Jennifer Connelly and Ariel Gade deliver superb performances in Dark Water, the latest remake of a Japanese horror movie.

Creepy child spirits. Single moms. Prescient kids. Ah, the Japanese. They love their raw fish, but they love their ghost stories more. Especially the same ghost story. Told over and over. And over. Again.

Thing is, Dark Water is a far more thoughtful, evocative enterprise than the likes of The Grudge, another post-Ring slice of Americanized chop-schlocky that scared the unholy snot out of audiences without the benefit of being terribly well-made.

Dark Water, on the other hand, is terribly well-made. Like well-crafted furniture. Problem is, who wants to watch an armchair and ottoman for two hours?

For that credit -- or blame -- director Walter Salles, a talented filmmaker (The Motorcycles Diaries) swimming at the shallow end of the pool. Right there with him? Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), a gorgeous, gifted performer who can epitomize luminous grunge like no other. Don't know what I mean? Watch Requiem for a Dream sometime -- just don't blame me if it makes you take a scalding shower and seek counselling afterward.

In Water, Connelly plays Dahlia Williams. Abused as a child, neglected and cheated on as a wife and mother, she's already subsisting under a permanent shadow when she moves into a dilapidated but inexpensive apartment with her daughter, Ceci (an impressive Ariel Gade).

Ceci's the only stab of light in Dahlia's nightmarish world. Otherwise, evil surrounds her -- it's in the smile of her building manager, Mr. Murphy (John C. Reilly) and in the sneer of the apartment's superintendent (Pete Postlethwaite). Even her lawyer (Tim Roth) seems suspect. Making matters worse? Her ex-husband (Dougray Scott) wants custody of Ceci. And oh yeah -- her apartment has a leak. Cue the spine-tingling music. Then cue it again when Ceci gets an imaginary friend.

Any movie that's more engrossing than shocking should be appreciated. But Salles struggles to marry his artistic ambitions with the story's roots in familiar Japanese horror. It's not a poor film. Just a confused one.

EXTRAS: Deleted scenes and a making of featurette.

And a lot of water.

DARK WATER

STARS: Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly

DIRECTED BY: Walter Salles

IN BRIEF: A mother and daughter put their relationship to the test when they move into an old apartment, which is possibly haunted.

RATING: 3 out of 5