Hey folks, Harry here... One of the absolute best horror filmmakers working today is Hideo Nakata, of RING fame, and he's continuing to churn out really wonderful horror films that are actually very very disturbing and off-putting. They've got the creeps ya see, the sort that makes lonely rooms and telephone rings eerie as all hell. How's his latest? Sounds like its another check in the Nakata is a genius column. Can't wait to see it for myself...
Hey Harry
Just walked out of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water, and let me tell you, I'm getting nervous sitting here with my back to a dark corner of the room. I've crept through the house making sure all the lights are turned on, but everytime I do, I expect the decrepit body of a six year old girl to jump out at me...
Minor Spoilers.... (maybe?)
Yoshima and her daughter Ikuko (I think this was their names, IMDB has no credit listings) move into a run down apartment block while simultaneously filing for divorce from Ikuko's dad. The civil proceedings are taking their toll on Yoshimi, who despite loving Ikuko very much, can be slightly forgetful (especially when it comes to picking her up after school). The new apartment is very run down and has a pretty nasty leak above a bed. Strange events ensue, including a mysterious red backpack which keeps turning up. Yoshimi investigates, but becomes more hysterical with each discovery, making her divorce case less credible....
Okay, brief synopsis done. Hideo Nakata is the Japanese horror maestro that brought us Ring (currently being remade by Gore Verbenski for those who've been hiding under a rock). He's gone on to make a documentary about Japanese soft porn director Masaru Konuma, some fairy tale-ish flick that I havent heard much about, and another thriller/kidnapping movie, which I also havent been able to track. As far as I can tell, Dark Water is his first horror film since Ring 2. Ring 2 was okay, I wasn't too thrilled with it, but it took an interesting idea and developed it further than most sequels would attempt, rather than simply rehash the original. Unfortunately, it seemed to get lost in its own logic and really get a little tiring...
But Dark Water... man. The audience I sat with was really terrified by the second half of the film. Women were screaming, others were shouting at the screen in the typical 'don't turn around!' fashion. It was fantastic. Why? Because the story was simple, elegant and well developed. Hitomi Kuroki impresses as Yoshima, and like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, or Catherine Denuve in Repulsion, the audience is really sympathetic to her. The possibility of losing Ikuko to her father is really wrenching most of the time, and while Yoshima is truly devoted to her daughter, the practicalities of being a single mother really compromise the amount of time she can spend with Ikuko - these scenes really pull at some strings. But in the final act of the film, Yoshima redeems herself in way that is both terrifying and deeply heart warming at the same time.
This is really the beauty of Nakata's direction, the terrifying moments are really terrifying because there is a deep warmth that the audience builds for the characters. Nakata occasionally seems to overamplify certain moments with the music, but by the end of the film, its all wonderfully done. There's no really incredible special effects or camera tricks, just fantastic direction with economy and grace - and in the end, its Yoshima and Ikuko's story that sells the film, not the 'jump out of your seat' factor.
Soo... if anyone from Hollywood is reading... I don't care if you want to remake Ring (my personal opinion, why not just mass release it in the US? It's good enough - same goes for this film). Nakata has seen the Ring films take off in a way that was probably never forseeable, but he's come back and outdone himself with Dark Water. While the concept for Ring is great on its own and interesting enough for any audience, Nakata proves with Dark Water that its his skill as a storyteller that should be celebrated. I hope anyone who gets a chance to see this film does, because let me tell you - it scared the bejeezus out of me - but I walked out with a huge grin, because I knew I had just been in the presence of a great filmmaking talent. And I havent felt that way since I saw Rosemary's Baby for the first time...
Godfather out...
