Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2002)

Director:

Hideo Nakata

Writers:

Kôji Suzuki (novel) and
Yoshihiro Nakamura (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 January 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

From The Creators of Japan's Acclaimed RINGU, Inspiration for the hit phenomenon THE RING

Plot:

A mother and her 6 year old daughter move into a creepy apartment whose every surface is permeated by water.

Plot Keywords:

Water | Apartment | Ghost | Custody Battle | Divorce

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Hitomi Kuroki	...	Yoshimi Matsubara
Rio Kanno	...	Ikuko Matsubara (6 years old)
Mirei Oguchi	...	Mitsuko Kawai
Asami Mizukawa	...	Ikuko Hamada (16 years old)
Fumiyo Kohinata	...	Kunio Hamada
Yu Tokui	...	Ohta (real-estate agent)
Isao Yatsu	...	Kamiya (apartment manager)
Shigemitsu Ogi	...	Kishida (Yoshimi's lawyer)
Maiko Asano	...	Young Yoshimi's Teacher
Yukiko Ikari	...	Young Yoshimi
Shinji Nomura	...	Mediator
Kiriko Shimizu	...	Mediator
Teruko Hanahara	...	Old Lady (twin, elder)
Youko Yasuda	...	Old Lady (twin, younger)
Kono Tarou Suwa	...	Old Lady (twin, younger)

Also Known As:

Dark Water (UK) (USA)
From the Depths of Dark Water (International: English title) (literal title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for terror and disturbing situations.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Company:

Honogurai mizu no Soko kara Seisaku Iinkai

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When everyone is up on the roof examining the water tower, a flap of cloth or pant leg can be seen at the top of the ladder. This could be something attached to the tower, but later when she climbs it by herself and we see the whole thing, no such cloth is visible.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Messengers (2007)

One of the best ghost movies ever made

This is my idea of a horror movie. No junk, no noise, no random jolts, but plenty of fear, delivered quietly and compactly, without fuss. It's the most suspenseful movie I've seen since "Ring," and I think it's even better. Like that movie, it put my stomach in knots to prep them for the chills, which rose up like waves out of calm water. I thought "Ring" rather like a Robert Aickman story; this is as near as a movie can come. The director has uncanny skill in knowing where to place the camera and how long to hold a shot. And the leading actress gives a wonderful performance. Her face in the elevator...but that would be giving it away. The conclusion is foreseeable--maybe the ends of all ghost stories are foreseeable--but nonetheless satisfying. If you like tales of quietly disturbing dread, this is one for you.