Dark Water, by the director of Ringu, follows a newly-divorced woman trying to hold on to the custody of her small daughter when she moves into a water-logged apartment building haunted by a dead girl. I wouldn't say there's much of a mystery - it's pretty obvious what might have happened, and we're usually many steps ahead of the characters. Though it gets a bit more monstery in the third act, I wouldn't exactly call it terrifying, so as a horror picture, it's a little tepid. But it does work as a supernatural drama/tragedy where the water has metaphorical ties to placental fluids, about a vulnerable woman afraid of losing her daughter to a cold, antagonistic ex-husband. Or perhaps she must realize her own anxiety and depression are actually what puts her daughter at risk. While some people will indeed find it scary, perhaps in a more profound way, I am content with it being an atmospheric, hallucinatory family drama.

great atmospheric film that packs an emotional punch.

Kanopy