6. Dark Water (2002)
Yoshimi has just separated from her husband Kunio. It was an acrimonious split and they are fighting over custody of their little daughter Ikuko. Yoshimi and her daughter move into a run down apartment where the ceiling has a bad leak. The apartment above them is mysteriously locked and puddles of water are appearing everywhere. Yoshimi sees glimpses of a little girl in a yellow coat, but isn't sure if she is real. On top of that, Yoshimi is trying to juggle work with motherhood and matters are not helped by Ikuko's increasingly weird behaviour. Are Yoshimi's fears based on cold reality or is there a more supernatural answer to them? A spooky and tragic film, Dark Water is another low key J Horror movie which carefully builds up characterisation and plot before the final horrible denouement. Like Ringu, there is no blood or gore in the movie - it is a ghost story and also a psychological horror. The acting in the film is solid and really sells the atmosphere of dread and the dialogue in the movie is vey believable. The little girl who plays Ikuko is alarmingly good in her role which is an extremely difficult one to pull off. The director Hideo Nakata uses camera tricks and manipulates the soundtrack (for example, long times in which there is nothing but silence) to build an eerie and disturbing movie. Dark Water doesn't really put much of a foot wrong.