Dark Water
Jennifer Reeder Selects
•
1h 41m
2002 • Japan • Directed by Hideo Nakata
After terrifying audiences worldwide with the blockbuster J-horror classic Ring and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for Dark Water, another highly atmospheric, and critically acclaimed, tale of the supernatural which took the common theme of the “dead wet girl” to new heights of suspense and drama. Based upon a short story by Ring author Koji Suzuki, Dark Water follows Yoshimi, a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her only child, Ikuko. When they move into a new home within a dilapidated and long-forgotten apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and inexplicable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question and endangering not only her custody of Ikuko but perhaps their lives as well. Beautifully shot by the same cinematographer as Ring and Pulse, and featuring an especially unnerving sound design, Dark Water successfully merges spine-tingling tension with a family’s heart-wrenching emotional struggle, creating one of the very finest and most unsettling contemporary Japanese horror films.
Up Next in Jennifer Reeder Selects
-
The Crazies
1973 • United States • Directed by George A. Romero
After the experimental outings of There’s Always Vanilla and Season of the Witch, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero returned to rather more distinct horror territory with his 1973 infection opus The Crazies.
When a plane carry...
-
Switchblade Sisters
1977 · United States · Directed by Jack Hill
THE WILDEST GIRL GANG THAT EVER BLASTED THE STREETS!
From Jack Hill, legendary director of Spider Baby, Coffy, Foxy Brown, and The Swinging Cheerleaders comes another iconic cult classic, Switchblade Sisters!
Lace (Robbie Lee), the leader of inner c...
-
Beyond the Door
Legendary filmmaker Ovidio G. Assonitis, whose 'Tentacles and Piranha II' sought to cash in on the killer fish craze spawned by 'Jaws', first hit pay dirt in 1974 with 'Beyond the Door' - a gloriously bonkers riff on 'The Exorcist' featuring Emmy Award-winning actress Juliet Mills and distinguish...