Movie Comments #1

I will try to periodically write some comments about movies I watch. Since I have a fascination for story-telling and since I average about three movies a week, I will take the time to make some general comments about a few and rate them according to my 1-10 scale (10 being excellent in every way). The comments on future movies will be on audio but to start I decided to make some written comments about Dark Water. The plot is about a mother going through a messy divorce and fighting for the custody of her daughter. Due to the lack of money they move into an old apartment building. The story then unfolds as leaks begin to appear on their ceiling and the daughter starts to have conversations with a ghost. Though a familiar plot in horror thrillers, Dark Water superceeds others like The Grudge because it spends a considerable amount of time in the beginning developing the characters and explaining the real life dilemmas of a single mom. The little girl played by Ariel gade does a remarkable job in expressing the complex decisions little girls go through when going through significant change. Writer and Christian commentator Brian Godawa comments

that so many of these adapted foreign thrillers start out with a real scary premise and presence, but end up with weak stupid endings that don’t make sense

Though I have met Mr. Godawa and have benefited tremendously from his works and audio material I find him overly negative about too many movies that I have enjoyed. I believe he is constantly over-analyzing movies and missing some crucial nuances. Nevertheless, I still read his comments for just about any movie because he is always insightful. Here I differ with Brian because I believe the ending summarizes the depth of a mother’s love for her child. This love is expressed even to the point of self-sacrifice, which by the way happens to be a strong Biblical theme. Granted, the plot unveils the modern fascination for ghost stories and supernatural manifestations, but the morality expressed in the movie remains solid.
What message in this movie reflected Biblical principles? A mother’s love for her child is a large contrast to our society where children are abandoned by their parents who are unconcerned about their future or well-being.
What message in this movie reflected pagan notions? Ghosts manifesting themselves through dark water leaks on a ceiling proves that Hollywood is desperate to confuse the audience about supernatural manifestations. I firmly believe in supernatural manifestation, but when speaking of a little girl coming and appearing physically to cause harm on others this is a little absurd and unwarratnted by Scriptures.
RATE OF MOVIE: 7