“Ju-On”, Not A Friendly Ghost
I first saw “Ju-On” in 2003. I was at my sister’s for Christmas, and she rented it for some after-dinner entertainment. She could not have made a better or worse choice for a holiday movie!
It is not for kids or even faint-hearted adults. It is jarring, intense, dismal, taut to the breaking point, and one of the best horror movies I have ever seen. This film breaks the mold and sets a new standard for horror.
It has gore, but not splattered all over the screen. It has pretty girls, but no sex, It has ghosts but not the soft eerie kind that go bump in the night. No, this movie’s ghost’s intent is not to scare, but to destroy, and destroy it does; consuming everything in it’s path, this ghost does not boo!, it groans.
“Ju-On” was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. There are four in the series,including two short films prior to this one, and then followed by “Ju-On 2“, but each movie stands on it’s own. So it is not necessary to see them all or in order, and don’t even bother to see the Hollywood re-make “The Grudge“, because it is nothing compared to the original.
The film begins with volunteer social worker Rika, played by Megumi Okina, visiting the home of an elderly client, who has not been heard from for awhile. Upon arrival, Rika discovers the home is filthy and in disarray. The woman is almost catatonic and staring into space, as if she has seen something too horrible to describe and is still seeing it. Rika hears creaking noises and feels another presence in the house, so she goes upstairs to investigate. The noise turns out to be a cat in a closet, but she sees a small boy, pale and forlorn, and uncommunicative.
Rika reports her discovery to her superiors and the police, and learns that the house was previously occupied by a man, his wife, and their son. The man murdered his wife in a jealous psychosis, believing she was having an affair. He even killed her cat. The little boy has been missing ever since.
Misaki Ito
The premise of this movie is a haunted house, but that is where the similarity between this and other ghost movies ends. This ghost is angry, hateful, vengeful, relentless, and infectious. It is a black plague of evil that destroys everyone who comes in contact with it, and the investigation has now unleashed it’s fury.
All in all, this film is a very unpleasant experience, which is exactly what a well-crafted horror movie should be; with it’s images and stark sound effects lingering in the viewer’s imagination for a long time after the movie is over.
“Ju-On”, 2002, was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. The large cast had stars like Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Kanji Tsuda, Kayoko Shibata, Yukako Kukuri, and many others in supporting roles.
I saw that movie and the sequel. It gave me impression on how well it bring in the scare factor as I was disappointed w/ the sequel. I didn’t watch the American remake version which gave me no interest. Good review bigmak.
I beg to differ on the American remake which I thought was just as good as the original Japanese version since it was also directed by Takashi Shimizu but you have to see the unrated version to truly appreciate it. But my favorite one in the series is actually Ju-On 2.
Thanks for the comments,maybe if I had seen the Hollywood version before seeing the original I would have a higher opinion of it,but it was difficult to take seriously starring Sarah Michelle Gellar,I have nothing against her,but from Buffy The Vampire Slayer to Ju-On is quite a leap in believability,and I found myself looking for defects,as I often do with sequels and remakes.
I don’t like Western remakes.. They tend to destroy what was set as a true foundation of brilliance in a story. Be it from a manga or an original film. Blood: The Last Vampire is a prime example. The focus of the story was split between Saya and ‘other’ girl. They make it so obvious that they would always establish an important role for one of their kind, thus ruining film’s over-all appeal.