From the director of ‘Ringu’, the original Japanese version of ‘The Ring’, comes this superior psychological horror film.
A young single mother and her 5-year old daughter move into an apartment block that has a sinister history to it. Supernatural events are occurring and apparitions being seen, all somehow linked to the dripping water that is everywhere.
This is what a horror film should be about. This is not only a great horror film but also a great story about single parenthood. It is the situation and relationship between the mother and daughter that is an integral part of the film. If we do not care about them then the atmosphere of fear and terror would not exist.
There are some truly terrifying moments in this film that rely on psychological drama rather than cheap close-ups of a hand or loud noise to make you jump. You do not feel cheated at all as the situations that create fear in the characters and the audience are all valid ones. There are no blond high school bimbos running around in a short skirt and wet tee shirt constantly wandering directly into danger just to further the story along. (Hmmm, putting it down in words, that image isn’t as unappealing as I thought it would be.)
This is a well thought out piece of cinema in which, although it is quite slow moving and little actually happens, you are never bored or uninterested. The tension created is extreme and sucks you completely in.
OVERALL SUMMARY
A great character study of a woman and her child. The reason this film works so well is that their story, their predicament is not a bolted on addition to the film. Better than the Hollywood painting by numbers ‘horror’ films that are churned out. Catch this if you dare.
