Dark Water (2002)
"Honogurai mizu no soko kara" (original title)

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

Director:

Hideo Nakata

Writers:

Kôji Suzuki (novel), Ken'ichi Suzuki (screenplay),

Stars:

Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Mirei Oguchi

6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)
Maiko Asano	...	Young Yoshimi's Teacher
Yukiko Ikari	...	Young Yoshimi
Shinji Nomura	...	Mediator
Kiriko Shimizu	...	Mediator
Teruko Hanahara	...	Old Lady (twin, elder)
Youko Yasuda	...	Old Lady (twin, younger)
Kono Tarou Suwa	...	Old Lady (twin, younger)

Storyline

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...

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Plot Keywords:

water | apartment | water stain | stain | ghost | 

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Taglines:

From The Creators of Japan's Acclaimed RINGU, Inspiration for the hit phenomenon THE RING

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for terror and disturbing situations

Details

Official Sites:

Cinema Without Frontiers [ru] (Russian)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 January 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Dark Water

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£34,978 (UK) (6 June 2003)

Gross:

£34,978 (UK) (6 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Honogurai mizu no Soko kara Seisaku Iinkai, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When everyone is up on the roof examining the water tower, a flap of cloth or pant leg can be seen at the top of the ladder. This could be something attached to the tower, but later when she climbs it by herself and we see the whole thing, no such cloth is visible.

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Connections

References The Shining (1980)

User Reviews

Extremely creepy.

Hideo Nakata's "Dark Water" is one of the creepiest Japanese horror movies I have ever seen.A nervous mother Yoshimi Matsubara,undergoing divorce proceedings,moves into an apartment building that is haunted by a young girl,who disappeared years earlier."Dark Water" is a perfect horror film.It is based on a novel by Koji Suzuki,so fans of "Ringu" won't be disappointed.Nakata's technique is to imply terror by suggestion,rather than the overuse of special effects.He perfectly captures an atmosphere of uncontrollable fear.Hitomi Kuroki is excellent as the neurotic,paranoid Yoshimi and Rio Kanno is equally remarkable as her five year old daughter,Ikuko.So if you're a fan of Japanese horror give this one a look.10 out of 10.Highly recommended.