Directed by Hideo Nakata • 2002 • Japan
Starring Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Asami Mizukawa
After terrifying audiences worldwide with the J-Horror classic RING and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for this atmospheric tale of the supernatural. Based on a short story by RING author Koji Suzuki, DARK WATER follows Yoshimi (Hitomi Kuroki), a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her daughter. When they move into a new home in a dilapidated apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and unexplainable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question and endangering not only her custody case but perhaps her and her child’s lives as well. Beautifully shot by Junichiro Hayashi (RING, PULSE) and featuring especially unnerving sound design, DARK WATER merges spine-tingling tension with a family’s heart-wrenching emotional struggle.
Up Next in Japanese Horror
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Creepy
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa • 2016 • Japan
Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Masahiro HigashideKiyoshi Kurosawa, who made his international reputation with the horror masterpieces CURE and PULSE, gets back to his roots by putting the thumbscrews to the audience in this insidiously ...
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House
Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi • 1977 • Japan
Starring Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko ObaHow to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie HOUSE (HAUSU)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of “Scooby-Doo” as directed by Mario Bava? Any...
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Cure
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa • 1997 • Japan
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s arresting international breakthrough established him as one of the leaders of an emerging new wave of Japanese horror while pushing the genre into uncharted realms of philosophical and existential exploration. A string of shocking, s...
