Ju-On: The Curse (2000)
"A curse is unleashed upon a house when a person is murdered in a state of rage, which is then expanded upon in a peculiar, non-linear way; the curse is contagious and follows home anyone who comes in contact with the house. There is no real protagonist. The films are divided into sections, each led by the next victim's name on a black screen, the stories are told out-of-sequence, and there's no single continuous story.
But that’s the simplicity and utter originality of the concept what makes Takashi Shimizu's V-cinema
Ju-On (The Curse), as a unit, so brilliant along with, of course, the photography, atmosphere, and one of the creepiest sound effects ever committed to screen. Takashi Shimizu has taken the haunted house concept and completely turned it on its head, and through a shockingly simple story and execution, has rejuvenated seemingly this dead sub genre of Horror. By making the curse communicable, much like the
Ring virus, Shimizu infuses the story with a deep sense of hopelessness and incapability, which is driven even deeper by his use of mounting terror.
Very scary, sometimes downright shocking, and absolutely unique in their execution, the film is very much like a puzzle box-especially when taken as a whole. At no point in the film does anyone get the upper hand on the ghosts. It's not even introduced as an option. There are no fights, no confrontations, no shocks, and no final girl. But that's what makes it all so intriguing & different from others.
Ju-On is a cruel & creepy urban ghost story that starts mysteriously, ends mysteriously, and features some things in the middle that are as terrifying as you're ever likely to see on the screen in your entire life." -
Roshiq
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)
Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek (2005)
Kibakichi aka Kibakichi: Bakko-yokaiden (2004)
Koma aka Jiu Ming (2004)
