Ju-On: The Grudge

The Grudge
Scary films these days are few and far between probably due to the ream of flippant slasher movies made in the mid to late nineties. Scream, I still know what you did last summer, Urban legend and the rest had scary moments, but only jumps not sustained weeing your pants terror.

The Blair witch project caused a storm when it was released and I freely admit that it scared me silly. The Ring was probably the last film to make me cling to my chair and also brought into the world of Japanese horror. Ringu, The Eye and Dark water are all slow paced, tension building films with simple stories. Ju-on: The grudge is similar in pace but has jumpy moments along with nightmare inducing tension. This film is scary as simple as that.

Ju-on is a convoluted tale of a mother and son who were brutally murdered in their own home. The story follows many characters within their own episode of the film, and focuses on their dealings with the family home. The film starts with an explanation of Ju-on that brilliantly prepares the audience for why the spirits are present, so no time has to be wasted with building up the back story. Therefore, the film goes straight into the tension building and the creepy atmospheric tones are matched by unothordox camera angles.

The film starts with a social worker called Rika. It's her job to look upon an elderly lady who is staying with her family. When Rika finds the old women she starts to feel a strange presence in the house and strange noises from upstairs. Rika's subsequent actions follow on to areas where her life crosses with other people who have had experiences with the house. These are not all in the correct order and at some points the story can become quite complicated. The best thing to do is think about family connections and the story should fit together nicely.

It's hard to explain why this film is any scary then Ringu or Dark Water, as the evil presences in the three films do have similarities. With, Ju-on there are various hints at scares from other films, the Exorcist being one. But, its the repeated scenes of unnerving and uncomfortable silences which linger and then creep up on till you are completely engrossed in the film. Then you get scared!

After seeing this film , I became aware that I didn't even remember reading any of the subtitles. I could tell you the complete story, but its almost as if the film tells itself. The dialogue is sparse in occasions and it really allows your imagination to run riot.This great film is the third in the series of Ju-on, but the first cinematic release. A fourth episode Ju-on:The grudge 2 has been released in Japan and I will waiting eagerly for the release date here.