Ju-on: The Grudge [2003]

This here is for the theatrical release version of Takashi Shimizu's Ju-on [2000]. Armed with a bigger budget, did he make a better film? That's arguable. I would argue that he did not.
In no way a bad film, Ju-on: The Grudge (J:TG) just doesn't match up to Ju-on despite having the same director! In another viewer's case you might attribute this feeling to having watched the original before watching the remake. Not me. I actually saw this version first, then checked out the original and I maintain that the latter is the superior film.

The biggest difference between the two would be the acting quality. Again, the actors in J:TG weren't bad, it's just that Ju-on's were a little better. (The girls were cuter too. Don't judge me!) ╮(╯ヮ╰)╭

Naturally, the special FX were more fully realized... I guess? I won't say 'better' because, in my opinion, they weren't. Ju-on used what it could manage to do extremely effectively, such that throwing more money at it really doesn't enrich the experience by much.

This is a good film, no doubt about it. With a faster pace and higher quality FX, this is the version I would recommend to people looking to see Ju-on Lite. If you have the patience an appreciation for a slower pace I don't hesitate to point you to the original. The impact of the climax hits harder after the proper amount of building up. In addition, I feel that the timeline of the chapters flowed better in the first.
The sequence of events by chapter in Ju-on
Chapter 1: (1) Teacher arrives at house and finds mysterious conditions.
Chapter 2: (2) Tutor with Kanna of the Murakami family.
Chapter 3: (2) Girlfriend of Murakami son.
Chapter 4: (2) Kanna returns home.
Chapter 5: (1) Teacher realizes what has happened in the house.
Chapter 6: (3) Realtor sells house.
The sequence of events by chapter in J:TG
Chapter 1: (2) Rika arrives at house, some of the residents are missing.
Chapter 2: (1) Katsuya and Kazumi, the residents are at the house.
Chapter 3: (1) Katsuya's sister, Hitomi, hides under the covers.
Chapter 4: (2) Rika's boss checks up on her and comes to the house. Toyama tries to burn the house down (good man).
Chapter 5: (4) Toyama has been long dead and his daughter, Izumi, overhears a report about a health care worker.
Chapter 6: (3) The health care worker, Rika, tries to save her friend.

The most important thing J:TG lacked, and the reason Ju-on is a better film, was the element of unraveling the mystery. From the moment the teacher arrived at the house he, and the audience, knew something was odd. Next we see the future, all the victims of the curse being done in. Then we returned to the teacher and we all discover the terrible events that have transpired. Finally it ends with the house being sold and the continuation of the curse. In J:TG the story is laid out for you by a detective speaking with Toyama in Chapter 4. Truly a shame and Ju-on: The Grudge suffers for it in my opinion.

Ju-on [2000]

The first installment of the series, and in my opinion, the best. It is low-budget, the 'special FX' look it, and yet, it is frightening as hell. Scarier, in fact, than both the theatrical remake, Ju-on: The Grudge [2003], and the money-loaded American remake, The Grudge [2004].

Oh shi-

 The film starts with a teacher, Kobayashi, who goes to see a student who hasn't been attending school for a while. Upon arrival at the house he starts to sense something isn't right. For one thing, something rotting and bloody is in the trash and the boy, Toshio, is covered in scratches and bruises. He seems to be home alone and Kobayashi decides to wait with the kid, who starts making odd noises while his back is turned. Something on the upper level indicates they aren't so alone in the house after all.

Well, XP to you too

Suddenly, we skip forward an unknown amount of time. A new family lives in the house now. The daughter, Kanna (up there \(9_9)), and her tutor, Yuki, are upstairs going through lessons, no worries, right? Joking about boys, kidding her brother, Tsuyoshi, about his new g/f... But hey, what's that odd noise Yuki keeps hearing? What a shame...(she was cute). Fortunately, Kanna got called away to take care of some rabbits at school so she leaves the house safely...

Meanwhile, the g/f, Mizuho, goes to meet Tsuyoshi at school, but what's this? His bike and backpack are here but he is not? That's just low, you grudge you. She's innocent! Innocent I say! Nonetheless, Toshio takes her down in short order. (ㅎ︵ㅎ)

So Yuki, Mizuho, and I can only assume Tsuyoshi too, have been whacked. What about Kanna?! Can a person survive without a jawbone? At least long enough to get home apparently...

Then we come back to Kobayashi and Toshio, taking place before all those events just now. What happened here? Toshio, that long haired woman? What's the connection? Where are his parents? Well, answers come. Oh yes.
Kobayashi, hard-working teacher that he is, has stayed at the house until nightfall. For some reason he's chosen to stand at the windows all day instead of looking into the other rooms to find clues as to what's going on. Well he looks for clues now! And he finds 'em (or are they shown to him?). The wife, Kayako, had a real obsession with him. At this point I started to get a feeling for what transpired here. (((⊙﹏﹏⊙))) Understandably, Kobayashi is shocked and he starts towards the door before hearing the sound of flies coming from the closet. Oh shit. That closet. So that's why Kayako's ghost was up there. Huh. (⊙Д⊙) OH GOD! In a true testament to his human kindness, Kobayashi grabs the kid and tries to take him out of there posthaste. I would have said 'FUCK IT' and, as a YouTuber eloquently put it, "sprint[ed] away pissing myself for three blocks."

And his poor wife..........

What follows is the famous staircase scene. The most frightening part of this? Not Kayako coming down the stairs. It was the sound coming down the stairs of Kayako falling out of the attic! And the rustling......and sloshing.... 

When you watch this movie I want you to pay attention to how there are almost NO 'jump scares' in it. I could go through the whole thing and point out every time there could have been one accompanied by a timestamp like I did with in the American vs J/K Horror post. This movie lets you feel your own horror, it doesn't force it on you. When the characters are startled by something, the movie doesn't artificially startle you too. It's awesome.

Worth checking out, for both J-horror-philes and new comers. (O___O)-b

Ju-on's humble origins

I left this out of the previous post but I think I should make mention of the very beginnings of the Ju-on series: two 3-minute short films entitled 'Katasumi' and '4444444444'. Katasumi contained the prototype for Kayako, the murdered wife and primary onryou, while 4444444444 features the cat/boy, Toshio.

Enjoy.

The Ju-on film series

Enough of that panda foolishness, lol. Back to the good stuff!

Ju-on [2000] is partially responsible for revitalizing the J-horror genre in the early 2000s and it is one of the two best known Japanese horror film series, the other being the Ring series (which can lay claim to most of that credit for the revitalizing).

First some history. The Ju-on series, 'juon' (呪怨) meaning 'grudge' or 'curse', is the brainchild of director Takashi Shimizu and I must say he's milked this thing for all its worth. Directing no less than 7 of the 10 films in the series, including two American remakes, I'm hard-pressed to resist calling the man a one-trick pony but hey, itsa livin' and who am I to judge?

They look like this.

First appearing as a direct-to-video movie in 2000, Ju-on takes the age-old haunted house premise and really makes it special. Anyone who's seen The Ring will be familiar with this image, the vengeful spirit, onryou, 怨霊. Well, that might be the most popular manifestation in the mainstream eye today due to those movies but they come in other forms too.

Or this.

Or this.

Most haunted house films run like survival horror games, the protagonists struggle to escape the house and when they do, they're free and clear. Ju-on? Well, that's what makes it special. In a similar manner to Ringu [1998], the menace is contagious. It follows you out of the house (or video tape) and into the world, wherever you go, and that, I believe, is why audiences loved it. The chills you feel follow you out of the theater and back home. Just like how Jaws made us think twice before going back into the ocean, Ju-on will make sure the first thing you do when you open a closet is to look up and check the ceiling. Not to mention this sound.

Kung Fu Panda 2 [2011]

Sequels. The comparison to the first can't be helped, even if it isn't deserved. I can happily say Kung Fu Panda 2 holds its own! I enjoyed this one immensely as well.

I have heard that the opening for the first movie was meant to resemble shadow puppetry. This one starts with a sequence that looks like actual shadow play. And no surprise, as the director for this movie, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, directed the opening of the first.

Of course, the first thought that came to mind when I heard there would be a sequel was, "What will it be about?" Well, they took care of that handily. The story of the peacock and the use of gunpowder came through very neatly along with hintings of Po's origin.

Identifying the voice actors for each role made for a fun activity during the first film. Of course, Jack Black was a given, second James Hong. Michael Clarke Duncan's voice is also easily identifiable. I didn't get Seth Rogen until he chuckled after Shifu sent Po bouncing down the stairs. Jackie Chan's voice isn't difficult to hear but Monkey just didn't get enough dialogue for me to make an ID for most of the movie. Michelle Yeoh's narration kind of made me roll my eyes. Her voice is used a lot for that type of thing. Gary Oldman lends his voice to a slimy villain, reminding me of his role in Lost in Space. I wish Dennis Haysbert, of Allstate Insurance fame, and Victor Garber, a.k.a. Jack Bristow, had gotten to speak more. In Garber's case, I wish he'd stuck around.

Dreamworks animated the fight scenes nicely though I wish we could have seen more peacock. Shen's fights hinted at some really cool moves but they were too short. Po's cel-shaded dream sequences made for a very nice change of style from the CG of the rest of the movie.

The Soothsayer eating Peacock's robe because she is a goat made me chuckle. It was a clever bit. The meet-up between all parties at the top of the tower had a nice twist. Both the Soothsayer and Shen are confused that Po doesn't know his past, which, in turn, made me wonder why no one else has ever brought up the panda massacre. It seems like it might be kind of a big deal.

These movies have managed to sprinkle humor into all their scenes very well, even the action ones. When it needs to get dramatic though it does that nicely too. I will say I rolled my eyes again when I saw the tai qi chuan sequences with the droplet of water though. Trite would be the word.

The final fight (oh no I'm comparing!) didn't have as much impact as the first one did though. Po's fat shielding him from Tai Long's nerve striking? That was good. Using Chekhov's 'inner peace' to redirect the cannonballs like water droplets? Not so much. The re-direction technique? Have you seen Shaolin Soccer? It's been done. Again, Shen's fight scene was too short. I must say, his death scene was also a bit too brisk.

The conclusion lacked impact as well. Po returns home, they have a pointless little argument over cooking. Then a reveal of a secret panda society living in the valley. I don't know what to make of this. Possible lead-in to a third film? Not really. A conclusion to Po's origin story? Not really necessary. It just didn't seem to have much of a point.

My verdict: An enjoyable film in it's own right and when stood up beside the first. (^_^)-b