The film’s lack of any plot – in fact, almost complete lack of dialogue for the most part – proves intensely frustrating. There are so many plot elements raised and merely left without explanation – why did Elizabeth’s father make a bequeathment to support the convent? How come the character of Sarah, when finally shown undressed, has terrible scars all over her body? What is the significance of the amulet? Why do the nuns go about killing people? What is the demon that is kept bricked up in the catacombs? There is a mystery set up about Elizabeth having been told and believed her mother died when she was young but evidence discovered that her mother lived on beyond this point – but again this mystery is simply raised and never explained or explored any further.

Dark Waters is an exasperating film of pseudo-Goth poses whose overly plentiful imagery fails to mask a fundamental emptiness at its centre. It is no more than an amateurish production (and is certainly edited like one) being made by a novice filmmaker who became carried away with his more arty side. Usually these days, productions such as these are made on video, but Dark Waters obtained enough financing to go and shoot on location in Russia. Certainly, the Russian locations make for some nicely desolate looking landscapes that add to the atmosphere, but it is otherwise a wasted effort.