I found Dark Water slow and gloomy, with a lengthy buildup to a less-than-satisfying conclusion.
Drama? Not much. Melodrama? Too much. Horror? Never.
Incidentally, the version of the movie I watched is labeled "Unrated," although I could not determine why. I didn't see the theatrical version, so I can't say what was added or subtracted. I can only tell you that the Buena Vista press site lists the movie at 105 minutes, while the keep case for the unrated version and my DVD player's readout claim 103 minutes. The unrated version is shorter? In any event, the unrated version contains no sex, no nudity, no more than a couple of profanities, and no blood, gore, or excessive violence. I haven't a clue.
Video:
Buena Vista's anamorphic transfer of this film retains most of its wide 2.35:1 original aspect ratio, and it measures out nicely across the screen. The high bit rate makes itself known early on in the opening shots, with very deep black levels and sharp contrasts. Considering how dark a film it is, there is good definition and there are quite natural-looking colors. Whatever light grain one sees is probably inherent to the print and intentional in creating the film's gloomy tone, whereas moiré effects, wavy lines, are almost totally absent.
Audio:
The keep case announces an "Enhanced Home Theater Audio Mix," followed on a second line by "Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound," which makes it seem as though they are two different things. But, in fact, there is only the one audio mix, DD 5.1, presumably remixed for the DVD. In any case, it sounds good, with plenty of deep bass, a wide front-channel stereo spread, and a lot of surround activity. Voices are firmly anchored out in the center channel, but you'll hear rain and dripping water all around the listening area. The sound is quite the best part of the show.
Extras:
An array of featurettes accompany the movie. The first is "Beneath the Surface: The Making of Dark Water," a five-part sequence that the user can access separately or all at once, lasting about fifteen minutes total and providing commentary from the various filmmakers. Next is "The Sound of Terror," seven minutes on the sound effects and music in the film. After that are two deleted scenes, about two minutes' worth, and then the main featurette, "An Extraordinary Ensemble," twenty-five minutes with the actors and others. Most of this material struck me as self-congratulatory, promotional stuff wherein the filmmakers tell you what they were attempting to do and how well they accomplished it, irregardless of their actual degree of success. Still, there is much good information one can learn about the filmmaking process from these little bits and pieces. The final featurette, called "Analyzing Dark Water," is about five minutes of filmmaker commentary on two scenes and then an interactive segment that you can play with the picture, the sound, the effects alone, or in a final mix.
The extras wrap up with twenty-four scene selections, plus a chapter insert; Sneak Peeks at seven other BV titles; English as the only spoken language; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Shots:
The filmmakers go to great lengths in the disc's featurettes to point out that they did not want "Dark Water" construed as a conventional horror flick but as a psychological thriller. This is to say that even though the movie is about the possibility of ghosts, such apparitions may not actually exist in the story but be figments of the main character's mind. The plot is largely character driven rather than action driven, which may or may not appeal to viewers looking to be scared out of their wits. I have no objection to whatever it is the filmmakers were up to, if they had only succeeded. As it is, I found "Dark Water" slow and depressing, and somehow I don't think that is what they intended.
Incidentally, the version of the movie I watched is labeled "Unrated," although I could not determine why. I didn't see the theatrical version, so I can't say what was added or subtracted. I can only tell you that the Buena Vista press site lists the movie at 105 minutes, while the keep case for the unrated version and my DVD player's readout claim 103 minutes. The unrated version is shorter? In any event, the unrated version contains no sex, no nudity, no more than a couple of profanities, and no blood, gore, or excessive violence. I haven't a clue.
Video:
Buena Vista's anamorphic transfer of this film retains most of its wide 2.35:1 original aspect ratio, and it measures out nicely across the screen. The high bit rate makes itself known early on in the opening shots, with very deep black levels and sharp contrasts. Considering how dark a film it is, there is good definition and there are quite natural-looking colors. Whatever light grain one sees is probably inherent to the print and intentional in creating the film's gloomy tone, whereas moiré effects, wavy lines, are almost totally absent.
Audio:
The keep case announces an "Enhanced Home Theater Audio Mix," followed on a second line by "Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound," which makes it seem as though they are two different things. But, in fact, there is only the one audio mix, DD 5.1, presumably remixed for the DVD. In any case, it sounds good, with plenty of deep bass, a wide front-channel stereo spread, and a lot of surround activity. Voices are firmly anchored out in the center channel, but you'll hear rain and dripping water all around the listening area. The sound is quite the best part of the show.
Extras:
An array of featurettes accompany the movie. The first is "Beneath the Surface: The Making of Dark Water," a five-part sequence that the user can access separately or all at once, lasting about fifteen minutes total and providing commentary from the various filmmakers. Next is "The Sound of Terror," seven minutes on the sound effects and music in the film. After that are two deleted scenes, about two minutes' worth, and then the main featurette, "An Extraordinary Ensemble," twenty-five minutes with the actors and others. Most of this material struck me as self-congratulatory, promotional stuff wherein the filmmakers tell you what they were attempting to do and how well they accomplished it, irregardless of their actual degree of success. Still, there is much good information one can learn about the filmmaking process from these little bits and pieces. The final featurette, called "Analyzing Dark Water," is about five minutes of filmmaker commentary on two scenes and then an interactive segment that you can play with the picture, the sound, the effects alone, or in a final mix.
The extras wrap up with twenty-four scene selections, plus a chapter insert; Sneak Peeks at seven other BV titles; English as the only spoken language; French and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired.
Parting Shots:
The filmmakers go to great lengths in the disc's featurettes to point out that they did not want "Dark Water" construed as a conventional horror flick but as a psychological thriller. This is to say that even though the movie is about the possibility of ghosts, such apparitions may not actually exist in the story but be figments of the main character's mind. The plot is largely character driven rather than action driven, which may or may not appeal to viewers looking to be scared out of their wits. I have no objection to whatever it is the filmmakers were up to, if they had only succeeded. As it is, I found "Dark Water" slow and depressing, and somehow I don't think that is what they intended.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]16853[/release]