Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2002)

Directed by Hideo Nakata [Other horror films: Honto ni atta kowai hanashi: Jushiryou (1992), Joyû-rei (1996), Gakkô no kaidan F (1997), Ringu (1998), Ringu 2 (1999), Sotohiro (2000), The Ring Two (2005), Kaidan (2007), Chatroom (2010), Inshite miru: 7-kakan no desu gêmu (2010), Kuroyuri danchi (2013), Gekijô rei (2015), Satsujinki o kau onna (2019), Sadako (2019), Jiko Bukken: Kowai Madori (2020), Sore ga Iru Mori (2022)]

I can’t say for sure whether I saw the 2005 remake before this original Japanese version, but I can say that I’ve always loved the story in Dark Water. Honogurai mizu no soko kara may well be one of my favorite examples of J-horror, and it packs enough creepy and emotional scenes to make me happy.

As it is, I don’t have a lot of exposure to J-horror. I’ve never seen any of the Ringu movies (be it the 1995 TV movie, the 1998 Rasen, the 1998 Ringu, or the randomly South Korean Ling from 1999), I’ve not seen Pulse (or Kairo), I’ve not seen One Missed Call (or Chakushin ari), and it’s entirely possible I’ve never seen The Grudge (Ju-on, and to be specific, either the popular 2002 or the lesser-known 2000 movie). I’m not a big supernatural horror fan, so J-horror hasn’t been my go-to, but Dark Water definitely has a lot going for it, and it makes me rethink my attitude toward what Japan has to offer.

Taking place in perhaps the most depressing apartment complex I’ve ever seen in my life, the story is a simple one, with a struggling woman going through a divorce trying to give her young daughter a good life, in the face of potentially supernatural occurrences. It’s an easy plot to get into, there’s not many characters, and the apartment building is spooky enough even before the ghostly girl pops up, yellow raincoat and all.

In fact, it’s probably one of the best settings I’ve seen in a little while. It’s such a dark building, and whether the scene takes place in the elevators or the roof, it’s just creepy. That scene toward the end when the main character is climbing the water tower, for instance, is just a fantastic sequence, and I loved the whole set-up of this.

It’s also a bit of an emotional ride. The main character (played by Hitomi Kuroki) is going through a hard time, dealing with a lot of feelings of insecurity and a tough divorce. She’s close to an emotional break-down most of the time, and I can’t help but feel for her, especially in that dreary apartment she’s forced to raise her daughter in. It’s a gloomy situation all around, and the fantastically emotional final scene, a ten years later sequence, is just icing on the cake.

As such, Hitomi Kuroki did an amazing job with her character, and her portrayal of a mother going through hard times was fantastic. Playing her daughter was Rio Kanno, and she did quite well for a young actress. And though she really only gets one scene, Asami Mizukawa was stellar.

Because it’s a supernatural Japanese film, it’s not a gory movie, and it’s also not particularly rife with special effects. You see a ghostly girl a few times, but she never does any extreme acrobatics (à la The Ring). Even so, there’s plenty of low-key and subtly creepy scenes here, and despite not being a fan of supernatural films, I definitely thought this had enough going for it.

Also, the mystery here, dealing with the missing girl Mitsuko Kawai, was pretty good. I sort of wonder about one of the flashbacks – when she’s getting on an elevator – but it may have been an unintentional red herring. Still, the mystery is fun, and I love how things are slowly pieced together.

Dark Water is a film I’ve seen before, but I forgot how hard it hit you emotionally. In fact, the finale reminded me a bit of the 2007 Spanish film The Orphanage, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that film was moderately influenced by this one. Dark Water was definitely a great movie to see again – from the depressing opening to the ending credits, with the beautiful “Aozora” by Suga Shikaro – and it’s certainly worth seeing.

8.5/10