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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

film: Ju-On (The Grudge)

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captainballs

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
9,954
I feel like this film is the epitome of scariness. When "The Grudge" came out in the U.S., I didn't know anything about Ju-on, I just knew that The Grudge was typical non-scary crap film-making at its most bland. Because of this, it was a few years before I sat down to watch Ju-On. When I finally did, I was scared...

This is saying a lot, because as someone who has searched hardcore for a scary movie, I've come up empty-handed. As far as I know, Ju-On is the only scary movie! The only thing that gives me terror on any scale in the same ballpark as Ju-On is the Silent Hill game series (except for 4). I highly recommend that everyone here (who hasn't already seen it) go sit in a dark room with headphones or a good sound system, all alone, and watch it!
 
the hollywood remake was done by the original director, Takashi Shimizu. i liked the remake. i thought it maintained the spirit of the original. anyways he's an interesting director. you should check out some of his other stuff. imo there are a few that are better than the original Ju-on.

i love Ju-on 2 ... it's like a series of creepy vignettes almost with a made for TV type feel. real sleazy and dark. same kind of schtick - being afraid of your own home, ghosts, creepy noises and patterns etc. it's got paranoia and atmosphere out the whazoo. it starts on a shaky foot, but give it a chance.

Rinne (aka Reincarnation) is also very good. it's got the same feel as Ju-on but it's more in line with something like The Shining.

and if you like more experimental stuff, he did a collaboration with one of my fave japanese directors - Tsukamoto Shinya - called Marebito. it's definitely worth a look.

i haven't seen all of his work, but i think he's pretty solid. i like the low budget and simple feel that he operates with. he's good at creating iconic images out of everyday stuff. i enjoy his work more than Hideo Nakata's (Ring, Dark Water, etc).
 
I'm looking into getting those right now... thanks for the suggestions! I've been on a hunt for all the best Japanese films lately, especially the scary or fucked up ones.

regarding Ringu, I watched it for the first time a couple days ago after hearing people claim it as the ultimate "J-horror" flick. I was sorely disappointed - it may have been a decent movie but it just wasn't scary.

Also recently say Audition, which was pretty good, as well as One Missed Call (can't remember what the Japanese name is). One Missed Call was fucking sweet - the part at the hospital was definitely scary, and besides that there were a lot of things done extremely well.
 
my favorite scene in Ringu is when he's sitting on a bench daydreaming and the pair of high heels approach. if only the whole film was that good.

imo j-horror is not about single scenes or shock, it's about the atmosphere and mood. sort of transforming everyday reality into a suffocating veil, where you brush with all the cold and sinister laying underneath. that feeling of alienation and being dead already. i think it plays into mental illness a lot, something which i think more horror should be grounded in.

you might like Kiyoshi Kurosawa. he's very atmospheric ... he's a little more polished than the guy who did Ju-on, kind of a different feel.
http://imdb.com/name/nm0475905/
 
That's one of the only really memorable parts of Ringu. I'll follow this Japanese rabbit hole you've created as deep as it goes, thanks again for the suggestions.

I agree about the atmosphere that J-Horror embodies - but it is my opinion that if the atmosphere is done well enough it will produce an emotional reaction of some sort that wasn't there before. And it is a lot easier to produce this reaction if there is at least some sense that there are "teeth" backing up the atmosphere.

But all shock image and no atmosphere is the worst. Like American special effects orgies that get passed off as horror films. It feels like having sex with a complete nymphomaniac who is just bouncing up and down to the point of being annoying and downright painful. Without artful foreplay, it's just no fun.

I forgot to respond to your comments about Ju-on 2. I thought it was pretty frightening as well, although the whole plot about the ghost somehow being implanted in the actresses womb just felt campy in a corny way, reminiscent of cheesy early-nineties American horror flicks.

That being said, there was a part in Ju-on 2 which was pure horror genius, and that was where the one girl (who is an extra in the film being shot) keeps snapping back and forth between different times in reality, although she is actually in the house the whole time. Definitely gives me chills every time I watch it.
 
captainballs said:
But all shock image and no atmosphere is the worst. Like American special effects orgies that get passed off as horror films. It feels like having sex with a complete nymphomaniac who is just bouncing up and down to the point of being annoying and downright painful. Without artful foreplay, it's just no fun.

lol good analogy. there's a lot to be said for subtlety.

i think the remakes are turning out poorly because hollywood is kind of missing the forest for the trees in terms of the 'dread' factor. the psychology of the characters and their malaise is really essential to most good asian horror.

the og One Missed Call had its moments. when Miike is on, he's fucking on. i think Audition is perfect. have you seen Visitor Q? it's really good. my favorites of his are the yakuza focussed ones though, like his Graveyard of Honor remake and The Agitator. Ichi's a classic of course.

i bet you'd be into Kim Ki-Duk (korean). The Isle is the closest thing to horror that he's done imo, but most of his good stuff is very dark and painful. usually about some kind of twisted love or relationship. i'd recommend The Bow and Time ... two of his newer ones that are both excellent.
 
colors said:
and if you like more experimental stuff, he did a collaboration with one of my fave japanese directors - Tsukamoto Shinya - called Marebito. it's definitely worth a look.
i haven't seen all of his work, but i think he's pretty solid. i like the low budget and simple feel that he operates with.
oh man marebito is wicked awesome, i too dig the 'simple' feel. the low budget look makes it seem more real, like a documentary. twisted flick. i still gotta watch 'reincarnation'
captainballs said:
I've been on a hunt for all the best Japanese films lately, especially the scary or fucked up ones.
for one i would classify as 'fucked up' check out strange circus
 
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