Ju-on (The Grudge)
by Takashi Shimizu
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Kanji Tsuda, Megumi Okina, Misa Uehara, Misaki Itô, Yui IchikawaDirector: Takashi Shimizu
Brand: LION'S GATE ENTERTAINMENT
Cinematographer: Tokushô Kikumura
Writer: Takashi Shimizu
Editor: Nobuyuki Takahashi
Producer: Hiroki Numata
Producer: Kunio Kawakami
Producer: Takashige Ichise
Producer: Yoshinori Kumazawa
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-11-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Ju-on (The Grudge)
Movie Review: Scariest movie I've ever seen!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ju-On: the curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage. It gathers and takes effect in the places where that person was alive. Those who encounter it die and a new curse is born. -opening quote from Ju-On.
The phrase "emotional bloodstain" comes to mind, as the curse arising from a murder that took place five years before still besmirches a house where the Tokunaga family, consisting of husband Katsuya, his wife Kazumi, and the former's mother live. All people connected with the house will either die or disappear. The story is broken into six segments titled after the people affected by the curse.
In the first, "Rika," Rika Nishina, a student at the social welfare center, is forced by her supervisor Hirohashi to look in on the Tokunaga's, as the normal person assigned to them hasn't reported. She goes there to find the house in an absolute state, and Katsuya's elderly mother, Sachie-san, in a state of shock. However, she hears weird noises upstairs and discovers a black cat and a six-year boy named Toshio locked in an upstairs closet. But that's nothing compared to what she sees later.
Cut to what happened the day before. In "Katsuya," the husband becomes possessed by something and his behaviour changes. His facial expression is simply scary, as it's far from the usual absent-minded but nice salaryman.
"Hitomi," Katsuya's younger sister, is an office girl who has a frightening experience in the woman's bathroom at work and later her apartment. Distorted faces on the TV, Hitomi hiding in her own bed, and the low guttural croaking sound emitted by the curse-think of a Geiger Counter with strep throat, count as one of the scariest moments.
"Toyama," is the detective who investigated the original murders of the house, and is reluctantly pressed back into service by Nakagawa, the current detective in charge, while "Izumi," his young daughter, has her own experience in the house as a high school student. She and three friends had gone in that house as a dare, but Izumi, scared, left before her friends were gotten at. Izumi becomes a nervous wreck who stays in her room, blinds down and windows taped up because "they are watching." Finally, in "Kayoko," the name of the first victim, we go back to Rika and her ultimate fate.
Points of note: The story must take place during a ten year period, the beginning being the first murders, the end being the death of Izumi, as at least five years pass from "Toyama" to "Izumi". It's also in her episode that we learn the discovery of one of Rika's body, so we assume Rika was allowed to live five years longer, as was Toyama. There is a small continuity error. From the daylight streaming through the house, it's clear that it's mid-afternoon when Hitomi's message is heard by Rika. Yet when we see Hitomi making the call herself, people are getting ready to leave work, so it must be nighttime. Also, the curse is supposed to be all-pervading and powerful, so why does it need to ask Hitomi for her apartment number before it gets her?
The performers are good to watch, especially Megumi Okina (Rika), Misaki Ito (Hitomi), and Misa Uehara (Izumi), who along with Yui Ichikawa (Chiharu, Izumi's classmate) makes her film debut.
What makes Ju-On scary and vicious is that unlike Ringu, there is no spell to remove the curse, plus those innocents who get dragged into it, like poor Rika or Hitomi, are automatically doomed. The presence of the curse, embodied as a crawling long-haired woman in white dress-sound familiar?-is simply creepy, but so is the presence of Toshio, who might be a cute little kid if not for his ghost-pale complexion and large eyes. Shots of him darting away score for suspenseful moments. Most of the time, the curse is an indistinct black shadow, but even then it's pretty darn scary. People screaming as they are dragged away to their doom, and seeing the bedcovers bulge from beneath until the victim looks in to discover the creepy curse woman also provide some scary moments.
Scarier than Ringu or its descendants, Ju-On is probably the scariest movie I've ever seen. If this is a scary movie, I don't know what Scream or Friday the 13th is.
Summary of Ju-on (The Grudge)
An eerie tale of a family who is brutally killed in their own home leaving behind an evil spirit lurking in the shadows. When an unknowing homecare worker enters the spirit is awakened and a terrifying chain of events begins passing through all those who step foot in this dark house. SPECIAL FEATURESCommentary by Legendary Director Sam RaimiJu-On the True StoryMaking of Featurette4 Cast interviewDirector interviewBehind the ScenesOuttake FootageAlternate EndingSystem Requirements: Running Time 92 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 031398166801 Manufacturer No: 16680Similar DVD Movies
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