Movie Review: Ju-On: The Curse 2

Ju-on: The Curse 2 (a.k.a Ju-on 2)

Toei Video Company, Japan, 2000.

The sequel to "Ju-on: The Curse"  and prequel to "Ju-on: The Grudge"

This film continues directly from where the first film ended (actually it repeats about 30 minutes of the first film). Like the other films in the series this is divided to segments.

Kayako

Toshio Saeki's (Ryôta Koyama) teacher Kobayashi (Yûrei Yanagi) tries to find his parents. Mother Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji) had an unhealthy obsession with Kobayashi. Father Takeo Saeki (Takashi Matsuyama) has a horrible surprise for Kobayashi.

Kobayashi

Kyoko

Real estate agent Tatsuya (Makoto Ashikawa) asks her sister Kyoko (Yûko Daike), who has psychic skills, help to sell the cursed house. Tatsuya and his son Nobuyuki (Tomohiro Kaku) now live in the former apartment of Kobayashi.

Kyoko

Tatsuya

New residents Yoshimi (Kaori Fujii) and Hiroshi Kitada (Hua Rong Weng) meet the curse. Tatsuya tries to save his family.

Yoshimi

Tatsuya

Kamio

Cops Kamio (Tarô Suwa) and Iizuka (Reita Serizawa) try to make sense of the mysterious deaths.

Kayako

Noboyuki

At school other students think he is acting weird.

Noboyuki

Saori
Schoolgirl Saori and her friends trespass the haunted house.

This was a difficult film to find. I tried to order a secondhand DVD two years ago but the seller disappeared mystically from the web. Creepy. The second copy was finally found from video store surplus shelf. However the film contains a lot of material from the first film and many of the events are reprised in the sequels so missing it would not been so big a loss except for seeing every film of the series. The story has some creepy scenes especially in the middle of the story but overall it does not feel as scary as the other of the series, as it lacks the surprises of the first film. Maybe the films 1 and 2 should have been cut to one film.

Rating: Average

Starring: Yûrei Yanagi, Takako Fuji, Takashi Matsuyama, Ryôta Koyama, Yûko Daike, Makoto Ashikawa, Tomohiro Kaku, Mayuko Saitô, Yue, Miyako Nakatsuka, Kenta Ishikawa, Ganko Fuyu, Kaori Fujii, Hua Rong Weng, Taizô Mizumura, Harumi Matsukaze, Duncan, Denden, Tarô Suwa, Reita Serizawa, Kiriko Shimizu, Nagisa Takemura, Hayato Ichihara, Akihiro Toyotome, Shiori Yonezawa, Mashio Miyazaki

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Movie Review: The Grudge 3

The Grudge 3 

Stage 6 Films, Ghost House Pictures, Ozla Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Unified Film Organization (UFO), Vertigo Entertainment, USA, Japan, 2009. 

The curse has moved to Chicago. Jake (Matthew Knight) survived "The Grudge 2", but witnessed the deaths of his family members and is now in mental hospital. Kayako kills him in a locked room. Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith) is puzzled. 

Jake

Dr. Sullivan

In Chicago Lisa's (Johanna Braddy) little sister Rose (Jadie Rose Hobson) begins to see ghost Toshio (Shimba Tsuchiya). Lisa is moving to New York with her boyfriend Andy (Beau Mirchoff). Their brother Max (Gil McKinney) is the manager of the building. Rose has bad asthma and Max wants to send Rose away to a healthier location. In Japan Naoko (Emi Ikehata) finds out about Jake's death and travels to Chicago. 

Lisa and Andy

Max

Rose

Tenants of the haunted house Renee (Laura Giosh) and her traumatized daughter Brenda (Mihaela Nankova) move away from the house. Brenda has barely entered new home when the ghosts take her (now that was the most pointless death in the Grudge series, wasn't it?) Also various other characters are killed by the ghosts. Naoko wants to exorcise the house. 

Brenda

Naoko

Kayako

Shock reveal! Naoko is Kayako's sister who was never referenced even in "The Grudge 2." (In next part do we get to see Kayako's uncle or cousin? Or Saeki-family's meter reader?) 

Takashi Shimizu was no longer directing this and worked only as producer. And it is understandable as making six Ju-on & Grudge films must have been quite repetitive and numbing experience. Also Kayako's and Toshio's actors changed. The third movie tries to milk the last drops from an already dried cow. Not much is left of the original creepy atmosphere. As the series descended to direct-to-video limbo, the budget is lower than in the two previous movies. Shimizu could have pulled that to his advantage but Toby Wilkins couldn't. The story is completely linear with regular teen-horror tropes and uninspired dialogue. The subtle horror of the original is changed  to cheap slasher horror. Even Kayako's rattling sound somehow sounds worse.

Co-produced by Phillip J. Roth and filmed in Bulgaria.

Rating: Bad

Starring: Matthew Knight, Shawnee Smith, Mike Straub, Aiko Horiuchi, Shimba Tsuchiya, Emi Ikehata, Takatsuna Mukai, Johanna Braddy, Beau Mirchoff, Jadie Rose Hobson, Marina Sirtis, Gil McKinney, Laura Giosh, Mihaela Nankova, Michael McCoy 

Director: Toby Wilkins

Movie Review: The Grudge 2

The Grudge 2 

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Ghost House Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, USA, Japan, 2006. 

This version of Ju-on is divided into three intertwining subplots.

Some time after the events of the "The Grudge.": 

Three high-school girls Allison (Arielle Kebbel), Vanessa (Teresa Palmer) and Miyuki (Misako Uno) visit the partially burned haunted Saeki house. Because if there is a house where everyone who enters it dies, you absolutely have to go there. That's a mistake. 

Vanessa, Allison and Miyuki

Soon after the events of the "The Grudge.": 

In California Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn) hears that her sister Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is in hospital. She has survived the deadly curse until now. Aubrey must go to Japan to bring Karen back. Reporter Eason (Edison Chen) wants to interview Karen but she is restrained. She escapes when Kayako's ghost (Takako Fuji) begins to hunt her. As the fire changed something, the ghosts are now looking for new home. 

Aubrey and her mother (Joanna Cassidy)

Karen

Eason and Aubrey try to find Kayako's mother (Kim Miyori) who is an exorcist. But once started nothing can stop the curse!

Eason

Terrible photos

Some time and couple of days after the events of the "The Grudge.":

In Chicago Trish (Jennifer Beals), Bill (Christopher Cousins) and Bill's kids Jake (Matthew Knight) and Lacey (Sarah Roemer) move to new apartment. A weird hooded person lives next door. The curse has come to USA... 

Trish and Bill

Jake

"The Grudge 2" changes the already too familiar formula but not to the right direction. This iteration of Grudge is more and more resembling an generic American boogeyman style horror movie. The segmented nonlinear structure still sort of exists making the story jump around in time, but in lesser amount than in previous Shimizu's movies as there are only three subplots. The action is taken from the haunted house to hospital, high-school (with an obligatory girls' locker room scene), love motel, countryside and finally to USA. There is an really weird explanation for the origin of the curse. Basically the plot is slightly more interesting than in the previous "The Grudge" remake, with adequately sinister atmosphere but nowhere as effective as the original Ju-on films. 

Rating: Average 

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Takako Fuji, Edison Chen, Sarah Roemer, Matthew Knight, Misako Uno, Teresa Palmer, Ohga Tanaka, Yuya Ozeki, Jennifer Beals, Christopher Cousins, Zen Kajihara, Takashi Matsuyama, Joanna Cassidy, Eve Gordon, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Ryo Ishibashi, Shaun Sipos, Kim Miyori, Sotaro Nagasawa, Kyoka Takizawa, Paul Jarrett, Gwenda Lorenzetti, Satoshi Ninomiya, Mitsuo Togioka, Masanobu Yada, Nahana, Isao Yatsu, Akira Sato, Tomomi Hiraiwa, Yôko Chôsokabe, Kayoko Toda, Shuri Matsuda, Yuzo Mikawa 

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Movie Review: The Grudge (2004)

The Grudge 

Columbia Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Fellah Pictures, Senator International, Vertigo Entertainment, USA, Japan, 2004. 

This is an American remake/reboot of Takashi Shimizu's "Ju-on" series. 

When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage a curse is born. 

In Tokyo teacher Peter (Bill Pullman) suddenly jumps down his balcony. Some years later Yoko (Yôko Maki) is treating Emma (Grace Zabriskie) who has dementia. Yoko hears rattling sound coming from the attic. It is Kayako (Takako Fuji) alright! 

Peter

Social worker Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her boyfriend Doug (Jason Behr) have moved to Japan. Yoko is missing so Karen is sent to take care of Emma. Karen finds weird boy Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) and a cat sitting in a closet. Matthew (William Mapother) and Jennifer (Clea DuVall) who lived in the house with Emma have disappeared. 

Karen and Doug

Saeki house

Toshio

Previously real estate agent Suzuki (Hajime Okayama) sold them the house and saw a ghost. Jennifer had hard time adjusting to life in Japan, but that became the least of her problems. Soon Toshio began to haunt Jennifer. 

Jennifer

Karen's boss Alex (Ted Raimi) finds Emma dead and Karen in shocked state. Detectives Nagakawa (Ryo Ishibashi) and Igarashi (Hiroshi Matsunaga) investigate the case. They find the missing couple and a jawbone. Matthew's sister Susan (KaDee Strickland) is also missing. The next segment shows why. 

Nagakawa, Igarashi and Alex

Susan

Karen begins to find out about who Toshio is and finds a news report about the Saeki murder case. Toshio and his mother Kayako (Takako Fuji) were murdered in the house by father Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama). Peter committed suicide soon after the murders so Karen goes to ask Peter's wife Maria (Rosa Blasi) if he knew Kayako. Next segment shows Peter's story. 

Kayako

Again the film is divided into segments, each telling a part of the story. What is missing are the segment title cards. The real estate agent's name is Suzuki which is a reference to the first "Ju-on: The Curse." The originals were very minimalistic, the increased budget takes away some of the charm. Also the sound effect terror of the originals suffers from Hollywood-style horror music. It is not bad but redundant if you have seen the original Japanese versions as the plot is essentially same as in "Ju-on: The Grudge" and recycling the scary scenes of four Japanese movies. What is the greatest difference that this time the story centres around one main character (Karen) making the other segments less interesting. Produced by fan of the original "Ju-on", Sam Raimi. 

Rating: Average 

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, KaDee Strickland, Grace Zabriskie, Bill Pullman, Rosa Blasi, Ted Raimi, Ryo Ishibashi, Yôko Maki, Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, Takashi Matsuyama, Hiroshi Matsunaga, Hajime Okayama, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Kazuyuki Tsumura, Taigi Kobayashi, Junko Koizumi, Nana Koizumi, Yôichi Okamura, Eiji Ôki, Katsuhiro Oyama, Satoshi Ninomiya, Shinji Nomura 

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Movie Review: Ju-on: The Grudge 2

Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (Ju-on 2: Gekijô-ban) a.k.a Ju-on 2 a.k.a The Grudge 2

Pioneer LDC, Nikkatsu, Oz Company, Xanadeux, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co.,Aozora Investments, Tokyo Theatres K.K., Japan, 2003.

Like the previous Ju-on films this one is also divided into six segments.

Horror actress Kyoko Harase (Noriko Sakai) and her fiancé Masashi Ishikura (Ayumu Saitô) drive over a cat. They see a glimpse of Toshio's ghost (Yuya Ozeki) they crash. Kyoko gets a miscarriage and Masashi falls into coma.

Kyoko Harase

Kyoko:

In hospital Kyoko sees Toshio again. Later she continues filming a movie but one of the extras senses something terrible about Kyoko. Kyoko finds out that she is still pregnant. Ghosts kill her mother Aki (Kaoru Mizuki).

Kyoko and Aki

Tomoka:

Before the car accident Tomoka Miura (Chiharu Niiyama) was hostess of TV show. Director Keisuke Ôkuni (Shingo Katsurayama), host Tomoka Miura, and hair stylist Megumi Obayashi (Emi Yamamoto) plan to make an episode of paranormal reality show with Kyoko in the infamous Saeki house. Tomoko's boyfriend Noritaka Yamashita (Kei Horie) gets an eerie phone call from Kayako's ghost (Takako Fuji).

Keisuke briefs the crew

Megumi and Tomoka

Megumi:

Film crew goes to film the show. Sound technician hears a weird sound. Megumi senses that Kyoko is pregnant and gives her a good luck charm. Toshio becomes interested in Kyoko. Megumi combs some wigs.

Filming the show

Megumi and the wigs

Keisuke:

After Kyoko's mother's death Masashi wakes up from coma but he is mute. Keisuke tells that everyone involved with the filming of the episode have died or disappeared. Kyoko acquires Kayako's diary. In the Saeki house Chiharu (Yui Ichikawa) who was seen briefly in the previous film is trying to escape the ghosts.

Chiharu

Chiharu:

Chiharu has nightmares about the haunted house. Her friend Hiromi (Erika Kuroishi) tells that a  horror movie production is searching for extras. It was the same movie that was filmed in the Kyoko segment. Chiharu's spirit seems to be trapped in distorted time loop.

Filming the movie

Toshio

Kayako:

Keisuke sees Hiromi trying to save Chiharu from the house. Keisuke finds Kyoko fainted in the house and takes her to hospital. Kyoko's baby girl is born.

Structurally this is a bit different than the previous Ju-on films with more clearly intertwined events and characters. Shimizu seems to reference some American horror movies. There is a "Scream 3" style meta-level subplot about filming a Ju-on style horror movie. The pregnancy theme is like "Rosemary's Baby." The segment of Chiharu seems to be a homage to "Nightmare on Elm Street." Also the movie remembers its direct to video roots, as the TV-show recordings and Chiharu's segment use cheap video quality. This is scarier than the previous "Ju-on: The Grudge." Now the evil ghosts for the first time seem to have a plan. Still their motives are still in the dark, the ghosts being malevolent almost Lovecraftian spirits spreading death and chaos. There are slightly more special effects than in the previosu films, but they are not overblown and fit the creepy minimalistic style of the he film series. The ending is kind of nod to "The Omen." This film ended the first Ju-on film cycle, as the American versions are remakes (of sorts) and later Japanese movies are reboots of the story.

Rating: Good

Starring: Noriko Sakai, Chiharu Niiyama, Kei Horie, Yui Ichikawa, Ayumu Saitô, Emi Yamamoto, Erika Kuroishi, Kaoru Mizuki, Shinobu Yûki, Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, Shingo Katsurayama, Fumika Hidejima, Hidetoshi Kageyama, Hiroko Toda, Ziko Uchiyama, Hidekazu Mashima, Yukizumi Itô, Yasuhi Nakamura, Kenji Yamagami, Toshiaki Tanabe, Satoru Jitsunashi, Chika Nojima, Mio Kagawa, Naruki Matsukawa, Yuu Kamata, Sakura Kamata, Kôjun Itô

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Movie Review: Ju-on: The Grudge

Ju-on: The Grudge (Ju-on: Gekijô-ban) a.k.a Ju-on a.k.a The Grudge

Pioneer LDC, Nikkatsu, Oz Company, Xanadeux, Japan, 2002.

This is the continuation of "Ju-on: The Curse" and "Ju-on: The Curse 2." The house in the Nerima-district claims new victims. Likewise the prequels, this one is also divided into segments: Rika, Katsuya, Hitomi, Tôyama, Izumi and Kayako.

Rika:

Voluntary social worker Rika Nishina (Megumi Okina) goes to help old woman Sachie (Chikako Isomura) who can not take care of herself. Rika finds a weird boy Toshio (Yuya Ozeki) sitting in a closet.

Rika

The haunted house

Rika tries to help Sachie

Katsuya:

Earlier Sachie was living in the house with his son Katsuya Tokunaga (Kanji Tsuda) and his wife Kazumi (Shuri Matsuda). Kazumi finds a black cat in their house and falls into catatonic state. Katsuya's sister Hitomi (Misaki Itô) arrives to make some food but Katsuya acts weirdly.

Kazumi and Katsuya

Hitomi:

Hitomi returns to work. She is worried about Kazumi and Katsuya. She hears weird sounds and sees a ghost at her workplace. Also surveillance camera shows disturbing things. Terrified she flees to home. Maybe watching TV will calm her.

Hitomi

Watching TV does not help

Tôyama:

Rika's boss Hirohashi (Chikara Ishikura) comes to see what happened to Rika and Sachie. He finds Rika in shocked state. The police are called to investigate the house. Nakagawa Keiji (Hirokazu Inoue) leads the investigations. The house has a sinister history and lots of people have disappeared or died there. The disappearances began A former resident Takeo Saeki (Takashi Matsuyama) murdered her family there. Retired detective Yûji Tôyama (Yôji Tanaka) is called to consult the Saeki case.

Nakagawa Keiji

Yûji Tôyama and young Izumi

Ghosts of Kayako and Toshio

Izumi:

Several years later three school girls are missing. Tôyama's daughter Izumi (Misa Uehara) went with his friends to the haunted house but she ran away before the ghost appeared. Now she fears that she will die next.

Izumi

Eerie cats

Kayoko:

Sometime between the Tôyama and Izumi segments Rika has recovered from the shock but not fully. Her teacher friend Mariko (Kayoko Shibata) has a missing student whose home address is awfully familiar. Rika tries to warn Mariko before it is too late. However ghost of Kayako (Takako Fuji) is already waking up.

Mariko

The style is very similar to "Ju-on: The Curse." However I think that the first Ju-on was scarier because you did not yet know what to expect. Again the plot is very bareboned with strong focus on the nightmarish atmosphere. Several people meet their fate because of the vengeful Onryō spirits. The bigger budget allows some ghost special effects and better cinematography, although they do not stylistically differ much from the direct-to-video Ju-on. The look is still quite low-budget. Some "Ringu" style TV-screen scares are added. The timeline is non-linear with some foretelling visions. It does not change the formula much, but offers a steady parade of chilling moments.

Rating: Good

Starring: Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Kanji Tsuda, Kayoko Shibata, Yukako Kukuri, Shuri Matsuda, Yôji Tanaka, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Hideo Sakaki, Takashi Matsuyama, Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, Chikara Ishikura, Chikako Isomura, Chiona Ôkuni, Miho Fujima, Daisuke Honda, Hirokazu Inoue, Mao Kobayashi, Aki Fujî, Risa Odagiri, Kaori Nakajô, Kana Kobayashi, Akira Saito, Hiroyuki Yokoo, Isao Yatsu, Haruka Yamano

Director: Takashi Shimizu