Just watched - for the fourth or fifth time - this excellent minor ghost story from director Hideo Nakata, best known for directing the famous Ring. There's a strong family resemblance between the two films, but the overall approach is rather different. Dark Water offers a rather bleak and damp view of life in Japan.
The world of recently-divorced single mother Yoshimi is one beset by troubles, not least a custody battle for her beloved daughter Ikuko. When they move into a new apartment in a run down building Yoshimi is dismayed both by the water seeping through her ceiling and strange experiences that seem to focus on Ikuko. Some of the standard tricks of J-horror are used to good effect, though they are now over-familiar. There's the shadow on the elevator CCTV image, for instance.
The plot is well-handled and the main characters are sympathetic. The performance of tiny Rio Kanno as Ikuko is very engaging and as her mother Hitomi Kuroki manages just the right combination of courage and vulnerability. The actual ghost is of a familiar sort, but the film's climax and its aftermath are satisfying. This is one to rent if you haven't seen it.
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Issue 57 - Winter 2024/5
Cover illo by Sam Dawson, for Steve Duffy's story 'Forever Chemicals', which offers an interesting take on the London of the e...
-
Some good news - Helen Grant's story 'The Sea Change' from ST11 has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. This follows an inqu...
-
Go here to purchase this disturbing image of Santa plus some fiction as well. New stories by: Helen Grant Christopher Harman Michael Chis...
-
Cover by Paul Lowe illustrating 'Screen Burn' Steve Duffy's latest collection offers the discerning reader eight stories, five...
1 comment:
Indeed I haven't seen it, and your review reminds me to do so. Thanks.
Post a Comment