Dark Water

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Dark Water

PG-13

2002

1h 40m

Horror

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84%

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19 Reviews

66%

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10,000+ Ratings

In this moody Japanese horror film, newly-single mom Yoshimi Matsubara (Hitomi Kuroki) is enduring a bitter divorce and struggling to keep custody of her young daughter, Ikuko (Rio Kanno). As the unstable Yoshimi tries to make a fresh start in a new apartment, strange occurrences in the building gradually begin to take their toll. When Yoshimi and Ikuko both start seeing unsettling visions of a ghostly little girl, it's clear that they're being drawn toward the supernatural.

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Budd Wilkins

Slant Magazine

Suffused with a haunting mood of melancholy, Nakata Hideo’s J-horror classic Dark Water examines recurrent cycles of familial and institutional negligence.

Apr 7, 2024

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Alexander Walker

London Evening Standard

Its cleverness relies on transferring our concern from the supernatural events emanating from one lost child to the natural fear of a mother losing her own child to the other world.

Jan 10, 2018

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Barbara Ellen

The Times (UK)

It's flawed, but you should see Dark Water, a decent little chiller that brings a whole new meaning to rising damp.

Jan 3, 2018

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Wael Khairy

The Cinephile Fix

...the real horror in Dark Water has nothing to do with the ghost, and everything to do with losing one’s own parent or child.

Mar 4, 2024

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Emma Wolfe

SpookyAstronauts

It checks all the boxes in my opinion.

Rated: 7/10

Jun 2, 2021

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Jeffrey Chen

Window to the Movies

Benefits from having an undercurrent of sadness, which makes it feel quite similar to the ghost stories in Kwaidan.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 7, 2005

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Oui L

Great film. Came with the criterion boxset; loved it alot!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/04/25

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Lau S

Great Japanese movie! I little bit outdated, but I liked it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

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Ian S

An interesting, well acted movie with plenty of atmosphere. Sound design and visuals were good but the pacing left too many flat spots for a movie almost two hours long. Not as good as Pulse or Ringu but worth seeing for fans of Japanese horror films. A near miss.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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Madoka A

Fantastic. Spooky. Funny. Great product! Really good!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/23/25

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Lily R

Great Japanese movie! When of the all time bests! Alot of atmosphere and suspense!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/19/25

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Bat C

Um bom filme, emocionante, um pouco assustador Bom de assistir

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/28/25

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Hideo Nakata

Director

Hitomi Kuroki

Yoshimi Matsubara

Rio Kanno

Ikuko Matsubara

Mirei Oguchi

Mitsuko Kawai

Asami Mizukawa

Ikuko Hamada

Fumiyo Kohinata

Kunio Hamada

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Synopsis

In this moody Japanese horror film, newly-single mom Yoshimi Matsubara (Hitomi Kuroki) is enduring a bitter divorce and struggling to keep custody of her young daughter, Ikuko (Rio Kanno). As the unstable Yoshimi tries to make a fresh start in a new apartment, strange occurrences in the building gradually begin to take their toll. When Yoshimi and Ikuko both start seeing unsettling visions of a ghostly little girl, it's clear that they're being drawn toward the supernatural.

Director: Hideo Nakata
Producer: Takashige Ichise
Screenwriter: Yoshihiro Nakamura, Kenichi Suzuki
Production Co: United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround

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