So I got through a round of Asian horror films with mixed feelings. Initial reaction to Dark Water was similar to my reaction to the Japanese Ring (I can’t stand how they spell it Ringu in English) where the beginning and middle was slow with nothing spectacular in the production value but the end has a certain charm in how it can make you flinch with very little gore or violence. Hell I was so enthused by the simplicity of Dark Water that I showed it to my sister and Mom who don’t like scary movies – I get a kick out of seeing their reactions but at the same time I would never subject them to anything inappropriate or offensive. The Eye 2 was a bit slow for me as well with an ending that aspired to be a Sixth Sense but didn’t quite make it. I guess they tried to parallel death and birth and the symptoms of pregnancy but it all didn’t quite gel. The cinematography was nice and slick with some interesting framing and simple effects (although the effects were certainly more elaborate than Dark Water). The main character wasn’t very believable and the plot just way too convenient; Dark Water had similar plot conveniences toward the end but some of the themes were much more subtle, which I appreciated (like the paralleling the neglect of the building with the neglect of a child). In comparing all these related movies I would still say I enjoyed Gore Verbinski’s remake The Ring because of it’s super slick visual style and endless cross references in terms of imagery, plot, and characters. Sam.
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