Dark Water Movie Review:


Yoshimi is fighting to gain custody of her beloved daughter Ikuko. In order to show the courts she is serious, she must swiftly find them both a place to live. Settling for a dank apartment, she soon brightens the place up. But then a damp patch appears on the ceiling, dripping murky water, growing larger by the day, and long black hairs begin to come through the taps.
Shadowy silhouettes appear in doorways, and the same little red bag filled with toys keep appearing in strange places. But why? As events become more mysterious and terrifying, Yoshimi's determination to protect her daughter forces her to investigate further…

Written by Koji Suzuki (Ring and Ring 2) and helmed by the same director, "Dark Water" is an old fashioned supernatural tale, both intriguing and beautiful to look at. The constant downpour of rain is of proportions not seen since Fincher's Se7en, and the damp, mildewed tint of the lens gives the whole movie a satisfyingly creepy feel.There are echoes here of "The Shining", which also focuses on horror not entirely of this world.

Water here is filled with such malevolence, and the drip, drip from the ceiling is also the way the story unfurls, a little at a time, drawing you in until you are desperate to know what secrets it has to give up.

You do genuinely feel for Yoshimi, as her husband Kunio (Kohinata) tries every trick in the book to win custody, but you are also allowed to see his perceptive. To anyone outside the situation Ikuko's mother is increasingly erratic in her behaviour and seems to be losing her grip on reality. Kunio could easily have been a badly - drawn 'villian', but instead he seems equally as desperate, his small amount of screen time only emphasising Yoshimi's increasing isolation.
Kuroki is a beautiful and fragile actress, perfect in her role as Yoshimi, the frightened, sensitive mother.

This contrasts with some of the less integral cast, whose acting abilities are perhaps not as strong. The apartment's janitor, for example, reels off his lines as though reading from a newspaper.

Ikuko, played by Rio Kanno, is as cute as a button as Yoshimi's little girl, and her natural performance is incredible for someone so young - you'll just want to scoop her up in your arms and protect her!

Those who like their horror movies with blood and gore and rational explanations for everything will be frustrated by this movie. It does not provide easy answers. It's a ghost story! But it's told with such skill that it will have you checking your drinking water for a long time afterwards.

7/10

Terresa Gaffney

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Dark Water and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.