Ju-on

With the release of the first theatrical film in the US hours away I decided to go back and start at the beginning of what spawned four films in Japan and a soon to be released American version.

This is less a haunted house story than a ghost story with something extra. The less you know the better, but perhaps saying that this is about an evil that flows outward from a terrible crime. Its told out of order, which in its way is tricky thing to do since here it requires that you give yourself over to it and stay with it on the journey its making. As I watched the early parts of the film I was uncertain about what I was seeing. It was good but I was almost ready to give up, except there was something gnawing at me to stay the course. I'm glad I did.

This is a film of slowly building dread and unease more than jump out of your seat scares. You leave the film not feeling right with the tension all up and down your back. I didn't want people to go upstairs, into rooms, or follow the trail of blood because I knew what was there, and it was horrible... ...well horrible in idea. The trouble is that because this was shot on the cheap some of the effects aren't that good. I'd like to describe them but I'll let you find out. Thankfully they don't ruin what is a truly creepy movie.

Frankly I'm terrified to see what the other movies bring.

9 out of 10.

First i was disappointed to see that it was a TV movie i had bought, but after 10 minutes of watching it i didn't give it much of a thought. This movie is simply just entertaining from beginning to end. There is no limit to the imagination of creepiness in this movie, all thanks to my new favorite horror director Takashi Shimizu. The fact, that its like Shimizu has thought " I would like to make a movie that scares the s*** out of everyone and then to hell with everything else" really makes me raise my thumbs up and bow in the dust for the man. This Flick is on my top 3 list of the scariest movies ever, together with "The shining" and "Salems lot". If i had seen this one when i was 13 i would have been horrified for stairs years to come (just like i was horrified for windows without curtains for about 5 years, after seeing "Salems lot"), thats for sure.

Note: You don't have to use blood for a movie to be scary. The Japanese have realized that, why cant the Americans???

The reason that i didn't give this movie 10 out of 10 is because i find it hard to keep track of all the names (maybe because I'm not Japanese?)and i miss some answers in this riddle of a ghost story. And yes, i HAVE seen the other 3 in the series. And no, you Don't get much more insight, just more confused. They are still some excellent horror movies though, especially Ju-on: The grudge 2. But the first one is still the most scary.

I gave it 9 out of 10. Enjoy! ;o)

Ps. If anyone knows movies as scary as the above mentioned, please write me the titles so i can continue my search for the scariest horror movie ever.

First off this is the movie that kicked it all off. It was followed by Ju-On 2 , Ju-On The Grudge, Ju-On The Grudge 2, and now the Sarah Michelle Gellar version The Grudge all directed by Shimizu. These movies have since become sort of a mystery due to the fact that very little people actually know there are so many of these movies and that there is an actual order in which they proceed. So I personally decided to buck that trend and watch them from the start. So....

Anyways this movie eerily begins off with a teacher played by Yûrei Yanagi who must visit the ominous home of one of his students Toshio whom has not recently been to school and who's parents have not been able to be reached. When he arrives at the house he discovers the boy is alone at home and his parents are out and about.

This is when the movie flashes back into an almost short story mode where it tells the tale of others who have lived and been in the house and what has become of them. One of the characters being played by Chiaki Kuriyama who has gone on to bigger and better things with Battle Royale and Kill Bill. This movie is confusing and made even more confusing by not being used to watching a movie with all Asian people and subtitles. But from what I've understood these people have all been cursed with The Grudge as is described in the beginning of the movie as

"A curse of one who dies with strong resentment

Accumulates in the place where the dead were while alive, and turns into "Karma"

He who comes in contact with the curse loses his life, and a new curse is born."

After these sequences are finished Shimizu once again returns to the main story of the teacher and his student Toshio. Where we quickly learn what has really become of Toshio's parents. EEK!

These short story like sequences are very frightening and creepy, and it wasn't the limited amount of gore that got me. It was the great direction and incredible use of sound to freak the s**t out of me. I've never really seen any American horror movies made like this one, and it's almost hard to explain even to myself how a movie with such an erratic and confusing timeline could still be so satisfying. Although maybe I'm just ignoring the fact that many of these confusements(is that a word, if it isn't it should be) will be explained in the sequels, which I now must absolutely see.

Although the first two movies of the Ju-on series were super low-budget direct-to-video affairs, I find this first one holds its own next to -- and is in many ways still creepier than -- the 2002 theatrical box office smash.

This movie establishes the curse that stems from the murder of a young woman, Kayako, and her son, Toshio, by Kayako's jealous husband. The movie jumps around in time, playing scenes out of sequence in a way that is more interesting dramatically than if it had all been drawn out chronologically.

Takashi Shimizu relies upon generating an eerie mood, a nonstop aura of unease that permeates each scene, to creep audiences out, rather than by throwing gore and special effects at you in the way American horror films usually do. (In fact, the one CGI effects shot in this movie is its cheesiest; they just haven't got the budget to pull it off.) By the time we finally see Kayako crawling down the stairs, we've been put so ill at ease by one inexplicable, disturbing event after another that the first sight of her is bloodcurdling.

In all, Ju-on is a swell example of how to generate chills with next to no money but boundless imagination and talent.

8/10

Before Ju-On achieved worldwide fame, the franchise originally began with this film, which at the time was only released in Japan. Although it is a low-budget film that was only released on VHS, what lay in this film was something that would end up becoming a horror film phenomenon. The original genesis of the franchise begins in this film, where Kayako's mythology begins from the beginning. The stories told here present how it began, why and who were the first victims. It is a simple film that, despite not being in chronological order like the other installments that came later, can be understood well. Obviously, it didn't age very well due to the quality with which it was made. The special effects seem to be quite crappy. Even so, it is an enjoyable film and it is good to know it as it is the first original chapter of the franchise. Ju-On (2000) is undoubtedly a diamond in the rough that is worth knowing for having started the Ju-On mythology. My final rating for this movie is a 7/10.