Ju-on 2

I'm happy to say that, after a slight disappointment with 'Ju On: The Grudge,' the series returns to form with this installment.

Just when you thought Takashi Shimizu had done everything there was to do with 'Ju On,' this third sequel (and second theatrical film) takes things in a slightly new direction...and gives us some of the most terrifying scenes yet.

Yes, Toshio and his Mum are still on the prowl. Yes, the plot is told in the same disjointed segment style. But, without spoiling the surprises, some new and unexpected twists are added to the mythology. And just as expected, there are plenty of images and sounds that will haunt you till your dying day.

I can't wait to see what Shimizu has in store with the fifth film (the American installment) and dread the thought of seeing these images on a big screen!

Smart Far Eastern horror uses chills, psychology and subtle intelligence to place itself a cut above many of its peers.

Ju-on 2 is obviously a sequel to Ju-on (The Grudge), a fairly reasonable if perhaps not brilliant chiller from the Orient, in which a murder had caused the house it occurred in to host a curse as a result of the slaying.

Following on from this, Ju-on 2 uses the same trick as seen in the likes of Magnolia whereby a bunch of victims, related to one another in some way, suffer at the hands of said curse.

Indeed, this is much like a compendium of tales, focusing on around 6 victims whose lives becomes inextricably linked as a result of circumstance, all of which harks back to the original house.

However, rather than outlining the finer details of the plot, it seems fairer to explain *why* this is such a good effort from Asia compared to so many of its really rather derivative kin such as Phone, Eye etc.

Certainly this also has more than a homage to Ring, and could be tenuous accused of slight plagiarism given many of the utterly blatant similarities, so what makes it a cut above the others?

Well, one of the main strengths here is some fantastic psychological trickery. The direction itself is fantastically conducive to it, and without giving away the exact nature of the manipulation of the viewer going on here, it's fair to say that it does a pretty good job of conveying the same kind of 'wrongness' that Ring exuded. There are plenty of moments here which create a genuine chill such is their effective defying of how we believe the laws of physics and biology work. When an event goes against all the worldly beliefs you have set in stone, it makes you take notice. Furthermore, given the distinctly psychological nature of much of Ju-on 2, it truly comes across as utterly twisted like some kind of awful nightmarish trip (Unlike Audition's frankly baffling last 3rd) but one which doesn't leave the viewer confused.

There are also a number of subtle tricks in evidence, many of which don't become apparent till later, all of which genuinely gathered an impressed reaction from me.

I am not going to pretend this is a terrifying movie, because to me, while there were certainly moments which got the adrenaline going a little, it is not exactly all that scary if you're a fan of these movies. Basically, we've seen it all before.

Nonetheless, as critical and harsh as that sounds, it still manages to entertain extremely well despite it, because it uses its own unique brand of originality to compliment the obvious nods to other movies.

Certainly one of the best Eastern horrors I've seen.

I always get kind of agitated when producers feel a need to make sequels. I have never seen one that actually mattered. This one didn't either.

Having said that I do feel a need to actually recommend this Ju-On part. Besides the obvious rerun of old tricks, some of the new material is actually quite interesting and well-thought of. For example the thuds on the wall (that the couple hears every night around 12.30)are later explained in an eerie way. The wig-on-the-floor-thing was nicely done.

Finally, I thought the birth was original as well as the ending of the movie.

All in all entertaining (for a "Part two" movie) but not a MUST SEE.

This is a sequel of 'Ju-on' , the creepy and terrifying film that revolutionized Japanese horror cinema, a profitable picture that created a hit franchise. Basing on the premise: ¨When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage, a curse is born¨. While their curse spreads on, the ghosts find their chance to live once again through the pregnancy of a cursed woman. While driving , the pregnant horror-movie actress Kyôko Harase (Noriko Sakai) and her boyfriend suffer a car crash caused by a creepy ghost kid who suddenly shows up. Kyôko loses her baby and her fiancé winds up in a coma. Kyôko was cursed together with a television crew when they were filming a show in the haunted house where Kayako was brutally murdered by her husband years ago, events depicted in Ju-on (2002). The actress working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, she encounters a terrible spirit who is vengeful and often possesses its victims, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim. Later on, each member of the cinematographic team dies or missing, Kyôko is informed that she has a fetus in her womb . After that, a series of horrifying and mysterious deaths start to occur, with the spirit passing its curse onto each victim. She must now find a way to break this spell, before she becomes its next victim !. Do you have a grudge? It never forgets !. Once you see it, you can never forget !. Once it sees you, you can never escape !. The whole time I was in that house, I knew something was wrong !. They say that when someone dies in a powerful rage. A curse is made. The curse is about to claim another victim. Even if you die, you can never escape !.

The premise of this Japan setting, low resolution, short gloss film simply transcribes the standard of the horrible curses and haunted houses exegesis. Director builts his film out of chronologically jumbled set pieces. Each proceeds by an alternative pattern of tense lulls and pay-off jolts. The resentment that resides in someone who dies in deep anger generates a painful curse, which is concentrated in the places that the deceased frequented in life. This curse works on those who visit him, constantly renewing his legacy and unleashing a spiral of panic. The type of ghost is based on the Japanese legend of the Onryo, a vengeful spirit that can actually physically manifest itself to attack and kill victims. 'Ju-on 1 and 2' are two successful horror movies which themselves borrrowed liberally from Hideo Nakata's 'Ring' and 'Dark Water'. The overdeterminated approach preempts the character shadings or social subtext that Japanese horror maestro Nakata prizes, while the soundtrack thumps and screaming sounds head off any genuine scares.

The Grudge and The Grudge II, with its insane combination of terror and raw emotions, follows the horror film legacy of classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Evil Dead that shocked several generations of fans. Toshio's spirit is often heard meowing throughout the film. Not only does this imply that his spirit merged with his deceased cat Mar, but it also relates to an old Japanese legend where the damned spirits of lost children become strays and as a result, produce a cat's meow. The house used in the film was not a constructed set but a real location, which had to be rented for film production. It became a tourist attraction following the film franchise's popularity. The house was demolished in 2019. The heroine of this terrifying thriller is Noriko Sakai playing a terror actress and aside from the ghosts, the only actor to return from the previous film is Yui Ichikawa as Chiharu. The main sources of the Japanese terror in the 2000s are the two installments of 'Ju-on', films shot on video about ghosts capable of freezing the blood with which Takashi Shimizu debuted. His great talent was discovered by Hiroshi Takahashi whose scripts in the nineties and especially that of Ringu (The Ring), generated a spectacular boom in horror cinema in Japan. Since then, the legions of followers of this phenomenon have multiplied around the world, especially thanks to the Internet and specialized festivals. Shimizu was personally commissioned to prepare the North American version, with production support from Sam Raimi and Robert Tappert.

The series is formed by ¨Ju-on (The Grudge)¨ (2002) by Takashi Shimuzu with Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô, Misa Uehara Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa. Followed by ¨Ju-on 2, (The Grudge 2)¨ (2003) by Takashi Shimuzu with Noriko Sakai, Kei Horie , Yui Ichikawa. Would be the last installment in the Ju-on series to be written and directed by Takashi Shimizu and going on the American remake ¨The Grudge¨ (2004) by Shimizu with Sarah Michellle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Grace Zabriske and Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, and Takashi Matsuyama all appeared in The grudge (2002) and II (2003), the Japanese films upon which this film was based, all reprising their roles as the doomed Saeki family; unlike the other Japanese horror remakes like The Ring (2002), Dark Water (2005), Pulse (2006), and One missed call(2008), this was the only film out of all the others that actually remained in Japan instead of moving the story to America. And¨The Grudge 2¨ (2006) by director Shimizu himself with Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kabel, Jennifer Beals, Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The rage of Kayako and her son Toshio continue in this sequel to "Ju-On: The Grudge." Creepier and scarier than the first film, Ju-On 2 begins with a young couple and a tragic car accident which leaves a pregnant television star named Kyoko devastated. With her fiancé in a coma and her unborn baby supposedly lost, she continues with her blossoming career in horror films. But when she agrees to appear in a pseudo-documentary about the "haunted house" where Kayako and Toshio still "reside," the virus of the Grudge begins anew. Soon, everyone involved with the production is missing or dead, and Kyoko, who has recently been informed that her baby is not lost after all, begins to realize that what she is carrying may not be hers at all.

Ju-On 2 is definitely much more scarier than its predecessor. Disturbing sound effects, jerky camera movements and one dizzy nightmarish scene after another literally left me reeling, feeling as confused and freaked out as the characters in the film. There are some great visual effects here; Kayako and her wild hair spread over a ceiling, tendrils dropping down into lethal nooses; a wig come to hideous life and the ghostly blue Toshio staring out of the darkness. The ending was a work of morbid art, leaving me quite stunned. "Ju-On 2" has proved beyond a doubt that sequels are not always a bad thing, and sometimes, they're even better!

Highly recommended!