2005’s “Dark Water” is an American remake of a 2002 Japanese film of the same name. It comes after other Japanese horror movies have received American remakes such as “The Ring” and “The Grudge”. “Dark Water” essentially feels like a mixture of “Barton Fink”, “The Others” and “The Grudge”.

Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly “Hulk”, “Rocketeer”) and her daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade “Envy”) move into a sinister apartment building just outside New York City. Ceci’s parents are in the middle of a bitter custody battle and things only get worse when the apartment bedroom’s ceiling keeps leaking. As Dahlia battles her ex-husband (Dougray Scott “Mission: Impossible 2”) and tries to stop the leak, Ceci gets an ‘imaginary’ friend.

Jennifer Connelly gives a really great performance and you feel very sympathetic towards her. She is becomes truly tormented during this movie and she conveys that in a smart and effective manner. The little girl is okay but nothing special. The interactions between the two are done rather well. I liked John C. Reilly (“Wreck-It Ralph”) as the apologetic Mr. Murray, who sells Dahlia the apartment. Pete Postlethwaite (“The Usual Suspects”), Tim Roth (“Reservoir Dogs”) and Dougray Scott are all somewhat enjoyable as well.

This movie is absolutely excellent at times and manages to craft some very genuinely scary moments but the movie ruins it with its use of supernatural entities. I enjoyed “The Grudge” and that movie made use of supernatural entities but I felt that “Dark Water” had the potential to be so shocking and so disturbing that it really felt as if the supernatural element strips the movie of any genuine terror. “The Grudge” offered a series of intense sequences but “Dark Water” could have offered a brilliant journey into the breakdown of the Dahlia character. This movie shows you all the goods but snatches them away before you get your fair share and that’s a real shame.