Dark Water (2005)

45% of critics liked it
(149 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(150,218 ratings)

Directed by Walter Salles Jr., this remake of Hideo Nakata's supernatural psychological drama Honogurai Mizuno Soko Kara revolves around the plight of a single mother (Jennifer Connelly) whose messy divorce and subsequent battle for the custody of her five-year-old daughter is taking a heavy toll on… More Directed by Walter Salles Jr., this remake of Hideo Nakata's supernatural psychological drama Honogurai Mizuno Soko Kara revolves around the plight of a single mother (Jennifer Connelly) whose messy divorce and subsequent battle for the custody of her five-year-old daughter is taking a heavy toll on her emotional well-being. Ultimately, the mother and daughter are able to relocate to an apartment, which, despite its excessively dilapidated interior, seems to be an adequate location for beginning a new life. Before long, however, what appears to be the spirit of a young girl begins to haunt them. No stranger to mental illness, the wary young woman brushes the visions aside as part of the inherent stress of making the transition from housewife to working, single mom. As time goes by and the apparent haunting does not subside, the apartment's new residents are forced to examine the history of its former tenants. Dark Water also features performances from John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, and Dougray Scott. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Walter Salles
Written By: Rafael Yglesias
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

In Theaters: Jul 8, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Dec 26, 2005
Studio: Buena Vista

Critic Reviews

Ed Halter, Village Voice
It fails to deliver the narrative thrill twists its origins would promise.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Like so many recent thrillers of this ilk, many of them in some way exploiting the 'innocence' of childhood -- the dumb and unpleasant Hide and Seek springs to mind -- Dark Water falls apart in the wind-down.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
A tasteful but unremitting bummer and 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 résume forever.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Dark Water has more substance and a more interesting look than many horror films, but the familiar elements of the story disappoint.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
Working from a premise that's not only thin but transparent, Salles struggles mightily to generate tension in any other way possible.
David Edelstein, Slate
This is an eerie, relentlessly grim, invasive little movie -- a tone poem of despair that seeps into you like the damp.
Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net
The supporting characters, in fact, are the most enjoyable part of the film, often more enjoyable than Connelly or Gade, each taking great advantage of their scenes to create real people in a short space of time.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Esteemed Brazilian director Walter Salles ("The Motorcycle Diaries") falls flat on his face on his first Hollywood outing with a horror movie that will bore you to tears.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
This scary movie is too creepy for little kids.
Steve Biodrowski, ESplatter
Unfortunately, the supernatural element is underplayed to the extent that the story almost became nothing more than a domestic drama.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
This murky urban ghost story about a possible haunted hi rise of horrors, basically lets the all-natural creepiness already native to its NYC landscape just do its deadly thing, likely intensified by 9/11's architectural carnage.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
This murky urban ghost story about a possible haunted hi rise of horrors, basically lets the all-natural creepiness already native to its NYC landscape just do its deadly thing, likely intensified by 9/11's architectural carnage.
Rex Roberts, Film Journal International
A moody, quirky movie that, although flawed, is worth a walk to the theatre in a gentle rain.
Tony Whitt, Now Playing Magazine
A surprisingly suspenseful psychological thriller, weakened only by the need to make it into a ghost story in the end.
James O'Ehley, SA Movie & DVD Magazine
The gore-free Dark Water tries hard to establish a creepy atmosphere, but instead winds up being slow moving with not much happening.
Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central
Please god, just let this one get flushed and float away.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
A mature film about the courage it takes to survive in a mortal world that's dependent on temporary relationships.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alexander D

DARK WATER is a bit formulaic, but it's a great, intense, complex horror/thriller cross (something we clearly see a lot of nowadays) with a mutual connection to THE RING as well as just enough scares to leave you satisfied by the end of the picture.
Candy R

Psychological thriller starring Jennifer Connolly. After a nasty divorce and custody battle of her daughter, they move to an old apartment which is haunted.
Albert K

DUN DUN, DUN DUN, DUN DUN.... the end.
EightThirty .

15/07/2010 (DVD) This is not your typical "BOO!!" type of horror but more of a psychological "mess with your head" flick. I personally enjoyed the original Japanese version more than this but it was cool to see the westernized serving of this dish. A story of… More
15/07/2010 (DVD) This is not your typical "BOO!!" type of horror but more of a psychological "mess with your head" flick. I personally enjoyed the original Japanese version more than this but it was cool to see the westernized serving of this dish. A story of struggle, confusion and madness. Not bad.
Film C

i sort of liked this movie i liked its twists and turns and is an alrght movie!
Dean M

This US film of 2002 Japanese version remake does strike the right chords more often than not, and provides a lot of touching, sad moments. The acting is wonderful and three dimensional. All of the cast does an excellent job, but especially Jennifer Connelly, who proves once more she… More
This US film of 2002 Japanese version remake does strike the right chords more often than not, and provides a lot of touching, sad moments. The acting is wonderful and three dimensional. All of the cast does an excellent job, but especially Jennifer Connelly, who proves once more she is the best American actress working today. The cinematography and the art design are beautiful, with a lot of attention to atmosphere. Also, Walter Salles shows some neat directing techniques in playing with the viewer's minds, making us doubt what's real and what's imaginary, and giving visual expression to the heroine's ever deteriorating state of mind. Horror remake of Japanese 2002's <i>Honogurai mizu no soko kara (aka Dark Water)</i>.
Lewis C

Dark Water isn't very frightening, but its main focus is never really on trying to scare the viewer. It tries to be more of a psychological movie, by tackling issues like parental neglect and abandonment. Does it succesfully explore those themes? Not entirely, but I give the… More
Dark Water isn't very frightening, but its main focus is never really on trying to scare the viewer. It tries to be more of a psychological movie, by tackling issues like parental neglect and abandonment. Does it succesfully explore those themes? Not entirely, but I give the movie credit for trying. Plus, it's nice to see an actress like Jennifer Connelly doing this kind of film.
Derek D

Even the awesome cast (Reilly, Roth, Postelwaite, Connelly, Scott) can't save this thing. A bit confusing and not even interesting enough to keep my attention. Not the worst movie I've ever seen, but definitely not onw of the best.
Luke B

I guess I've put off watching this for so long because of all the pointless remakes that are churned out. I only watch them if I am in a hateful mood, something to direct my anger at. It's a stress reliever. Dark Water is very different though. Although it follows the same… More
I guess I've put off watching this for so long because of all the pointless remakes that are churned out. I only watch them if I am in a hateful mood, something to direct my anger at. It's a stress reliever. Dark Water is very different though. Although it follows the same path Salles has done an extraordinary thing in his translation. He has removed all the horror and simply gone with a drama. This is Kramer vs. Kramer with a ghost girl as a subplot. He merges the strands well, having the haunting gradually destroy Connelly's chances of custody of her daughter. It makes for excellent viewing even if it will let down those expecting a horror. Nakata went for a bit of emotion and a lot of horror. Salles has beefed up a lot of supporting roles and managed to explore them in the most simple of ways. He certainly understands the idea of telling a story through pictures. Roth is brilliant and is handed such little nuggets as working from his car and lying about being married before sitting down in an empty cinema. If there was a version with the emotion of this and the horror of the original, it would be a perfect film. Both current versions are excellent films that show how a different interpretation doesn't need to result in a carbon copy remake.
Randy T

...proving once again that Hollywood can take a really good Japanese movie and screw it all up.
Dan S

An ok movie elevated in large part due to the great performances. It takes aspects of "Hide and Seek", "The Ring", and " The Sixth Sense" in hopes of producing something creative. While it tends to bog down from time to time, with a lack of general… More
An ok movie elevated in large part due to the great performances. It takes aspects of "Hide and Seek", "The Ring", and " The Sixth Sense" in hopes of producing something creative. While it tends to bog down from time to time, with a lack of general scares, the atmosphere and creepy moments are indeed impressive. The ending could've been fleshed out a little better, it almost feels like they knew they were losing some of their audience and wanted to end it already, which is disappointing.
Jens S

For the longest time this is more a psychological thriller than a horror movie. The first ten minutes were full of familiar faces I didn't even know were in this, I love it when that happens and ignorant me beats well-informed me sometimes. Anyway, the cast is really good, the… More
For the longest time this is more a psychological thriller than a horror movie. The first ten minutes were full of familiar faces I didn't even know were in this, I love it when that happens and ignorant me beats well-informed me sometimes. Anyway, the cast is really good, the little girl playing Ceci particularly adorable. The movie sets up a really good atmosphere with the horribly plain building and constant rain. It's tense and nerve wracking at times, but not really scary. The solution is somewhat easy to figure out, the showdown after that pretty creepy at least. Worth a look for fans of subtle horror, but surely no must see.
Kylie B

For yet another remake of a Japanese horror this was actually reasonably enjoyable. I feel that this version is less of a horror and more of a supernatural drama, as supernatual events are focused on less than the bond between the mother and daughter, and on the mother's past.… More
For yet another remake of a Japanese horror this was actually reasonably enjoyable. I feel that this version is less of a horror and more of a supernatural drama, as supernatual events are focused on less than the bond between the mother and daughter, and on the mother's past. Those aspects were looked at in more detail than the original, and I liked that. However, as cheesy as the ghost effects were in the original, I think I preferred them to the otherwise normal looking Natasha in this film.
Drew S

Hoo boy, where to start with this one...? The Dark Water remake, at least publicly and commercially, was doomed from the start. I get the feeling that Walter Salles and the studio were at odds with what to do with this movie. On one hand, the Big Movie Men saw the success of The Ring… More
Hoo boy, where to start with this one...? The Dark Water remake, at least publicly and commercially, was doomed from the start. I get the feeling that Walter Salles and the studio were at odds with what to do with this movie. On one hand, the Big Movie Men saw the success of The Ring and wanted to mold Dark Water, a very different movie, into something similar to cash in on that. Salles's intention seems to have been to remain true to the source material, which is less a horror movie than a sanguine family drama. This is all speculation, obviously, but I think it's the best explanation for what we got with this movie: two parts mother-daughter drama, one part generic horror movie. I've read a couple of things that corroborate my theory, but it's really pretty obvious. There is a lot more going on, psychologically, in this movie than in the original. These elements are occasionally delivered pretty heavily, with a few of those obnoxious "explain it for the idiots" moments, but the majority of it is pretty seamless. Foundationally this movie isn't too different from Hideo Nakata's treatment, so the obvious reason for this new depth is Jennifer Connelly's performance. Her work is a fantastic portrait of a devoted mother, fraying at the edges. It is refreshing to see a talented actress giving such an involved and unashamed performance in something that was bound to be written off as a PG-13 Asian horror remake. She blows Hitomi Kuroki out of the water (no pun intended). The movie isn't great - and upon watching it, I realized that the original wasn't either - but it has a lot of strong moments and a little bit of sludge. As I mentioned before, the infusion of "horror" into the narrative is really generic and an obvious bid at fitting the movie into its (ill-appointed) genre. The rest of the movie is stronger than that, though. It is atmospheric, dark and beautiful, composed and shot superbly by Salles and his DP. Aside from Connelly, the rest of the performances are spot-on, even Pete Posthethwaite's bizarre role as a foreign janitor. The ending is interesting. I thought it was weak in the original and not particularly strong here; though it feels less tacked-on now, it also doesn't frame the movie as well. It's almost sappy. Basically, what Dark Water amounts to is a fantastic, mature reworking of a rather dubious set of demands. The movie would never have been great no matter what treatment he'd given it, but he made something out of it that few other directors could have. It is not for everyone but it's commendable work.
Leigh R

Kind of slow, but the scariness factor is high still.
Dean !

Very average thriller with no real scares or any note worthy action at all. All too predictable to be honest.
Emily A

Another Japanese horror remake that didn't need to be made. This movie has its moments, but spooky little girls have become such a cliche that the imagery is drained of all its potency. The Ring does everything this film does better. I'm so sick of ripoffs.
Matt P

While the tone and atmosphere of the movie are pleasingly eerie, the plot comes off as amateurish and the movie isn't really scary.
George R

It certainly not as scary as the original, in fact, it has cheap scares, but the great performances by its cast, beautiful score, great direction, & realistically constructed plot wins on this. But for those who are not into psychological horror movies will just die of… More
It certainly not as scary as the original, in fact, it has cheap scares, but the great performances by its cast, beautiful score, great direction, & realistically constructed plot wins on this. But for those who are not into psychological horror movies will just die of boredom.
Jacob P

a very dark and mysterious psychological film.