Friday, July 08, 2005

Troubled Waters

I saw Deep Water tonight. I'm really not sure if I liked it or not. For the moment, at least, it defies the sort of letter grading I've provided in other recent movie reviews.

I was reminded very much of my experience seeing The Village, where I'd been totally hoodwinked going in, expecting a different kind of movie. From the trailers, you'd think Dark Water was going to be "The (Bathtub) Ring." Don't be fooled. This movie isn't really scary and, with the exception of one or two moments, I don't think it's meant to be. I mean, when your biggest ally against the ghost is a lawyer, it's pretty clear we're not watching the usual ghost story.

I'm not sure the movie was really "good," in the end. But paradoxically, it was very intriguing. It had a number of small, but very interesting characters. It had some good moments of foreshadowing and consistency sprinkled throughout. It was a relatively well-thought out tale. But if you go expecting a pervasive creepy tone, you'll be disappointed.

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