November 04, 2006
Dark Waters
The best Argento movie that Dario never made
Starring: Louise Salter
Rating: 8/10
Directed By: Mariano Baino
Runtime: 84 minutes
Starring: Louise Salter
Rating: 8/10
Directed By: Mariano Baino
Runtime: 84 minutes
Since I was a kid I would troll the aisles of my local video store looking for hidden treasures; treasure which I rarely discovered. In the late 90's I was lucky enough to stumble upon a video called Dead Waters. The artwork on the box was far from promising and I recognized not one name on the box but, on a whim, I picked it up and took it home and discovered one of the finest independent horror films of the past 20 years. I feared the only chance I would have to own that film was to stumble across a beat up VHS in the clearance bin of a local Blockbuster but, thanks to the people at NoShame Films, that is no longer a worry. NoShame has repackaged a beautifully remastered version of the film under its original moniker, Dark Waters. In addition they've packaged it together with a collection of director Mariano Baino's early super-8 films and a replica of the film's stone amulet.
The film's plot revolves around a London woman's (Louise Salter) visit to a convent on a desolate Italian isle in an attempt to understand the money that is being paid to the convent by her late father's estate. The plot is unnecessary, though, as the real power of the film is in its stunning visuals. Much like Dario Argento in his prime, Baino understands that a stunning visual can trump an incoherent plot any day of the week and Dark Waters is loaded with visuals as stunning as any seen in the early works of Argento and Mario Bavo.
Dark Waters is the only film that Baino has ever made and hopefully this re-release of his modern classic will go a long ways toward him being rediscovered. I find it truly mind-boggling that filmmakers like Michael Bay and Brett Ratner continue to be given projects while young visionaries like Baino and Richard Stanley (see Dust Devil review) languish in a filmmaking purgatory.
The film's plot revolves around a London woman's (Louise Salter) visit to a convent on a desolate Italian isle in an attempt to understand the money that is being paid to the convent by her late father's estate. The plot is unnecessary, though, as the real power of the film is in its stunning visuals. Much like Dario Argento in his prime, Baino understands that a stunning visual can trump an incoherent plot any day of the week and Dark Waters is loaded with visuals as stunning as any seen in the early works of Argento and Mario Bavo.
Dark Waters is the only film that Baino has ever made and hopefully this re-release of his modern classic will go a long ways toward him being rediscovered. I find it truly mind-boggling that filmmakers like Michael Bay and Brett Ratner continue to be given projects while young visionaries like Baino and Richard Stanley (see Dust Devil review) languish in a filmmaking purgatory.