nisee-40120 This was a really good movie with a twist at the end. I also feel the ending made a lot of people upset, simply because they just weren't expecting it. To me it made a lot of sense, but it did not stop me from shedding tears. Dahlia and Ceci were amazing characters. There were a perfect amount of twists and turns and it had a Ring feel to it. I can say I really enjoyed the Ring a lot, so I was not at all disappointed. Jennifer Connelly did a great job with playing a loving and caring mother trying to make a way, while maintaining her surroundings that seemed to crumble around her. A very dark feel to this movie but it went in a great direction. As a parent of a 6 year old little girl I have a deep sympathy for all of the characters and I can understand the sacrifice we make for our children.

sorendanni Despite the roots of the original, this remake is not the typical american remake of a Japanees paranormal horror movie, but more like 'grown up paranormal thriller' (a sort of thriller we saw a lot during this decade, that just like the true Japanees remakes, I consider to be essential for the evolution that would become the modern horror movie of today) . It does not mean in anyway that I did not enjoy this one. En contraire. I just changed my chips and coke for some red wine and french cheese and let this dark waterfall come over me.Though no true scary movie, in a dark room with a large tv screen and a surround system, this one quickly got a hold on me. It was actually starting to become equal as frightening as sad towards the end. The morbid atmosphere of this movie is the sort you often find in scandinavian crime thrillers. Everything is dark: the setting, the lightening, the clothes of the characters and ofcourse the whole story itself. It could had been a stephen king novel, the sort he wrote during his high days in the late 70s. I guess this is because of subplot becoming one with the main plot as the movie goes along.I wont give you any spoilers, but I can tell you 3 more things: 1) Jennifer Connelly was at her best in this move, if you like her you need to have this one. 2) I am usaually satisfied with any horror or thriller movie having a rating on this site more then 5/10, but in this cas it is a hunge underestimation. I have watched many many movies with higher ratings being not so good as this one. 3) This is not to move to watch with your mates with popcorn. Watch it alone or with two of you, in the dark, with the volume up and let this one go straight to your heart. This is a movie you will remember.

GL84 Forced to stay in a crumbling apartment, a divorcée and her daughter find her new imaginary friend has more sinister motives behind being at the apartment and try to find a way of doing so before her daughter is targeted.Overall this one was a massively bland and boring effort. One of the bigger problems here is the fact that there's just so few ghostly action in this one that it really tends to go on for long periods without anything happening. The focus on the divorce isn't interesting as all it does is bring up the fact that they're not really tolerable towards each other when we first meet them, and their growing animosity doesn't help matters. There's also the numerous problems that comes from living in the apartment together and the other works there, as there's very little here that's appealing in this as almost all of it never really seems designed to showcase scares with the moldy walls inside their rooms, the continually breaking and malfunctioning appliances or how they all affect her mental state here is brought up by staying there as the two are really affected in the apartment which are completely un-scary and don't do anything here to either motive this along at a quick pace or even really make this feel much like a horror film as all of these scenes up front keep the ghostly action confined not only into the second half but also the final few minutes of this one so that so few time s of this one are actually enjoyable these here are what holds this down as there's not a whole lot here to really hold this up otherwise. The final half here is where this kicks off the ghostly action here by putting something behind the few supernatural actions of the previous part of the film so the drowning-level water and the mold spores that keep appearing in the house are all behind the appearance of the ghost girl. Not only is this appearance of the ghost given by the fantastic back-story scene involving the drowning girl in the water-tower which allows this one to go for the great ghostly sequence of the child appearing in the living room while still bathing in the tub which sets up the spectacular sequence of the tow in the drowning bathroom. Still, it's the only real horror scene in this one which does tend to really lower this one as well as well the other flaws here.Rated PG-13: Violence and Language.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com Ghost stories are a very common occurrence throughout history. Whether the actual phenomenon was portrayed in a good light or not, most people who believe they saw one get weirded out. Seeing something that looks like the image of a long gone person or animal is kind of strange. In literature, a ghost exists because of not being laid to rest appropriately, a curse or something along those lines. For director Hideo Nakata who has made several Japanese horror films, many producers seem to like remaking his films. In 1998, Nakata released Ringu (1998), which would later become The Ring (2002). During that year, Nakata released another original film of his called Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2002); this would eventually become this film. For what is presented here, it is moderately entertaining but it is nowhere near as being a great ghost feature. However even with that said, it does provide a brief enjoyable deviation from the usual horror tropes.The story is about Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly), a mother going through a divorce with her husband Kyle (Dougray Scott) who are both trying to figure out who will have custody over their daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade). After a counseling session goes wrong between the parents, Dahlia moves with Ceci to a city further away from Kyle. There they settle in old apartment building owned by Mr. Murray (John C. Reilly) and managed handyman Mr. Veeck (Pete Postlethwaite). Upon picking their suite, Dahlia notices the ceiling to her bedroom is leaking water. Within a couple of days the leak becomes worse and Dahlia takes it upon herself to figure out what the problem is on the floor above. Unexpectedly, Dahlia comes into contact with a ghost that not only will make her situation more tense but also jeopardize her daughter's life. The overall narrative penned by Rafael Yglesias (which was most likely just lifted from Nakata's work) feels solid. However, looking deeper into the cracks reveals various continuity errors.The acting and characters work effectively in their designated roles. Both Jennifer Connelly and Dougray Scott are convincing as a troubled couple but also show their love for their daughter as well. Seriously though, poor Dahlia - she goes through so much throughout the running time. On top of that after Dahlia moves to the new city, she's hit with a lawsuit by Kyle so she hires Jeff Platzer (Tim Roth) as her lawyer. Platzer probably shows her the most respect (other than Ceci). The duo of John C. Reilly and Pete Postlethwaite as the apartment managers demonstrates what happens when people don't take care of the property. The best actor of the bunch goes to Ariel Gade. She's the highlight of the feature just because how strong her character is at such an early age. How does one even deal with the events put onto them so well without cracking? It is also because of her innocent nature that she feels like the only one who doesn't have such a dim outlook on life. The ghost is played by Perla Haney-Jardine and although she's doesn't shine as much as Gade, she is creepy.The continuity errors to the script belong to Haney-Jardine's ghost role. Whenever the ghost is around, water begins to get pitch black and gross. However at first, it seems it's only the water in the apartment. Yet when Ceci's at school, the ghost can make the water dark there too – how? This brings in the other question. Most ghosts are bound by which the place they thrived as a human being. So why is it that she can move to the school but yet is bound only by the apartment? Not making sense here. Another good question that isn't answered (non-continuity related) is where are all the tenants at Mr. Murray's complex? Practically nobody shows his or her face. Does anyone live there and if they do where are they? The creep factor is definitely alive in this film though. Besides the fact that the rating is PG-13, there are a number of good scenes that just involve establishing shots of various places in Dahlia's apartment suite. Plus with the fact that the whole apartment owned by Mr. Murray doesn't look the best, it just adds to the uneasiness of what is being portrayed. Thankfully, there are not a lot of jump scares to this feature.The cinematography shot by Affonso Beato compliments a lot of the scenes dealing with the apartment and rain itself. Throughout the movie, it rains almost the whole time. It is rare that weather sets a tone for a movie but that's what occurs here. The rain immediately does that with its consistency and gloomy grey atmosphere. Another thing to take note of is the lighting used per scene. Much of the colors in each scene have a drained yellowish look to them as if they lack actual life. It's a nice touch. The film score composed by Angelo Badalamenti does its job too. Unlike his first effort in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), which consisted of a pure cheap sounding synth performance, this effort is far superior. Badalamenti has a much more organic sound and it uses minimal synth in the back for atmosphere. Actual piano, strings, harps and horns play the rest of the sound. There's also a main theme for the film and it is beautifully tragic highlighted by solo piano keys. A much better listening experience.Its writing has some big plot holes that don't make sense but it doesn't drag the film down entirely. The characters are believable, the creepiness is there (without a ton a of jump scares), the camera-work matches the mood of the story and the music is hauntingly memorable.