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'Dark Water': Turns a leaky ceiling into chilly suspense

Never mind the evil spirit that haunts Jennifer Connelly in the eerily effective "Dark Water." What this movie really gets right is that there are few places scarier than a run-down New York City apartment with hair dripping out of the faucet.

Anyone who has lived in an old house or apartment knows that it can be unnerving just listening to the strange sounds the place makes. Who knows what those noises really are?

Touchstone Pictures 'Dark Water' B+ The verdict: Rarely has a ceiling leak been more nerve-wracking than in this movie. Director: Walter Salles Starring: Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite Run time: 105 minutes Release date: July 8, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material, frightening sequences, disturbing images and brief language. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Dark Water"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Even as Dahlia (Connelly) and her daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade) move into such an apartment, they are already dealing with serious emotional issues. Dahlia is locked in a venomous battle for Ceci's custody, and she still grapples with torment from an unhappy childhood.

All this seems to rub off on Ceci, who takes to talking with an imaginary friend named Natasha, which just happens to be the name of a little girl that vanished from that very apartment complex.

Is there really a ghost in the apartment? Or is Dahlia unknowingly reliving her old traumas and inflicting them on their daughter? Or is there a sinister third party that had some hand in Natasha's disappearance?

Most of the time, "Dark Water," the latest American remake of a Japanese horror film by Hideo Nakata of "Ringu" fame, spookily entertains all three possibilities.

Director Walter Salles ("The Motorcycle Diaries") doesn't have a background in horror, so he eschews most of the genre's boring "gotcha" shocks. Instead, Salles lets the creepiness of the environment, and the traumas of his characters, do most of the scaring. Rarely has a ceiling leak been more nerve-wracking than in this movie.

It helps greatly that there's a strong human element at the center of the story, thanks to smart writing by Rafael Yglesias and a strong cast. Connelly may be working in the horror genre but acts as if she's playing a serious drama, giving "Dark Water" something conspicuously absent from most horror films: soul.

Gade turns in one of the best child performances since Haley Joel Osment saw dead people in "The Sixth Sense," changing from cute kid to a sad, touching child. Pete Postlethwaite ("In the Name of the Father") makes a welcome return to the screen as the handyman who may or may not be sinister.

"Dark Water" so chillingly sets a mood of unease and uncertainty that it's especially disappointing to see the movie fall apart in the third act. I had been intrigued by how the film kept me off balance, not knowing whether the horror was real or imagined. Then, the movie serves up an unimaginative finale that's far too literal, draining the story of much of its mystery.

Still, the strong acting and direction make this movie rise above recent Japanese/American horror disappointments "The Grudge" and "The Ring Two." Botched ending and all, "Dark Water" is still well worth treading.