Ju-on (2003) The Grudge

Directed by Takashi Shimizu

Starring Megumi Okina, Yuya Ozeki

One of the more original and therefore one of the most imitated horror films to come out of Japan and the whole of South East Asia in recent years. The horror (The Grudge) spreads from person to person like a disease but is formed from the emotional residue of the victim(s) of attacks of extreme rage, each person who enters the abode holding The Grudge becomes its victim and so it spreads.

In terms of storyline we are presented with a series of chapters/episodes each bearing the name of the next victim, the timeline jumps all over the place from present to past back to the present and now and again, past and present collide. It is difficult to sort out exactly where you are but often youll hear the same telephone conversation but from different sides of the phone, dont make too much effort trying to place everything in its correct order, by the end of the film all the pieces will have fallen into place.

The ghouls or bearers of The Grudge a young boy named Toshio and his mother were pretty unique though other films have been quick to incorporate bits and pieces of their qualities, the creepy noise and movement of the mother and the cat like Toshio make a collectively terrifying duo, certainly not the sort you would want to bump into in the middle of the night. 

Creepy, yes! Scary, certainly at times, the sound can be grotesque and is/was quite unique. Dont go looking too hard for a lot of sense, people at times react in a way that seems at odds with the way the majority of us would, but if they didnt we wouldnt have this film would we.

Ju-on will not please those who like plenty of gore, but it does have enough chills and thrills to satisfy most people. 

This was actually the third film to bear the name, the previous two went straight to video, no doubt after the success of this and the US remake(s) they will be released on DVD at some point.

Cheers Trev. 

BBFC rated 15