Dark Water (2002)

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Overview

Dark Water (or Honogurai mizu no soko kara in Japan) is a Japanese horror film that was originally released in Japan in 2001 and in the U.S. on January 19, 2002. The film received an American remake in 2005 under the same English title starring Jennifer Connelly in the lead role.

Creation

Dark Water was directed Hideo Nakata and adapted from the Kouji Suzuki short story Floating Water. Both had previously been involved in the Ringu series. Nakata served as the director of The Ring and The Ring 2, and Suzuki is the author of the novel upon which the first film was based.

Critical Reception

Dark Water received a positive reception from critics. The website Rotten Tomatoes lists the movie with a 77% "Fresh" rating based on thirteen reviews. In comparison, the American remake scored only a 45% "Rotten," though the review count for the remake is much higher at 149. The movie has been praised for its subtle ghost story qualities, eschewing jump scares, blood and body counts in favor of the unsettling nature of an unfamiliar, foreboding environment and the emotional distress of child abandonment.