Dark Water 2002 ADV Films   Buy It Now

Undoubtedly by now many of you are well aware of the fact that one again, American filmmakers are showing their lack of creativity by grabbing the license on yet another Asian film and remaking it. Dark Water is one of the latest Japanese horror films to feel the pain of being remade, and certainly has been changed and diluted to appease the more simple minded horror fans that otherwise wouldn't get the movie, and certainly wouldn't want to read subtitles either. What always comes as something of a surprise though is that while a studio may grab the license in order to remake the film, they often times leave the original movie alone, refusing to distribute it domestically, probably for fear of people realizing the truth. Fortunately though, there are companies with the foresight to grab the video rights and give fans the real film, as it should be, and the tides of Dark Water have grown nigh.

Many outside of Japan know the name Koji Suzuki these days, and if not, they certainly know him by a phenomenon that has swept the globe known to some as Ringu or The Ring depending on the version that you're a fan of. Suzuki-san however doesn't have the horror ending there, and the ghosts that haunt the unfortunate in the Land of the Rising Sun have many different faces. Dark Water is something of a familiar idea. Yoshimi is a divorced mother desperately trying to win a custody battle. As the deliberations continue, she and her young daughter Ikuku (or Iku-chan) have just moved into a new apartment. Iku-chan has started school, Yoshimi has found a new job, and even with her husband trying every dirty trick in the book to win the legal battle, things really seem to be looking up for mother and daughter. That doesn't last for long.

There's something strange going on in their new apartment. The ceiling seems to be leaking, there are strange sounds in the apartment above them, and Iku-chan has started talking with imaginary people. Things are starting to look very bad indeed for Yoshimi's case, and then things turn even more into the supernatural. There's a little girl appearing from no where only to disappear before she can be found, there's a child's bad that seems to materialize even when thrown away, and it all seems to tie in to a missing little girl from just a few years before . . . . . or it could be her husband and his legal council trying to push Yoshimi over the edge of sanity.

Ghosts and Japanese cinema seem to go hand in hand with one another. Films like Ringu and Ju-on gave us the darker side, dealing with vengeful spirits and curses that were nearly impossible to escape. Even movies from Korea such as A Tale of Two Sisters and Phone once again showed that the dead don't always rest peacefully, and if they have been the victims of wrongdoing or foul play, they will find a way to get revenge. In the case of Dark Water however, we see the realm of the spiritual from a different perspective, and here our spirit may not necessarily be benevolent, but it is a lonely spirit simply looking for freedom from this world, or perhaps, companionship.

Dark Water doesn't necessarily always try and present itself as a ghost story and often times tries to play off on possible delusions. As we grow more familiar with Yoshimi and her past, thanks to some rather colorful and overblown descriptions her ex-husband has provided, we are led to wonder if perhaps everything isn't just in her mind. She could be making it up, and even her legal council shows logical and earthbound explanations for some of the things that she been experiencing. Yoshimi even has the belief that maybe it's all her ex-husbands doing, but then again, we have all been a witness to the strange events that have occurred since she's moved into the house.

This isn't necessarily a film however that I would classify as being out and out horror. It is a ghost story, and there is no getting around that fact, but Dark Water is more or a supernatural thriller more than anything else. Yoshimi begins to piece together what may have occurred, and it all seems to point to the disappearance of Mitsuko, a little girl who lived in the same building that Yoshimi and Iku-chan now live in, and ironically enough, she lived right above them.

What I really like with Dark Water though is the visual approach. Much of the film style would be done in a way that I would have no choice but to call neutral. It isn't too terribly dark, but the film certainly isn't bright and full of life either. It's a very drab look, and it works quite well, and even better are the flashback sequences that are presented with a sepia filter. Directed Hideo Nakata though has also done a few things that I really like in films of this nature. On particular scene towards the end of the film, which I will simply refer to as "the bathtub scene," has you on the edge of your seat. The reason is that you know that something is coming; you can feel it. There's an uneasiness that you feel in every cell in your body, but instead of immediately delivering, Nakata drags it out and never for a single moment gives you a point where you can breathe easy. Instead he simply continues to build the suspense and feeling of dread until hitting you directly with it. There are a few moments like this, and overall, the film often does have a feeling of uneasiness driving it. The soundtrack also aids in this quite a bit. Often times it's very, very subtle, relying on strange sound combinations and ambient textures instead of trying to build things up with "creepy strings."

Our spirit though, Mitsuko, has something of a Sadako type of feeling about her in some ways. She isn't evil, and she doesn't come creeping out of a television set, but the few times that we see her, she is shrouded to some degree and we don't really get too see too much of her face. Even the missing flyers hanging in the neighborhood are blurry and grainy. But, as the case was with Ju-on, there is just something about the spirits of children, especially those that seem menacing, that work very well to scare audiences. Though, there are times that you also will find yourself feeling very sympathetic towards Mitsuko, especially as you begin to finally realize what has happened to her.

The only disappointment with this release would have to be that the only extra feature is the original Japanese trailer. I really would have enjoyed seeing more in-depth, behind-the-scenes features regarding Dark Water, and I know that things like this are available, but once again I'm sure it all came down to what could be agreed upon for the domestic release.

Before you see the remake of Dark Water, do yourself a favor and watch the original version. In fact, how about going the extra mile and simply boycotting the remake by not seeing it at all. The trend with remaking, and for the most part completely ruining, Asian horror films really needs to end. Dark Water is elegantly sinister and shows once again why Asian horror films are all the rage in Hollywood these days. I don't necessarily think it's going to be a film that's going to make you afraid to turn on the bathroom faucet, but then again, you just never know.

-mike-
 

Directed by: Hideo Nakata Written by: Yoshihiro Nakamura & Ken'ichi Suzuki Based Upon the Novel by: Koji Suzuki Original Japanese Title: Honogurai mizu no soko kara Cast: Hitomi Kuroki Rio Kanno Mirei Oguchi Asami Mizukawa Fumiya Kohinata

DVD Features: Anamorphic - 1.85:1 Audio: Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 & English Dolby Digital 5.1 English Subtitles Original Japanese Trailer