Dark Water [2005] Pt.3

Dahlia falls asleep and has a dream that she is taking care of Ceci for a day, Ceci actually spends the day with her father. This is actually Natasha's ghost, which they convey to us through camera angles that obscure her face at first. At night she asks Dahlia, "Mommy, I'm scared I wanna sleep with you." Dahlia doesn't turn around and says yes. At this point we see the child's face. It looks like Ceci but there is an entirely necessary scary chord inserted here. Otherwise we would NEVER know that it's supposed to be scary. That wasn't sarcasm either. Meh. Dahlia wakes up to see her entire ceiling black and moldy, dripping water. It has been an entire day that she was 'asleep'.
Later, the husband (I still don't know his name) drops Ceci back off at the apartment but Dahlia has become suspicious. She tells Ceci to wait at the elevator while she checks on something. She saw Husband drive away but he's actually eating a sandwich in the diner across the street. This tips Dahlia off that her husband comes to Roosevelt island more than he lets on. Meanwhile, the elevator opens and Ceci is drawn to what looks like a puddle of water in the corner. The doors shut and take her up to the top floor before coming back down. When Ceci comes back in sight what do you think she has? The Hello Kitty bag! Oh the horror!

Dahlia takes the bag and angrily turns it in to Mr. Veck, threatening him with a law suit if the leak in the ceiling isn't fixed posthaste. This kind of spoils the helpless, end-of-her-wits characterization the mother is supposed to have, in my opinion.

The next day Natasha seems to take control of Ceci's arm while the class is painting, prompting her to make a scene. The teacher sends her to the bathroom to clean up, alone of course. The faucets and toilets start to gush dirty water and Natasha's ghost corners her in one of the stalls. Now I'm confused. I thought they were friends? Just the other day Natasha gave her the Hello Kitty bag and sang songs with her. Why the sudden murderous hostility? Dahlia ends up getting the call late and can't find Ceci at the hospital either. She insists to her lawyer that she isn't crazy then goes home and acts like a crazy person, wailing and pounding on the walls. The moldy patch speaks to her using her mother's voice. It turns out the husband picked Ceci up. The lawyer shows up and asks questions of Murray and Veck, demanding to know more about the Rimsky child and what happened to her.
I don't know why. The Rimsky's are not his problem, nor are they at all related to her case. Why is he meddling? In the original the most the lawyer got involved was to offhandedly ask how often the water tank was cleaned. Nice and subtle. Here it seems like the lead up to the conclusion was shoe-horned in.
Dahlia gazes at the newly installed pipes and whispers to herself about how Natasha was left behind by her parents. The father thought she went with her mother, the mother abandoned the child because she couldn't take care of her. "Help me" and suddenly wet footprints lead out of her apartment and up to the roof. *rolls eyes* The water tank overflows with water. As Dahlia ascends the ladder, scenes of Natasha doing the same overlap. Natasha apparently leaned over too far and flipped right into the tank. That's retarded. She didn't drop her bag and fall in reaching for it, she just dives in. Ridiculous. Dahlia opens the tank and sees her body floating slightly beneath the surface. Dahlia reaches for her when the eyes suddenly open (accompanied, as always, by a scream), startling her and causing her to slam the lid shut again. At this I laughed out loud. Dahlia cautiously opens the tank again and the eyes are shut once more. "Pull that shit again and I leave you in here, brat." Ok, she didn't actually say that but it's what went through my head lol.

Cut to the police stuffing Veck into a squad car. Apparently, Natasha has been dead for weeks and Veck probably found her in the tank, explaining his refusal to fix the building's plumbing problem. The next day she meets Husband and tells him that she would be willing to move to Jersey City so that shared custody would be easier. They seem to reconcile somewhat.
Later that night Dahlia shares a tender moment with Ceci while the camera zooms in on the clean ceiling corner and ominous music plays. Ceci takes a bath when the door (made of plate glass) closes silently. Outside mom talks on the phone when a bath-robed figure comes out and asks, "Mommy, can you read me a story?" Then Dahlia hears Ceci's voice coming from the bathroom! EGADS!!!
Suddenly, it isn't Ceci but Natasha under the robe. "Don't leave me, I want you to be my mommy, don't leave me." delivered in an unconvincing monotone by a bad child actor... The bathroom door slams shut and locks while Natasha appears in the bathtub (looking ridiculous wearing her school uniform amidst the bubbles). Dahlia finally breaks through the door to see Natasha drowning Ceci. After ineffectually bashing the door with a blow-dryer while what looks like shit water gushes everywhere Dahlia agrees to stay with Natasha and be her mommy. The shit water drowns her and Ceci bobs back up behind the door gasping for air.
Ah, bullshit. This action packed climactic scene is shit.

3 weeks later, Ceci returns with Dad to get her things. Ceci gets separated from Dad in the elevator and she looks up a drip of water in the corner of the room. Dahlia appears to reassure her little girl and tell her, "Whenever you need me, I'll be here." Well ain't that comforting? Whenever you need mom you just have to come to this crappy apartment complex to speak with her ghost.

Ok, final verdict: shitty horror movie, but would have been a decent drama. What would that be, a C-? I'm out. Peace. (￣__￣)_V