Dark Water 4K UHD - Hitomi Kuroki

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Dark Water" or "Honogurai mizu no soko kara" or "From the Depths of Dark Water")

directed by Hideo Nakata
Japan 2002

After terrifying audiences worldwide with the blockbuster J-horror classic Ring and its sequel, director Hideo Nakata returned to the genre for Dark Water, another highly atmospheric, and critically acclaimed, tale of the supernatural which took the common theme of the dead wet girl to new heights of suspense and drama.

Based upon on a short story by Ring author Koji Suzuki, Dark Water follows Yoshimi, a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her only child, Ikuko. When they move into a new home within a dilapidated and long-forgotten apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and unexplainable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question, and endangering not only her custody of Ikuko, but perhaps their lives as well.

Beautifully shot by the same cinematographer as Ring and Pulse, and featuring an especially unnerving sound design, Dark Water successfully merges spine-tingling tension with a family s heart-wrenching emotional struggle, creating one of the very finest and most unsettling contemporary Japanese horror films.

***

Hideo Nakata's follow-up to his successful Ringu, Dark Water tells the story of Yoshimi (Hitomi Kuroki, Kaidan) who is in an intense custody battle with her husband over their 6 year old daughter Ikuko (Rio Kanno, Nori: The Curse). Needing to show herself competent, Yoshimi rents an apartment in an old building and looks for a job. The apartment is dank but livable with only a slowly-spreading water stain on the ceiling. Ikuko finds a Hello Kitty bag (which reappears no matter how many times Yoshimi throws it away) and starts to hear footsteps in the overhead abandoned apartment. Yoshimi learns that a little girl living in the apartment above mysteriously vanished a year before and after catching glimpses of a Don't Look Now-esque child-size figure in a raincoat starts to look into the disappearance as others start to question her sanity and ability to take care of her daughter who seems to be in supernatural danger. Dark Water arrived in the US some time after its release (around the time of its American remake) and audiences who had seen plenty of post-Ringu Asian horror movies (as well as many "am I insane or are ghosts real?") will know the score but Nakata's film still hits the right emotional notes during its climax and an ending that is satisfying without condescending to a final shock.

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release: January 19th, 2002

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Review: Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Arrow - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	1:41:18.614
Video	1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 88,870,573,052 bytes Feature: 76,171,089,216 bytes Video Bitrate: 92.16 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate 4K Ultra HD:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 3592 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3592 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Arrow 1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 88,870,573,052 bytes Feature: 76,171,089,216 bytes Video Bitrate: 92.16 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • Ghosts, Rings and Water – interview with director Hideo Nakata (26:00) • Family Terrors – interview with author Koji Suzuki (20:16) • Visualizing Horror – interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi (19:16) • Original Making of documentary (15:51) Archive interviews: • Hitomi Kuroki Interview (8:00) • Asami Mizukawa Interview (4:39) • Shikao Suga Interview (2:55) Promo Materials • Trailer (1:13) • Teaser (0:37) • TV Spots (0:50) • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain • Illustrated collectors booklet containing new writing by David Kalat, author of J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond, and an examination of the American remake by writer and editor Michael Gingold 4K Ultra HD Release Date: March 19th, 2024 Black 4K Ultra HD Case inside slipcase Chapters 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Arrow 4K UHD (October 2022): Arrow are releasing Hideo Nakata's "Dark Water" to 4K UHD It is advertised as a "4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)" An opening screen states:

"2023 4K Digitally Restored Version
Produced by: KADOKAWA Corporation
Artistic Supervisor: Junichiro Hayashi
Restoration Services by : Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc."

We compared the 2013 Tartan PAL DVD to the 2016 Arrow Blu-ray HERE and below - to the new 4K UHD. Most notably there is a large amount of additional information in the new 4K UHD scan - on all 4 edges. This is a remarkable amount. The 2160P also has darker contrast, deeper black levels while mostly maintaining the occasional 'golden hue' sequences. It looks like a large upgrade in every visual area.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 42 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages recently: Fear and Desire (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (no HDR), Paths of Glory (software uniformly simulated HDR), Southern Comfort (software uniformly simulated HDR), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (software uniformly simulated HDR,) The Wages of Fear (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Roaring Twenties (software uniformly simulated HDR), Universal Classic Monsters Limited Edition Collection (software uniformly simulated HDR), Scarlet Street (software uniformly simulated HDR), eXistenZ (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (software uniformly simulated HDR), Conan the Barbarian (software uniformly simulated HDR), Django (no HDR), Lone Star (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspect Zero (software uniformly simulated HDR), Count Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Circle - The Haunting of Julia (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Warriors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blackhat (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mark of the Devil (software uniformly simulated HDR), Barbarella (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Knew Too Much (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rope (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frenzy (software uniformly simulated HDR), American Graffiti (software uniformly simulated HDR), East End Hustle (software uniformly simulated HDR), Three Days of the Condor (software uniformly simulated HDR), Witness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Fascination (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lips of Blood (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Others (no HDR), It Came From Outer Space (software uniformly simulated HDR).

On their 4K UHD, Arrow utilize the same very robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original Japanese language - as they did on their 2016 Blu-ray. Effects can be subtle before exploding and the score by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, RE:Born) and Shikao Suga does a wonderful job of sneaking up on you in certain sequences. Bass is deep and rich and the film, already offered an intense audio experience for the viewer - and that is exemplified via the lossless. There are optional English subtitles - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide.

The extras on the 4K UHD disc are also duplicated from the older Blu-ray disc and include a 26-minute, interview with director Hideo Nakata, a new 20-minute interview with novelist Koji Suzuki from May 2016 and he discusses how he became Japan's pre-eminent horror novelist, and how Dark Water was adapted from one of his short stories. There is also a 20-minute, interview with director of photography Junichiro Hayashi and he speaks about his frequent collaborations with director Hideo Nakata. There are some archive interviews with actors Asami Mizukawa and Hitomi Kuroki and composer Shikao Suga plus the 1/4 hour original Making of documentary as well as a trailer, teaser and TV Spots. The package has a reversible sleeve (see below) featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain and we can get an illustrated collector's booklet containing new writing by David Kalat, author of J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond, and an examination of the American remake by writer and editor Michael Gingold.

Hideo Nakata's "Dark Water" was inspired by the short story "Floating Water" by Koji Suzuki, who also wrote the Ring trilogy. It was remade in a 2005 American film with Jennifer Connelly. Divorcée Yoshimi Matsubara (Hitomi Kuroki) and her young daughter Ikuko (Rio Kanno) relocate into a leaky apartment building. They are continuously haunted by the ghost of a troubled girl, Mitsuko Kawai, whose body remained hidden since she accidentally drowned in the top floor's large cistern tank two years previous. As far as Japanese ghost stories - Dark Water is excellent with a slow build and creepy atmosphere if never as gore-intensive as some of its J-Horror subgenre contemporaries. Frankly this is much more appealing to me. I liked my viewing in Arrow's 4K UHD release even more than when I watched it initially. It looked great and was far more effecting / atmospheric. I think this is, certainly, worth the substantial video upgrade. Intelligent ghost story fans should indulge.