MovieChat Forums > Dark Water (2005) Discussion > Am I missing something here? 5.someting?

Am I missing something here? 5.someting?

posted 14 years ago by cspas
13 replies | jump to latest

I mean, wow, that must be the best female acting role I have seen in years, Jennifer totally nailed it, the movie had suspense, great cinematography, mood, ambiance, and all that makes a good suspense thriller movie good. Not forgetting, a child actor that actually did the job, she was damn good!

I liked this film, really enjoyed it, from a guy who's No 1 film is Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I had reservations about this, but I am glad I watched it.

8/10 from me.

Great movie, cant wait to watch it again.

[–] Ghosthunter123424 14 years ago

Haven't seen it, but I'm gonna watch it shortly, I'd hazard a guess and say that a lot of negative or below average scores could come from foreign film snobs who hate the film purely because its a remake.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] watergaia 14 years ago

this is a remake of the japanese version, and people are getting annoyed because hollywood is making remakes of all good japanese horror movies. many also think that the original japanese versions were better, so they give worse rating to this.

[–] cspas 14 years ago

Yes I guess thats the case but still even for a remake they twisted it a little and the atmosphere and mood was great. You cannot compare it to teh original of course but for what it is it was done well and all in all a good film.

[–] Phanatic77 14 years ago

The film was overall good, but comparisons are inevitable.

Even as a standalone movie, the scares are minimal and the ones shown are not very effective nor all that scary. Further, you can see the twist/end a mile away and it was very forced.

Now, the Japanese one, a whole different story.
Not only is scarier, eerier and creepier, it's actually filmed better, scored better (music and soundtrack), and was sadder all at the same time.

As for acting... well as far as it goes for the girl, the Japanese one was more convincing. As for the mother, Jennifer actually did a pretty bang up job, but unfortunately her efforts were hindered by a weaker script.

She deserved better, and I can see her delivering even better had they stuck with the original script and done it at a 1:1 reproduction.

Many haven't seen the original dark water, and I believe this one would've worked if it were more identical in structure and script.

One of the biggest mistake they've done is give the 'girl' a face and lines, while in the original it's more of menacing faceless shadow that only says 'Momma' in some creepy pitched up and nunatural way.

[–] madmiri 13 years ago

I've never seen the "original" (it was based on a book no?) so I can't make comparisons. (Personally, I think even the original Asian -usually Japanese- remakes are over-hyped. These type of movies tend to be predictable and not scary...they're mildly eerie at best). I would say a score of 5 is pretty good for this movie. While the filmmakers tried to go for atmosphere, that alone didn't make it an interesting film for me. I think it moved too slow, the scenes kind of meander, they never become effective in terms of creepiness or uneasiness. I think they ultimately relied on cliche scare tactics (how many times did Dahlia jump when she turned around or heard a loud noise?) And I'm sorry to say that a cute little girl isn't the least bit scary.

[–] maniuis 13 years ago

Sure you're missing sth: The fact that most people on IMDB have no taste when it comes to film making. The movie is excellent. One proof of it is that, even though the plot is quite predictable, the acting is so great that the movie doesn't have a single dull moment.

[–] Phanatic77 13 years ago

Just because a movie has no single dull moment it does not make it a good work. It just mean it's eventful. Hell, StreetFighter and J.I. joe had no dull moments, but they were far from good movies.

This movie is not different. It's a bad copy of the Japanese original, that's all it is. As I said, even with them copying some scenes to almost a 1 to 1, they still didn't follow it where they needed to. The revelation came on too quickly and too soon. The mom in this movie discovers the flooded apartment far too soon. They played down the time length of the dead girl to 2 weeks as opposed to 3 year in this movie, which takes away some of the impact. They added a stupid sub-plot of the dirty old man while in the original he was just some character who was neglectful as opposed to someone who is hiding a death of a little girl.

There's no comparison. The original plays naturally and effectively building the atmosphere and suspense, and then just at the end it gives you that nice twist.. and then keeps on going with an extension that makes it all that more sad and poignant..

The remake tried to recreate that, but it was too lame and too weak.

[–] Chili_Peppers 13 years ago

I think it's due to the mis-marketing that happened. I saw this in theaters when it came out and disliked it because instead of the big horror movie I was expecting I came out from seeing a drama about a battered mother and her daughter and there happened to be a ghost bothering them. But I'm rewatching it on tv at the moment and it has some very good attributes: Cinematography, acting, the cold, wet feeling that the movie emits, and a few genuine chills. And I love the way dirty water looks as it runs down the walls and floods the bathroom near the end. I hadn't seen it since its theatrical release and now I appreciate it for what it is.

"This isn't a thimble, it's Turkish nipple armor."

[–] followmyleader 13 years ago

I know, I totally agree. I really enjoyed Dark Water. I heard people consider it a "bad movie", so I had some reservations before seeing it, but I was quite impressed. While I was watching the film, I waited for it to get "bad", but it never did. I guess people hate it because it's a remake and it was marketed as horror when it's really a character drama.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] mischimaus 12 years ago

Well I think both the original and the the remake were okay. It's just that sooo many Japanese horror movies have those ghost tales in some way and it's always the same - and so the remakes of course have it too. This movie was okay, I wouldn't rate it higher than 5-6 tho. If I had never seen any of those other movies maybe my rating would be higher.

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Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

[–] carjones51 8 years ago

I was not a fan of the original (which I saw first), and the remake was just as bad IMO.