By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Kanji Tsuda | Kayoko Shibata | Megumi Okina | Misa Uehara | Misaki Ito | Shuri Matsuda | Yui Ichikawa | Yukako Kukuri
Original language title: Ju-On
Country: japan
Year: 2004
Running time: 92
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364385/combined
Ivy says: “Ned and I responded to the creepy, psychological fear raised by this ghost story thriller. The premise of the film is that when people are wrongly killed their spirits want revenge. This revenge isn’t just left focused on the person who killed them, but spreads to anyone who comes in contact with their spirit. The ghosties are quite creepy, there is a woman who scuttles on the floor, a small boy who’s spirit has melded with the family cat who was also killed, and the Grudge spirit itself which uses the long-black-hair-in-the-face image from RINGU (there has to be a reason that this theme keeps coming up, I want to research this) and makes a horrible creaking sound.”
Michael says: “‘JU-ON: a curse born of a grudge held by someone who dies in the grip of powerful angers. It gathers in the places frequented by that person in life, working its spell on those who come into contact with it and thus creating itself anew.’
“With these lines, we enter the creepy world of the Japanese film, JU-ON: THE GRUDGE. With strong similarities to RINGU,
Takashi Shimizu’s JU-ON takes simple shots (a young boy sitting in a closet; a bright window crudely covered with masking tape and newspaper) and turns them into chilling moments of terror. Then there are sustained moments of horror such, also borrowing from RINGU’S more frightening moments involving the drape of heavy, black hair, and the jerky crawling of a terrifying woman. And those sounds… the mewling of a cat (coming from a most unlikely spot), the creaking of a ghost, and the manic shrieks of a terrified girl will certainly serve to keep me awake tonight.
“As the opening credits roll, we see glimpses of a man brutally murdering his wife, son and the pet cat. This act leaves a curse on their house (and quite possibly the city). The story is told through a series of vignettes as various people encounter the curse and interact with the ghosts of the murdered family. The vignettes are shown out of order, jumping through time, which adds to the disconcerting nature, but also adds a level of thoughtfulness that deepens the cinematic experience.
“There are so many terrific scenes in JU-ON, and the majority are done without the use of CGI effects. Simple sounds, or sudden movements take on ominous portent. I wish this film had been released before we’d made our list of the 50 Best Scary Movies. Somehow I think this one might have made it.
“What a great opening to the Brattle’s First Annual Boston Fantastic Film Festival. I hope this gets a general release so the rest of you can see it. It’s definitely worth it!” 4 1/2 cats