Dark Water (2005 film)

Last updated
Dark Water
Darkwaterposter.jpg
U.S. theatrical release poster
Directed by Walter Salles
Screenplay by Rafael Yglesias
Based on
Dark Water
by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Affonso Beato
Edited by Daniel Rezende
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • July 8, 2005 (2005-07-08)
Running time
105 minutes [1]
LanguagesEnglish
Filipino
Box office$44.4–49.5 million [2] [3]

Dark Water is a 2005 American supernatural horror film directed by Walter Salles and written by Rafael Yglesias. It is a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name, which was based on the short story Floating Water by Koji Suzuki, the author behind the Ring trilogy. The film stars Jennifer Connelly, Tim Roth and John C. Reilly in lead roles, with Pete Postlethwaite, Perla Haney-Jardine, Dougray Scott, and Ariel Gade in supporting roles. It is a co-production between the United States and the Philippines. [1]

Contents

The plot follows Dahlia Williams (Connelly), a recently divorced mother trying to build a new life with her young daughter. After moving into a dilapidated apartment, Dahlia starts experiencing strange occurrences, including mysterious water leaks and disturbing visions, leading her to uncover dark secrets about the building's past.

Dark Water was released on July 8, 2005, and received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Salles' direction and Connelly's performance; however, it was criticized for its pacing and lack of scares. [2] [3] The film emerged as a moderate commercial success at the box-office, grossing between $44.4 million and $49.5 million worldwide on a production budget of $30 million.

Plot

Dahlia Williams is in the midst of a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband Kyle over their five-year-old daughter, Cecilia. While Kyle wants Cecilia to live closer to him in Jersey City, Dahlia finds a more affordable apartment complex on Roosevelt Island, that is near a good school for Cecilia. Hoping to start fresh, Dahlia and Cecilia move into the dilapidated apartment building.

Soon after moving in, strange events begin to occur. Cecilia discovers a Hello Kitty backpack near the water tower on the roof, and the ceiling in their bedroom starts leaking dark, dirty water. When Dahlia investigates, she finds the apartment above hers flooded and a family portrait of the former tenants, the Rimsky family, who had a daughter around Cecilia’s age. Despite Dahlia’s complaints to the building manager Murray and the superintendent Veeck, nothing is done to address the leaks or the disturbing events that follow. Dahlia begins experiencing ghostly visions and nightmares, including one where the mother of the Rimsky family warns her not to tell the police what she’s done, or else Cecilia will be harmed.

Meanwhile, Cecilia starts talking to an "imaginary friend" named Natasha, which concerns her teacher and Dahlia. The supernatural events escalate when Cecilia passes out in the bathroom as dark water pours from the faucets and toilet. As tensions with Kyle increase, he takes Cecilia to his home while Dahlia meets with her lawyer, Jeff Platzer.

One night, Dahlia notices water spilling from the water tower. Horrified, she investigates and discovers Natasha's body inside. She calls the police, and Veeck is arrested for negligence after it is revealed that he knew about Natasha’s body but failed to act. Veeck explains that Natasha’s parents had abandoned her in the building and paid him to keep quiet. Natasha, left alone, fell into the water tower and drowned, turning into a vengeful spirit who envies Cecilia for having a mother.

Realizing the danger, Dahlia decides to move closer to Kyle to make the custody arrangement easier. However, as she packs, she encounters Natasha’s ghost, who begs her not to leave. In a terrifying confrontation, Natasha tries to drown Cecilia in the bathtub. To save her daughter, Dahlia offers herself to Natasha, promising to be her mother. In doing so, Dahlia is drowned by the flood of water in the apartment, sacrificing herself to protect Cecilia.

Three weeks later, Kyle and Cecilia return to the apartment to gather the last of their belongings. In the elevator, Cecilia sees Dahlia’s ghost, who lovingly braids her daughter’s hair and assures her that she will always be with her.

Cast

Filming locations

Reception

Box office

Dark Water was released in 2,657 theaters and had an average run of 3.2 weeks. During its opening weekend, the film grossed $10 million, which accounted for 39% of its total domestic earnings. It went on to make $25.5 million in the United States. Internationally, the film grossed between $18.9 million [2] and $24 million[, bringing its worldwide box office total to between $44.4 million and $49.5 million. [2] [3]

Critical response

Dark Water received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for Walter Salles' direction and Jennifer Connelly's performance; however, criticism was directed towards its pacing and lack of scares. [2] [3]

The film holds a 47% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 154 reviews, with an average score of 5.54/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "All the atmospherics in Dark Water can't make up for the lack of genuine scares." [5] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [6]

Writing for Empire , William Thomas described the film as "interesting and unsettling, but never terrifying. Best viewed as a family drama-come-Tale Of The Unexpected rather than a full-on horror." [7] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the film, stating, "A classy ghost story is just the ticket in a summer of crass jolts... Screenwriter Rafael Yglesias (Fearless) stays alert to the psychological fears that underpin the supernatural doings in the apartment upstairs. Connelly digs deep into the role of a woman with issues of abandonment and rage that slowly reveal their roots. In a film with more subtext than Rosemary's Baby (1968), nearly everyone, including Tim Roth as Dahlia’s lawyer, harbors secrets. Salles unleashes a torrent of suspense for one purpose: to plumb the violence of the mind." [8]

Todd McCarthy of Variety called it "well-crafted but thoroughly unsuspenseful," adding that the film "is dripping with clammy, claustrophobic atmosphere, but ultimately reveals itself as just another mildewed, child-centric ghost story of little import or resonance." [9] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post described the film as a "tasteful but unremitting bummer" and criticized it as "yet one more case of an Oscar-winning actress proving that she can still do the kinds of disposable movies big awards are supposedly meant to banish from your résumé forever." [10] For Slant Magazine , Nick Schager noted that the film improves on the characterizations from the source material but criticized it for over-explaining the supernatural events. He concluded by saying, "this slick adaptation is also a moldy, third-generation retread of The Ring ." [11]

Accolades

Fangoria Chainsaw Awards:

Teen Choice Awards:

Home media

Dark Water is available on DVD in two different releases. One version is presented in pan and scan full screen and includes the theatrical cut, which is rated PG-13 and has a runtime of 105 minutes. The other version is in widescreen (aspect ratio 2.35:1) and features an unrated cut, which, despite being labeled "unrated," is actually shorter than the theatrical version, running at 103 minutes. Exact specifications of these releases vary by DVD region. Additionally, there is a PlayStation Portable UMD video version of the film.

A Blu-ray Disc of Dark Water was released on October 17, 2006, but it only contains the widescreen PG-13 theatrical version and includes fewer extras than the DVD versions.

Soundtrack

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dark Water (2005)". American Film Institute . Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Dark Water". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved July 31, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dark Water (2005). "Dark Water (2005) - Financial Information". The Numbers: Where Date and The Movie Business Meet.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "Dark Water Film Locations". On The Set of New York.
  5. ↑ "Dark Water (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Dark Water". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "Dark Water". January 2000.
  8. ↑ Travers, Peter (16 June 2005). "Dark Water". Rolling Stone.
  9. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (July 6, 2005). "Dark Water". Variety.
  10. ↑ Hornaday, Ann. "Dark Water". Washington Post.
  11. ↑ Schager, Nick (6 July 2005). "Review: Dark Water". Slant Magazine.
  12. ↑ "The Movie Music Store".
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