SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: CHIN KE NI KELLY

STUDENT ID NO: 0324021

GROUP / SESSION : WEDNESDAY ( 4 PM - 6 PM )

SUBJECT : ENGLISH 2 ( ELG 30605 )

ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE - CONTRAST ESSAY

INTAKE : MARCH 2015

LECTURER: GOPIGHANTAN MYLVAGANAM

SUBMISSION DATE: 4TH DECEMBER 2015

For the past few decades, some horror movies are consider science- fiction film. It had exceptionally risen in popularity. Certain people crave for horror movies as they give an exciting psychological thrill ride to viewers. They tend to play on the audience’s primal fears, such as nightmares, supernatural events and terror of the unknown. The two horror movies I am comparing in this essay are ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Dark Water’. These two movies possess several similarities and also characteristics that make each of them unique. 

First, the core similarity of both of these movies are the fact that they are basically related to family events or problems. So, ‘Annabelle’ this movie starts with the main characters, John and Mia Form expecting a new born baby while ‘Dark Water’ rotate around Yoshimi Matsubara, who is in the midst of divorce, trying to win custody over her daughter, Ikuko. Also, these two horror movies involve moving from an old to a new place. The Form family moved from their former house in Santa Monica to a new apartment in Pasadena after a doll they bought mysteriously caused a fire. In ‘Dark Water’, Yoshimi moved from her former residence to a run-down apartment and enrolled Ikuko to a new kindergarten. 

Moreover, strange events happen frequently in both movies. In ‘Annabelle’, John threw the doll in the trash but it appeared when they moved to Pasadena. The doll appears to have satanic powers as it locks doors, moves furniture and levitates in mid-air. It even caused a fire. It turns out that a demonic figure is manipulating the doll and it demanded for their baby daughter’s soul. In the other movie, a red bag with a bunny on the front reappears no matter how often Yoshimi tries to discard it. Hair is found in tap water and Yoshimi gets glimpses of a mysterious long-haired girl. Ikuko, who was left alone in the apartment, attempted to turn off the bath tap, which spurt filthy water. Suddenly, an evil spirit appeared from the water and attempted to drown her. 

Next, the themes of these two movies share certain similarities as well. The Both movie ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Dark Water’ possess themes related to love and sacrifice. Both ghosts in these two movies also share a common trait – demanding for a soul. In ‘Dark Water’, Yoshimi showed her unconditional motherly love to her daughter, Ikuko by appeasing the evil spirit and offered to become her mother. This allows Ikuko to live while her soul is given to the spirit. On the other hand, John and Mia tried their best to protect their daughter from harm. Mia even attempted to offer her soul to Annabelle but was saved by John. At the end, Evelyn, a bookstore owner took hold of the doll and decided to sacrifice herself, knowing this way she can atone for Ruby’s death. 

Asides from similarities, these two movies have multiple differences. Firstly, ‘Annabelle’ was set in the United States of America in 1969 while ‘Dark Water’ had its plot set in modern day Japan. There are cultural differences as ‘Annabelle’ presented a Western family that stands firm with Christian values while ‘Dark Water’ showed an Asian family that believes in the existence of rogue spirits and the underworld. The language spoken in ‘Annabelle’ is English while Japanese is spoken in ‘Dark Water’. Furthermore, ‘Annabelle’ showed a happy family, which had their bonds tied stronger after occasions happened while ‘Dark Water’ depicted a divorced family where the father

is never shown in the movie. The Forms lived blissfully together while Yoshimi lived separately from her spouse. 

Also, the person sacrificed to the ghost in ‘Annabelle’ is unrelated to the family. She is just an ordinary woman who ran a bookstore nearby the Forms’ new apartment. Her name was Evelyn. At first, Mia wanted to jump off the window but was spared by her spouse. Nonetheless, in ‘Dark Water’, Yoshimi herself sacrificed her own soul to let her daughter, Ikuko survive. Her spouse was not there to rescue her. The way these two characters offer their souls are entirely different. Evelyn jumped off the apartment window, carrying the Annabelle doll in her arms while Yoshimi sacrificed herself by staying on the elevator to appease the evil spirit and become its substitute mother. The elevator ascended, but when the door opened, a flood of murky brown water rushed out and nobody emerged. 

Alongside with that, the way the evil spirits appear in both movies are totally different. Most of the time in ‘Annabelle’, the evil spirit is invisible and manipulates the doll, but sometimes it appears as a woman with long hair dressed in white. Occasionally, the spirit shows its true form as a demonic figure. In ‘Dark Water’, the evil spirit appears as a little young girl with long hair and had her body soaked in water. It wears a gown contaminated by filthy water and can emerge suddenly from murky water.

In conclusion, horror movies have common traits that made them successful blockbusters. Both ‘Annabelle’ and ‘Dark Water’ share many similarities. Horror movies tend to add paranormal scenes into ordinary life, which makes them curious. No wonder they achieve high movie ratings.

Reference

Langan, J. (2010). College Writing Skills, (8th edition) New York: McGraw Hill.