Water of fear 
If the closest thing to John Woo's cinema would be a hammer (caus' its force at its best is repeating the same things again and again), in case of Nakata it's more likely to be a press. He's in fact taking in every movie one main classic mechanism of the fantastic genre and pressing it to the maximum to extract its force: in Ring it's "suggestion instead of showing" (Tourneur's main rule), in Chaos it's "meeting someone who looks like someone you know" (Vertigo's idea). In Dark Water it's "water as a way to create drama" (already used in Seven). And it works: we've seen this before, we know what the next scene will be but because of the maximal use of water -water in the bath, water falling down from the ceiling, water creating the inundation of a room- we are frightened. The other great idea of the movie is the use of the theme of divorce and childhood to bring more drama in the movie. And for the rest it's Kawai's hypnotic score and Nakata's sense of frame. It's few but it works.
One of the best stories
This is a very lovely movie about the relationship between mother and daughter in an abandon apartment building,it's very creepy,a movie which can't let you go,it makes you get afraid of water and little girls,not good news for travel agencies:bye bye sunny beaches with lots of beautifuls girls,no seriously :it's one of my favourite movies and it can be yours too.
Think twice before moving in...
Dark Water is a original story from the director of "Ringu", Nakata Hideo. Well, you know what to expect - it's clearly an horror show once again. This time everything revolves around water, as the title may suggest.
The story begins with the ongoing negociations for the divorce of a 30 years old woman. She would like to keep the guard of her child, Ikuko, even though her ex-husband is trying to destabilise her to make her lose.
Nevertheless, she manages, for a while, to keep Ikuko with her. She moves in a very old apartment building - attracted by the price, probably. A few days later, she starts noticing something strange : the ceiling is always dripping, and the stain of humidity grows larger and larger...
It seems like Dark Water is a movie made for women. Most of the characters are of that gender, and men seem to have little importance in the experience. Besides, it's nowhere near as scary as "Ringu". Of course the director masters the art of making you feel uneasy. The long shots on the characters eyes... the creepy noises (cut & paste from "Ringu")... everything follows a unwritten equation. However, the storyline is pretty predictable and you are going to wait for the next scary scene.
Don't get me wrong - Dark Water is worth a look. The actors keep the pace going on. But it's a little too common. There's nothing that stands out. One thing is sure, Nakata has potential. He's probably waiting for the next excellent script.
You should be frightenned if he finds one.
