. This man certainly has a talent for turning the mundane into the frightening, and this time he does it with water and not deep water, just a small puddle that will creep you out. I myself cannot explain what I found frighteneing, indeed that may be the wrong word. I found the film had a certain atmosphere, and all the elements came together to form an ambient creepy vibe. Camera angles, sound, colour, music and lighting were all perfectly synchronised to make you feel slightly unnerved as if something was not quite right. Truly an experience that you felt stronger than could be described.

I agree that you will possibly figure out a couple things before the characters do which will make things a little predictable, however I still found a couple of surprises. The story evolution from start to near end was great, though the ending itself was not very good. I personally feel it could have ended in a much better way.

The majority of the story unfolded around Yoshimi (Hitomi Kuroki), at first glance her character seemed really panicky but taking into consideration all the problems her character suffers like the custody battle and the weird events, her performance makes complete sense. Mind you I did not find that her character added to the 'fear factor' in the film, having her 'freak' out at the strange events did not make me 'freak' out anymore, it was just 'freaky' to begin with. As for the supporting cast Rio Hanna who played Yoshimi's daughter put on a good performance, in fact it was impressive for a young child to play such a serious role in a psychological horror film. ***

For the most part it is a very slow moving film, (which is not uncommon in foreign language films........this isn't a criticism, however if your thing is Hollywood blockbusters this isn't the best film to introduce you to ArtHouse), basically everyday life mixed in with a few odd things that will build up to something bad. Due to the creepy vibe that runs through this film the slow pace was not really noticeable and the story kept an entertaining flow. In any case some patience and especially attention was required to make this film worthwhile.

Overall I enjoyed the film..............not the best of its' genre out there but entertaining nonetheless. The creepy vibe was so strong that there were times I thought of just stopping the film not out of fear but out of that ever developing tension. For an even spookier example of this (not fear but the uncomfortable and unsettling tension) watch 'The Eye' by the Pang brothers just before going to bed. 'The Phone' is also another excellent film with this trait. Compared to The Ring, Dark Water had a better overall creepy factor but The Ring had more short intense fear scenes. There is good deal of similarity of style between the two films, having seen The Ring I believe it reduced somewhat the effect of this film. If you have never scene The Ring I am sure one would find Dark Water far more frightening.

To anyone who hasn't seen this film, don't give into any hype, sit back and watch the film with a clear mind free of expectation; that way I am sure you will have an enjoyable experience.

***I'm actually a BrE speaker, but couldn't find any other words to convey what I meant.

Dj Bueno · Answer

Thanks for your opinion and comment rwiles.I watched The Ring,too but in my opinion it was more frightening than Dark Water.. Frankly the only thing that I found appaling was the song that the little girl was singing."Itsy bitsy spideeerr crawled up the water spout,down came the rain and washed the spider ouutt...." However,I found it funny as the film was reaching to the end.. In addition as you mentioned it really requires patience..great patience I think...Maybe since I am a little bit impatient,I couldn't stand feeling the same atmosphere during all the scenes..(I am talking about the Dark Water by the way)

P.S. Have you seen the The Ring 2?? I haven't watched it yet..

DarK WateR

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