Dark Water

"Don't let the water reach you."

2002 1h 41m JA

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

84%

FRESH

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 762🍅84%Rotten Tomatoes★6.7IMDB · 36,542

HorrorMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A woman in the midst of an unpleasant divorce moves to an eerie apartment building with her young daughter. The ceiling of their apartment has a dark and active leak.

“Don't let the water reach you.”

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Cast

Hitomi Kuroki
Yoshimi Matsubara
Rio Kanno
Young Ikuko Matsubara
Mirei Oguchi
Mitsuko Kawai
Asami Mizukawa
Ikuko Hamada
Fumiyo Kohinata
Kunio Hamada
Yuu Tokui
Ota
Isao Yatsu
Kamiya
Shigemitsu Ogi
Kishida

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hideo Nakata
Writers: Yoshihiro Nakamura, Takashige Ichise, Hideo Nakata
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hideo Nakata, shot by Junichiro Hayashi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kenji Kawai. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nobuyuki Takahashi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hitomi Kuroki and Rio Kanno and Mirei Oguchi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Don't let the water reach you.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hideo Nakata directs. Junichiro Hayashi behind the camera. Kenji Kawai scores. Nobuyuki Takahashi cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 24 years ago.
4Directed by Hideo Nakata, shot by Junichiro Hayashi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kenji Kawai. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nobuyuki Takahashi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Hitomi Kuroki and Rio Kanno and Mirei Oguchi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Don't let the water reach you.".
9IMDB entry: tt0308379 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "based on novel or book", "nightmare", "parent child relationship", "family".

The technical file

Cinematography: Junichiro Hayashi
Original score: Kenji Kawai
Editing: Nobuyuki Takahashi
Production design: Katsumi Nakazawa
Sound: Cesar Inserny
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $1,686,839
Return: 42% of budget
Original language: JA
IMDB: Dark Water (2002)
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 36,542 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

6 wins & 2 nominations total

Also by

Hideo Nakata

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-07-02
★ 9/10
This was very enjoyable and I especially loved the ambience, murkiness and palpable dread that coruscated throughout. This scared my son, a budding horror-film aficionado himself, surprisingly much more than I felt more horrific films he has watched did, and gave him nightmares for a while afterwards. As much as I love Jennifer Connelly and Walter Salles' work, I will try and avoid the English-language remake simply on general principle.

Production companies