Dark Water, the latest trend in Americanizing Japanese horror ghost tales, is being released earlier than expected. Zap2It reports that instead of the intended August 12 release date, it will debut on July 8th, up against the Fox Studios comic giant “Fantastic Four”.

Touchstone Pictures apparently wasn’t interested in having the number 1 box office spot that week.

The film is about a caring mother, Dahlia Williams, who moves with her young daughter into a run-down apartment building, following a vicious custody battle with her ex-husband. Her current life situation is not going according to plan, and she craves an optimistic boost. Upon discovering that her new apartment is being haunted by an unfriendly ghost, with water spilling out from every crevice—she realizes her downer phase has only just begun.

Horror fans will be pleased to learn that The Grudge is a completely separate entity from this picture. And instead of Sarah Michelle Gellar, we get a welcomed upgrade to Jennifer Connelly. Other cast members include John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Pete Postelthwaite, Dougray Scott and Camryn Manheim. Dark Water is an adaptation of Koji Suzuki’s spooky novel, and a remake of the Japanese version of the film “Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara.” He previously wrote the Ring/Ringu stories. The screenplay is written by Rafael Yglesias.

The most interesting thing about this movie is the choice of director, Walter Salles. He directed Central Station and Motorcycle Diaries, two fantastic foreign films, and takes a ballsy career jump into a new genre (and a new language). If this film were directed by say, Wes Craven, I wouldn’t be the least bit interested. But with Salles and a stellar cast onboard, I have faith that the fright-fest will induce screams and not yawns.