Dark Water, 2002.
Directed by Hideo Nakata.
Starring Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Mirei Oguchi, Fumiyo Kohinata and Rio Kanno.
SYNOPSIS:
A mother and her young daughter move into a run-down apartment block where ghostly goings-on put their lives in danger.
Yoshimi Matsubara (Hitomi Kuroki) and her young daughter Ikuko (Rio Kanno) move into a tatty apartment block while Yoshimi is going through a divorce from Ikuko’s father. All seems fine with the new place apart from a few damp patches that keep appearing, especially a large area of the ceiling which seems to drip non-stop, and the thumping footsteps that seem to come from the apartment right above them. However, between Ikuko having to adjust to a new school and Yoshimi trying to land herself a full-time job whilst a nasty custody battle with her ex rages on, things don’t seem to let up on the dripping from the ceiling that seems to be getting worse so Yoshimi goes upstairs to investigate and finds herself trapped in a psychological nightmare as the reason behind the constant dampness in the building reveals itself.
Having established himself as a genre filmmaker of note with Ring and its equally effective sequel, Hideo Nakata’s Dark Water follows a similar supernatural path but steps back from the initial terror of those movies, going for slower-paced chills and mood setting with the emphasis on storytelling and letting the narrative unfold gradually. The key to its mysteries lays with the character of Yoshimi, a mother trying to do what is best for her and her daughter under difficult circumstances, and small details are mentioned as the movie goes on that point towards Yoshimi having a troubled past with psychological problems and possible abandonment issues of her own stemming from her childhood. Most of these details are mentioned in quick, fleeting moments and it is easy to miss them but once the full scale of the horrors that await Yoshimi and Ikuko are revealed then all of those seemingly insignificant details suddenly take on a new meaning, making the climax of the main story more thought provoking than it first appears.
The real strength of Dark Water, the one thing that pulls it all together and makes the situation seem most plausible, is the bond that exists between mother and daughter in the way the characters are written and also in the performances from Hitomi Kuroki and Rio Kanno, who sell it completely. When the two actresses laugh together – such as in the scene where they first move into their new home – it feels genuine and heartfelt as if they were a real parent and child, so consequently when the bad stuff does start to happen it is equally moving and, at the crucial point of the plot, heartbreaking to watch.
Haunting and harrowing, Dark Water is a prime example of supernatural storytelling without an over reliance on crude CGI effects (there are some but this was 2002 and they’re only used for enhancement) or cheap jump scares (again, there are only a couple and they are perfectly timed). Hideo Nakata’s direction is fairly minimal but acutely effective, drawing uneasiness from the smallest of symbols and plot points and sustaining it through to an emotionally draining ending, giving way to an unnecessary epilogue that feels a bit like overkill and very nearly threatens to undo a lot of the good work of the previous 90 minutes. But it just about stops short of doing that, making Dark Water a must-see modern(ish) ghost story presented in a loaded Blu-ray/DVD combo pack featuring brand new interviews with director Hideo Nakata, novelist Koji Suzuki (who wrote the original short story) and cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi plus archive making-of featurettes and trailers. Perfect viewing for Halloween.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
Originally published October 10, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
