Dark Water Review

Review of Dark Water (2002) by screenqueeen: 👍 3.5/5

HOOPTOBER 666 DAY 9 22 DAYS REMAIN

Relentlessness from both the protective mother of Ikiko and the ghost of a missing girl attaching herself to them brings weight and tension to an otherwise simple and surface-level haunting.

The mother is put through the ringer from the get-go, from custody battles for her child to seriously incompetent building management (lord knows I've been there), but the haunting presents a foreign challenge to Yoshimi in the utmost protection of her daughter Ikiko in the face of the seemingly vengeful ghost of the forgotten girl Mitsuko.

The fact that Yoshimi shares so much in common with Mitsuko dictates her actions towards the climax of the film and by the end, whether she's punished or rewarded for it, she supplied strength and safety to her daughter for the rest of her life.

I hope that building manager actually got fired.