Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Dark Waters Blu-ray Movie Review

This may be why we need the EPA.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 25, 2017

Water is one of those “aggregate” nouns that can sound acceptable as either an ostensible singular or plural, though it would be hard to really detail what differentiates “water” from “waters”. In that regard, it’s notable that there have been at least a couple of films with titles similar to the one currently under review, including such productions as Dark Water and its Americanized version Dark Water, as well as a Doctor Who two-fer called Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death in Heaven 3D. Putting aside the good doctor for the purposes of this review, the original Japanese Dark Water and its American update featured the horror tradition of a damsel in distress, one in a weirdly claustrophobic environment which seemed to have a mind of its own and which seemed to be nefarious in some way. This 1993 film posits much the same scenario, albeit in a completely different context. The main thrust of the film involves a young heiress named Elizabeth (Louise Salter) who journeys to an isolated convent on a storm drenched island to find out why her recently deceased father has been sending regular payments to the nuns who inhabit (no pun intended) the place. Dark Waters has already hinted that there are supernatural forces at play in this particular location, and Elizabeth’s quest to find out both her personal history and her connection to the island of course intersects with this spooky plot element in a story that at times is at least somewhat reminiscent of The Sentinel.

Andy Bark’s screenplay isn’t always a model of clarity, and that tendency is on display from the get go, with a prelude of sorts that depicts a solemn Priest intoning some sort of hoo-hah (that’s a liturgical term, in case you’re unaware) from some sort of ancient book filled with symbols and an alphabet that reeks of occultism. Meanwhile, a woman who looks like she wandered in from a nearby version of Anne of the Thousand Days is shown a scary stone medallion of some kind of beast by a little girl, a sight which causes the woman to run screaming into a violent storm in order to (evidently) get inside the church where the Priest is doing whatever the Priest is doing. The maelstrom only increases, ultimately drowning and then impaling the Priest (on a crucifix, no less), while the woman escapes to a nearby cliff, still clutching the medallion. A point of view shot suggests that some kind of force is out to get her, and sure enough, the sequence ends with the woman sprawled on rocks far below and the medallion shattered in several pieces. A brief coda of sorts shows the pieces of the medallion being surreptitiously collected and then sequestered away in various locations, and then a kind of Grand Guignol finale where a young novitiate witnesses some kind of ritual involving nuns and burning crosses that ends with the girl's pretty grisly demise. What was that all about?

A text card announcing “20 years later” then appears and the film lurches somewhat uneasily into a bus ride where we meet Elizabeth. I have to say I was monumentally confused by this sequence, since the other passengers on the bus seemed to be extras from The Snake Pit or Shock Corridor, a patently bizarre assortment of folks who all act like they’re mentally deficient and which led me to briefly believe that Elizabeth was an inmate at a psychiatric institution being transported somewhere for some reason. She is however on her way to an institution— namely the island convent her late father had been helping to support for untold years. In yet another unexplained informational snippet, a brief voiceover suggests Elizabeth has a friend named Theresa waiting for her there.

It turns out that Elizabeth actually has a history with the island beyond her father’s support of the convent, having been born and raised (for a little while, anyway) there. Her mother supposedly died in childbirth, and Elizabeth is eager to reconnect with her “roots”, aside from solving the mystery of what her late father’s fascination with the place is all about. Once she gets to the island (which is no small feat, considering the nonstop storm that is part and parcel of this film) she is partnered with a novitiate named Sarah (Venera Simmons), who becomes Sarah’s “tour guide” and chaperone. Already some devoted horror fans may be guessing at various “twists” that are due, but Bark’s screenplay and the direction of Mariano Baino (which often presents long sequences devoid of any dialogue) does a relatively artful job of misdirection, positing all sorts of nemeses for Elizabeth, including at least one murderous nun.

There are all sorts of fascinating tidbits sprinkled throughout Dark Waters, but one has to work perhaps too diligently to weave them into an organic whole. What, for example, is the point of the feral Caliban like guy who just shows up for a minute on the bow of the boat Elizabeth takes to the island? And what exactly is going on with the nuns’ rituals involving flaming crosses? Also, what magical power is being attributed to the medallion itself, especially in light of the film’s big climax? A lot of the characters are similarly fascinating, including the cataract bedeviled (sorry) Mother Superior, who looks like a distaff version of a similar wizened (male) elder in The Name of the Rose, but as with so much else in this film, she’s just kind of plopped down without explanation, given a riveting scene or two, and then dismissed in favor of the next “freak show”.

Without posting any outright spoilers, and with a recognition that anyone worth their horror salt (water?) will probably see this particular element developing anyway, there’s a certain plot arc here which is at least somewhat reminiscent of what happens in The Wicker Man, where an intrepid “investigator” on an isolated island surrounded by odd “natives” finds out that his presence there isn’t exactly by chance and that he is in fact more of a focal element than what he’s supposedly investigating. The Wicker Man has been faulted by some for being deliberately obfuscatory, but I have to say after having watched Dark Waters that The Wicker Man is a paradigm of clarity when compared to this particular film. That’s not to say that Dark Waters isn’t effective, for it is, especially from a visual standpoint, for Baino weaves a rather hypnotic array of images that helps to establish a properly hallucinatory ambience. The film probably could have benefitted from a bit of tightening in the writing department, however. Like a half remembered dream (and/or nightmare, considering some of the elements on display), you’re left with a potent feeling of unease but an equally disconcerting apprehension that not everything makes sense.

Dark Waters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dark Waters is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.84:1, which Severin mentions briefly in verbiage included on the back cover was sourced from the original 35mm camera negative. This has a somewhat noisy looking grain field, especially in some of the darker scenes, and there are occasional minor registration issues which I assume are source related. The bulk of the film is bathed in beiges, browns, ochres and yellows, and as such, the palette assumes an almost monochromatic look at times. This, coupled with dim lighting and the heavy grain, can tend to deplete fine detail levels, though in a rather abrupt transition to outside environments late in the film, the palette perks up measurably, as do general and fine detail levels. Some signs of digital sharpening are evident, which may in fact add to the perception of an overly coarse grain field. All in all, this is certainly watchable and my hunch is fans of the film who have been subject to less than ideal previous presentations will find this a largely commendable effort.

Dark Waters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This is the second Severin release I've reviewed recently where the main soundtrack is presented in lossy Dolby Digital 2.0, while an also included commentary track gets the uncompressed treatment, something that seems to suggest either an outright mistake or at the very least some misplaced priorities in terms of which track should be lossless. This is one film that actually probably would have benefited from a lossless track, since the rather evocative sound design is one of the film's chief assets (as mentioned above, several long sequences play out with very little to no dialogue). That said, the film's score isn't always helpful (some cues are rather good, others, which are slathered in synth patches, are overwrought and intrusive) and maybe it's a blessing in disguise that it isn't presented more forcefully. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and is well prioritized.

Dark Waters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Mariano Baino is hosted by No Shame Video's Michéle De Angelis. Both participants are fairly heavily accented and it can occasionally be a bit hard to decipher exactly what they're saying.


• Lovecraft Made Me Do It Featurette (1080p; 9:51) offers Baino discussing H.P. Lovecraft's influence on him generally and with regard to this film in particular.


• Let There Be Water (1080p; 6:44) offers Baino again, this time dissecting how he filmed the opening deluge sequence.


• Controlling the Uncontrollable Featurette (1080p; 5:10) features Baino discussing control both in terms of his directorial ambitions.


• Deep into the Dark Waters (480i; 50:28) is a well done archival making of piece that actually helps to fill in a few of the gaps the film's narrative kind of leaves by the wayside.


• Director Intro (480i; 2:36) is ported over from the DVD Special Edition and features a few comments by Baino.


• Deleted Scenes (480i; 7:14)


• Silent Blooper Reel with Commentary by Director Mariano Baino (480i; 2:52)


• Short Films of Mariano Baino offer optional commentaries on the listings marked with an asterisk (*):

  Dream Car* (480i; 16:16)

  Caruncula* (480i; 21:26)

  Never Ever After* (480i; 13:47)

  Making of Never Ever After (480i; 14:04)

  Face and the Body Music Video (480i; 4:30)

Dark Waters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was actually quite captivated by Dark Waters, despite what I perceived as deficiencies, as outlined above. The film has a palpable mood which helps it to overcome at least some of its self inflicted narrative hurdles, and visually the film is never less than arresting. Video and (especially) audio have technical limitations which interested consumers might want to ponder, but the supplementary package is great, and overall Dark Waters comes Recommended.