Now, on to the movie.

1994's Dark Waters is a surreal, atmospheric film. Much of the movie is shot in dark rooms and candle-lit tunnels. The monolithic cliff-top nunnery has no power, no comforts and no way to contact the outside world. The remote island location is a constant reminder of being trapped, of being bound with no way to escape. This isolation just adds to the claustrophobic mood set by the small dark rooms and tight, torch illuminated catacombs and hallways.

The film evokes strong tones of alienation... of separation from everything you know. The feeling of disaffection is compounded by the dialog that's delivered in the badly broken English spoken by much of the Ukrainian cast. You ultimately understand the words spoken by the actors, only you understand them a heartbeat or two after they are spoken.

The feeling of being estranged from anything you'd consider normal is accentuated by the behavior of the nuns in Dark Waters. There are some remarkable scenes of the nuns standing at the edge of a cliff, or at the edge of the sea, bearing flaming crosses in what appears to be a well practiced ceremony. Torch-wielding nuns move about the dark hallways of the convent carrying on some business that has, for them, been going on for generations. You are given no clue as to what is happening or what they are doing at all hours of the day and night.

Nearly as soon as the heroine, Elizabeth, gets to the convent, all of her personal belongings are confiscated by the sisters. This is a convent rule that everyone must be separated from anything belonging to the outside world. This removal of personality just continues to compound the isolation thrust upon Elizabeth from the beginning of the film.

A novice is assigned to Elizabeth when she arrives at the convent to help her navigate in unfamiliar surroundings. It soon becomes apparent that the novice is not exactly who she seems. The novice, Sarah, takes Elizabeth to speak to the Mother Superior of the convent. The blind Mother Superior, who seems to be more than one hundred years old, speaks to Elizabeth through an emotionless interpreter. She makes it clear, without actually saying it, that Elizabeth is an unwelcome guest. It is at this point where you are made aware of the underlying plot of the film.

After her father's death, Elizabeth makes the journey to the remote convent to find out why her father bequeathed an annuity to the reclusive order. Also, Elizabeth is curious about the remote island as it is her birth place. Her father never spoke of her time on the island; he even tried to remove Elizabeth's memory of her time spent there completely.

I will not spoil any more of the plot, save to say that this film is akin to many of the Lovecraftian stories I've read over the years. Imagine if you can Dagon, or The Shadow Over Innsmouth, set in a seaside convent, directed by Argento and photographed by Bava. The movie is full of excellent scenes of murder, madness and some disconcerting nightmare imagery.

The cinematography is fantastic and you could not ask for a better location for this story. The plot itself was just intricate enough to be remotely believable.

The only complaint I had with the movie was the final reveal of the "monster". The original model was probably excellent in miniature, but it did not translate well to a full sized prosthetic appliance. It was stiff, lifeless and the only part of the film that looked low budget.

Barring the one issue with the monster, it was a genuinely good movie. The Lovecraftian story was excellent. The nightmarish feel of was sustained throughout the length of the movie. The DVD transfer was vibrant and the audio was sharp.

Any fan of stylish horror movies from the Italian directors of the '70s and the disturbing stories of H.P. Lovecraft or Robert E. Howard will enjoy this movie.