Dark Water ( Honogurai mizu no soko kara )

Dark Water (DVD) (*)

~~$21.99~~ $15.97

Original Title: Honogurai mizu no soko kara
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Japanese ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Japanese ( Dolby DTS 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 4 )

Running Time:
97 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2002 and produced in:
Japan ( India, Eastern Asia )

Directed By:
Hideo Nakata

Written By:
Kôji Suzuki (novel)
Hideo Nakata (screenplay) ...

Actors:
Hitomi Kuroki ..... Yoshimi Matsubara
Rio Kanno ..... Ikuko Matsubara (6 years old)
Mirei Oguchi ..... Mitsuko Kawai
Asami Mizukawa ..... Ikuko Hamada (16 years old)
Fumiyo Kohinata ..... Kunio Hamada
Yu Tokui ..... Ohta (real-estate agent)
Isao Yatsu ..... Kamiya (apartment manager)
Shigemitsu Ogi ..... Kishida (Yoshimi's lawyer)

Synopsis:

After winning a custody battle for her daughter, Yoshimi tries to make a new start. The apartment she moves into seems perfect at first. Soon though, strange things begin happening. Huge water stains appear on the ceiling and drip constantly, more liquid oozing into the rooms every day. She calls the landlord in but he refuses to do anything about it. A child's red bag shows up in odd places and soon the child herself starts appearing. Yoshimi then discovers the origin of the ghost...

Given the phenomenal success of Ringu, which inspired a sequel, a television series, and a nearly identical American remake (The Ring), it's not surprising that Japanese horror specialist Hideo Nakata would turn once again to household objects as a source of terror. What Ringu did for television sets and video tapes, Dark Water will, for the faint of heart, do for kitchen faucets and leaky ceilings. Nakata certainly can't be blamed for going with what works, but if Dark Water seems at first like a cynical recycling of a successful formula, its director has developed into enough of a formalist to at least make it reasonably compelling. Set in a dreary, rain-soaked suburban landscape of concrete block apartment buildings, some of the film's subtly composed long takes wouldn't be out of place in a Michelangelo Antonioni movie. Its atmosphere is its best asset. The final payoff is nowhere near as elementally terrifying as Ringu's most famous sequence, but enough chills are delivered along the way to keep things interesting. Because it is similar but a bit less effective than its predecessor, Dark Water could end up being a transitional work for Nakata. It opens up the question of whether he will take the easy route with more Ringu-like fare, or find new ways to keep moviegoers up at night.

A mother and her 6 year old daughter move into a creepy apartment whose every surface is permeated by water.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 15 November, 2005.