After recuperating from the wacky experience of The Other Hell, I venture on to Dark Waters, another fine release from Severin Films. Unfortunately, this time around, the film just doesn’t have the same charm that Mattie’s “masterpiece” had.
Dark Waters is yet another nunsploitation film, but this time around, director/writer Mariano Baino attempts to tell a plot. I stress the word attempts, as he fails on plot delivery. Dark Waters is a messy flick that has a hell of a time trying to give us a story that makes any sense. Instead, we bounce from one scene to the next, as we watch the stunningly beautiful Louise Salter try to figure out her past and what connection she has to the convent she is staying at. As the film’s minutes roll on, things get weirder and weirder, until the final few scenes try to explain what the hell you just watched. All in all, it fails.
Things aren’t all bad, though, as Dark Waters is a fantastic looking film, with Cinematography Alex Howe setting up some really beautiful shots that play with shadows and lighting. The locations are used to the full potential.
As for acting, Louise Salter manages to provide a solid enough performance that won’t distract you from trying to figure out what the heck just happened. There aren’t many other main characters in the film, as everyone else ends up being characters that come and go.
I wish I could say more positive things about Dark Waters, as the film has the potential to be something original and interesting. There are spooky happenings all around, and the music invades your head with creepy moans and organs strings being attacked. The problem is, the story just can’t quite live up.
Nevertheless, I’ve seen plenty of other reviews that have people falling in love with the movie, so Severin Films is wise to send out a beautiful Blu-ray (the first time the film has been released in this format). There are new features to peruse through, with a relatively long 50-minute documentary on the movie that does a good job at making you understand the film a bit better. All in all, there are over four hours of features to burn your time on, so you don’t aren’t being cheated with this Blu-ray.
As for the video and audio transfer of Dark Waters. There are times where the film looks a bit soft around the edges, but other times and honestly most of the time, the film looks fantastic. The same goes for the audio, with no issues popping up that I could hear.
Part of me is disappointed that I didn’t love Dark Waters like most everyone else does, but I just can’t forgive it for having a nonsensical plot. At least with The Other Hell, the laughable cheesiness of everything softens the blow a bit, but with Dark Waters, the film tries to play it so seriously, you just can’t forgive it. Nevertheless, the Blu-ray is worth picking up for fans of the flick.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary With Writer / Director Mariano Baino
- Lovecraft Made Me Do It Featurette
- Let There Be Water Featurette
- Controlling the Uncontrollable Featurette
- Deep Into the Dark Waters Featurette
- Director Intro
- Deleted Scenes
- Silent Blooper reel With Audio Commentary by Director Mariano Baino
- Short Films Of Mariano Baino: Dream Car, Caruncula, Never Ever After
- Making of Never Ever After
PRODUCT INFORMATION
DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 89 min
ASPECT RATIO: 1.85:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: Dolby Digital Mono
LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: Region Free
RATING: NR
PRODUCTION DATE: 1994
RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2017
PLOT SUMMARY
It has been acclaimed as visually amazing (Videoscope), deeply disturbing (BBC Radio One), a must see for serious horror buffs (Film Review), and compared to the works of Bergman, Bava and Argento. Now experience the modern Nunsploitation masterpiece from co-writer/director Mariano Baino as you’ve never seen or heard it before: When a young Englishwoman attempts to discover her mysterious connection to a remote island convent, she will unlock an unholy communion of torment, blasphemy and graphic demonic depravity. Louise Salter (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE) stars in this stunning and horrifying debut (Digitally Obsessed) – filmed on location along the grim Ukraine coast – now transferred in HD from the original 35mm negative and featuring over 4 hours of startling Special Features.