Ju-on: The Grudge

Rika Nishina (Megumi Okina) works for a social services agency in Tokyo, although she's never seen any clients. When a new case comes in and they're short on staff, her boss has to send her out. Her first case is a doozy. When she enters the client's home, no one seems to be there, and the house is a mess. She hears scraping on a door--the old woman she is to care for is there, but in a semi-catatonic state. Soon after, she learns that there is much more wrong than bad housekeeping and a neglected old woman. There just may be threatening supernatural forces behind the scenes.

This film is really the third in the Japanese Ju-On series. I won't usually watch a series out of order, but this is the only Ju-On film officially and thus easily available in the U.S. I was very anxious to watch the American remake, The Grudge (2004), and actually watched it the day before watching this film.

The first 40-something minutes are closest to the American remake, but it was surprising that this film is much more linear. It's also more episodic. Neither of those facts are negative here, and both lend to a somewhat easier understanding of the broader mythology behind the Ju-On "monsters", which is presented much more clearly in this film. However, the episodic nature also means that the viewer has to pay attention to the various characters and their names, or there is a good chance that one will get lost--this story touches on many different people, in many different scenarios. Occasionally, there are characters brought into each other's episodes, sometimes as subtly as a name mentioned in a news report. These cross-references, which can also slightly break the linear timeline, are effective if one is alert.

There are things that writer/director Takashi Shimizu does better in this version, and things he does better in the American version. In this version, I loved the brutal opening sequence. Although it's somewhat present towards the end of the American version, it is much more effective here. I enjoyed the more traditional Japanese home--this film was shot on location in an actual house, whereas the American remake was shot on a house constructed on a soundstage. The Japanese house is more claustrophobic. On the other hand, the soundstage house was a bit grungier, which works nicely in the context of the remake. I liked this film's transition in the famous "stair crawling" scene (although I thought the flashbacks weren't necessary), and I also loved some of the more dissonant music here.

The biggest differences occur after the first forty minutes, when Shimizu expands the number of monsters. The film seems to threaten a Romero-like plague that I'd like to see explored more in other Ju-On films (if that hasn't been done already).

The bottom line though is that this is a nicely atmospheric horror film, with a creepy scene per minute. There were a couple very minor flaws--occasionally awkward performances or editing being the primary one, but overall this is highly recommended. It earned a 9 out of 10 from me.

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.

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 watched the American version of "The Grudge" with Sarah Michelle Gellar some years ago and liked it a lot. Today I got a chance to see the Japanese original. Even though I saw it second and it doesn't have the same production value as the American version, I still liked it.

"Ju-On" bucked the trend a bit that you see with just about every movie dealing with hauntings or poltergeists; they jumped to level ten with the ghosts. 99% of horror movies involving a specter start off very slowly like the ghost is working up the nerve to fully scare the victim. In "Ju-On," because there are multiple victims, the tortured soul wastes no time. You have to appreciate a ghost who wants to get things done promptly.

In Japan, when the volunteer social assistant Rika Nishina (Megumi Okina) is assigned to visit a family, she is cursed and chased by two revengeful fiends: Kayako, a woman brutally murdered by her husband and her son Toshio. Each person that lives or visits the haunted house is murdered or disappears.

"Ju-on: The Grudge" is a very scary horror movie, based on a Japanese legend. In the beginning of the film, there is an explanation in this regard. When a person is killed in a violent way, his or her death generates a curse that will stay in the place where the crime took place. If another person visits the haunted place, he or she will be chased by the fiends till death generating another curse. In Western cultures, the fiend is generally trapped in a haunted house, and the person is safe and sound if he or she escapes from the place. This movie impresses because there is no bloody scene, only a tense psychological exploration of the inner fear of human beings for the unknown. The story is very simple and low paced, there are very few special effects, a great use of sound, no gore, but the creepy atmosphere is really frightening. Asiatic cinema proves again that in this moment their cinema is the number one in the horror genre. Unfortunately, the pretentious American industry of cinema insists in remaking and spoiling these Asian masterpieces.

I saw "Ju-on: The Grudge" for the first time on 02 June 2006. Today, 23 March 2007, I have just watched it for the second time with the intention of seeing the Japanese sequel and I startled many times with this excellent horror movie. I recalled the whole story and now I am familiarized with this Japanese belief of the Ju-on, therefore the non-chronological screenplay got better and better than in the first time that I saw. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Ju-On, O Grito" ("Ju-On, The Scream")