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| The clammy poster for Hideo Nakata's Dark Water |
QUICK REVIEW:
A single mother has to move herself and her daughter into a water-damaged flat and try to balance work, her custody case, motherhood and the mystical occurrences taking place in the building.
Dark Water is an imperceptibly working, economically told horror that gets under your skin with steely determination, SPOILER especially shown in the scenes where the mother accidentally neglects her daughter due to a job interview that draws out.
The film is build up strangely around its water effects, which gradually freezes its audience until put in a state of positively icy horror. In the third act, I found myself on the edge of my seat, and the ending combines shock, inventive horrors and tristesse impressively.
Dark Water is written by Takashige Ichise (Talk to the Dead/Tôku tu za Deddo (2013)), Yoshihiro Nakamura (Miracle Apples/Kiseki no Ringo (2013)), Ken'ichi Suzuki (Elevator Trap/Akumu no Erebêtâ (2009)) and the great Japanese co-writer-director Hideo Nakata (Ring/Ringu (1998)), based on a same-titled story by Koji Suzuki (Ring/Ringu (1991)). It certainly seems to be inspired by both Stanley Kubrick (The Shining (1980)) and Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960)), but it still remains a decidedly Japanese horror gem.
In lieu of a trailer for the film, not currently on Youtube, here is a video of Nakata talking of his journey as a director (in English)
Cost: Unknown
Box office: Reportedly 3.56 mil. $
= Unknown
[Dark Water was released January 19 (Japan) and runs 101 minutes. The original title translates to 'from the bottom of dark water'. It grossed 0.9 mil. $ in Japan. It was remade in the US by Walter Salles as Dark Water (2005) with Jennifer Connelly, which is also recommendable. I have not been able to find more numbers on the film, but I suspect it should count as a box office success, although it is conjecture. Dark Water is fresh at 77 % with a 6.8 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Dark Water?
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