Hideo Nakata

Born: July 19, 1961
Where: Okayama, Japan

Director Nakata's breakthrough movie was the supernatural chiller Ring, which was subsequently remade in Hollywood.

A graduate of Tokyo University, Nakata worked as an assistant director at the Nikkatsu Studio before his 1996 debut feature Ghost Actress.

Then came Assassin's Town before Ring made him an international name and he went on to work on Ring 2, Chaos and The Sleeping Bride.

Although well-known as a horror specialist, he has also worked in other genres such as romance and suspense.

Dark Water, based on Ring writer Koji Suzuki's book, surpasses even Ring in its unbearably tense editing and suspense.

In 2005, he directed the American sequel to The Ring (which differed from the Japanese version).