Ju-on: The Grudge

"Ju-On, The Grudge" is not an easy movie to find in America (or at least it wasn't when I first wrote this review) , and after hearing it hyped to the heavens in magazines such as Fangoria and Rue Morgue, and by word of mouth as well, I knew I had to see it. I finally tracked it down in LA and watched it the very first chance I got to do so.

Ju-On is a chapter story about a haunted house in a Tokyo suburb. The film begins when an inexperienced social worker shows up at the house and comes face to face with the horror within. The story jumps around from past to present, its chapters focusing on one character at a time until it has come full circle. Everyone unwise enough to enter the cursed house winds up dead, the haunting spreading like a virus. It seems that a terrible murder once took place in this house and the rage surrounding the act of violence has spawned its own evil curse. To enter the house is to be immediately infected and the haunting follows people home, driving them to near madness before dragging them away, never to be seen again.

Ju-On bears more than a passing resemblance to its popular predecessor "Ringu" and is nowhere near as frightening, but it's not a bad film by any means. Butchered mother-ghost Kayako is very Sadako-like, crawling around with her long black hair in her face and moving with unearthly jerkiness. Her blue-white face is quite startling with its huge staring eyes and occasional splashes of blood. Her ghost son, Toshio, is both sad and frightening, appearing both as a normal boy and a pale, wide-eyed ghost. Many of the films most frightening sequences feature the murdered woman Kayako: her head full of black hair peeking around a corner, her shadow moving down a corridor and filling a security camera, a head-on shot of her crawling through an attic at night with only the beam of a flashlight illuminating her. The sound effects are quite disturbing as well and the performances are convincingly well done.

I wasn't as scared by this movie as had been promised I would be, but that's what happens when you buy into the hype. I was simply expecting too much, and I got a pretty good ghost story instead. Ju-On is good. It's not great, but it's a decent, straightforward ghost story with more than enough scary moments to please most horror fans. Ringu was scarier, but Ju-On is a noble effort. Like most Asian horror stories, it remains ambiguous and open-ended, leaving room for both a sequel and the chance for you to decide for yourself what the curse of The Grudge really is.

7 out of 10 stars.

A Japanese horror film part of an ongoing series. A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.

I cannot believe I've never seen this film until now, seeing as Asian horror is my thing! I haven't seen the two shorter films before this one, but it didn't feel like it was necessary anyway. I followed the story throughout, even with its non-linear storytelling. I love ghost story films and I really enjoyed this film! It's atmosphere was perfectly done and it was definitely giving me shivers down my spine at parts. It didn't need jumpscares, it had tension.

The multiple story lines made the film so interesting! If it was just one character experiencing these terrifying hauntings happening it wouldn't of flowed so well. It felt really fast, which is good because too much tension can grow to be boring. The acting was all really well done as well! In the American remake (I know, we don't talk about it but I will anyway) it just didn't flow as well. The fact that it was Americanized with it's casting ruined it from the start, but this felt authentic. So I won't be checking out any of the American sequels, seeing as the original remake was lackluster.

I also have no real drive to watch the sequels to this film, though I may watch them just out of curiosity if it's just the same story over and over again.

A horror classic and for all the right reasons. I am a huge fan of this movie and really appreciate what it does. This is my third time watching it and it only gets better.

We follow a group of people all hit by a curse. The curse dose all in it's power to kill anyone who comes into contact with it. It is a pure evil that doesn't discriminate.

The movie can have a cheap feel to it with it's effects, makeup and camera work, but I find this inspirering. It can feel a bit student filmish and it's clear the creators used the budget well. The team clearly had to be inventive with everything and it inspires a guy like me that would love to make a movie myself. The movie is still well done and still works amazingly for me.

The movie is well shot from a camera perspective and creates some iconic frames and moves. It works more like a fly on the wall instead of the chatecters POV. Showing us things we don't want to see that it would scare us. It does this very effectively. There is some wierd camera moves here and there but overall I find it really well shot.

The acting seems good without me having a great knowledge about the Japanese language. The preformances seem good and believable. There is some amazing scream queens in this movie, and the actors that plays the spirits do brilliantly. They stay in charecter and sell the lost spirits really well.

The sets are so well done because they look like the everyday world. They don't look produced like the typical American set, and invites you into peoples homes and something familiar to the viewer. It feels like an intrusion on the private and makes you want to check your hallways a second time before going to bed. The sets are also well thought-out, with details you'll notice after a second watch.

The evil in this movie is pure. It feels pointless to fight it and that it can't be stopped. You feel as hopeless as the chatecters and having an unstoppable evil is dreadful and depressing. The movie shows us all the affected and how they die and the evil seems unstoppable no matter what. Young or old, it doesn't discriminate, it's just evil.

The movie is full of iconic frames and sequences. From the stairs scene towards the end, to the elevator scene, the bed scenes and the wheelchair reveal. All are perfectly made, iconic and scary scenes.

The movie is tied well together but could easily also be wieved as an anthology movie. All the different segments are thier own mini-movie that all are well crafted on their own. No segments feels overshadowed and Works all on their own. The overall ties works great too though and towards the end you learn more and more about the curse.

Now here is probably the hardest sell about the movie but an aspect I liked. The movie is told out of chronological order and can be hard to follow the first time watching. I had problems following the plot the first time I'll gladly admit. But I appreciate watching it the second time and the third, I could apeiciate the movie even more. The movie really helps you to follow it's narrative though. It tells you early on that it's out of order and eases you through the different chatecters and tells and shows you how they are all connected. Don't be on your phone during this movie, pay attention and you'll have an easier time following the narrative.

If you couldn't tell I love this movie. I find it scary, well done and really depressing in it's subject matter. It is an iconic movie for a reason, it dares to do a lot and gets away with it. I would highly recommend it.

I saw the American remake before seeing "Ju On" and had mixed feelings about it. After seeing this original Japanese film, I can't really say that it is much better. Actually, I'd even say that the remake was more effective in terms of atmosphere. This original has the better story, and the audience isn't slapped in the face with a stupid "root" as they are in "The Grudge" (although, maybe that is fleshed out in the other "Ju On" movies, which I have not seen). The chronology play was interesting and fresh, but this is so important to the director, then there should have been more inclusion of time indicators. After awhile, the movie gets really boring--different people being haunted and attacked by the same ghosts in the same way, over and over again. I realize this is the point of the movie, but it doesn't make for a very entertaining time. My Rating: 6/10.

Before the film started, I read some quotes from famous American directors praising the Grudge and calling it one of the most frightening films of all time. I was a little nervous about seeing it, but excited that it had gotten such positive attention from filmmakers. That moment before the film started was much more frightening than anything in the actual film. To be generous, I have to say that some of the attempts to scare the audience are innovative. Sadly, nothing here is scary. I had a really hard time caring and was confused by the disjointed and tangential structure of the film. Sometimes the lack of logic in a horror film can work it's benefit. Not the case here. Seeing this film reminded me of why I hate formulaic slasher films. sure, there are some interesting things here, but nothing really gells. I love Asian horror films in general, but this seemed slight compared to the films of Miike, Nakata, K. Kurosawa and the Pang brothers which are getting easier to find in neighborhood video stores.