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Ju-On ("The Grudge") Directed by Takashi Shimizu Released by Lions Gate Films Review By: Matthew Dean Hill You've got to hand it to the Japanese film industry...they really know how to creep the ever-living-hell out of filmgoers. Case in point, "Ju-On". Sure, it's got the de facto staples of J-horror: the creepy black-haired girl who slithers around making creepy noises, the creepy little Japanese boy around whom so many horrors seem to swirl, the pretty, spunky heroine (or in this case "heroines") who manage to get themselves into very horrific circumstances, the bumbling police department officials who seem completely unable to help matters in the slightest...it's a heady brew, and yes, it's been done before (notably in "Ringu"). However, in "Ju-On", we get a more involving plot that doesn't have the weird thalidomide-baby overtones of "Ringu". The synopsis... After the brief opening sequence, wherein the murder of a family by the father/husband is suggested, we join a young female social worker, "Rika", who gets her first assignment...to check up on a little old lady at her house. Rika enters the house, which is in a state of disrepair, not to mention being littered with junk food wrappers. She finds the old woman, alone, in a room of the house. After giving the old woman a bath, Rika begins cleaning up the house a bit...more out of courtesy, I imagine, than it being part of her job. While cleaning up, she comes across a closet that seems to have been hurriedly "sealed" with packing tape. To her shock, she hears a cat mewling behind the door. She unseals the door, sees a black cat sitting quietly on a folded blanket. As she breathes a sigh of relief and begins to reach for the cat, she is frightened by a small boy sitting crouched on the shelf in the closet. She jumps, we jump...everybody jumps. She takes the boy, who seems to be very pale and covered with small scratches, out of the closet. She asks him his name and, in true Danny Torrance fashion, he responds, "Toshio". After collecting her wits, she goes back downstairs to check on "Grandma". She finds the old woman lying prone and clearly terrified, and she begins to hear a faint, awful, throaty croaking sound. Suddenly, something is hovering over the old woman, seeming to suck the very life out of her. Rika watches in horror, and Toshio watches everything, and Rika finally faints out of shock. Everything just goes all to hell after that, as various people who come in contact with this particular house bear witness to its horrors, and we shift through time, seeing some of the house's terrible history unfold. All who witness these events, and everyone who enters the house, it seems, are doomed. As the story shifts and twists, and as people all over the city start disappearing mysteriously, the true nature of the house becomes startlingly clear...this house is not only haunted, it has a grudge, and it's going to make everyone it can pay, and pay dearly... ...and that's about all I can say without ruining the movie for those of you who haven't seen it. Now, before I go any further with this review, let me stress one point so that we're nice and sparkling clear: "Ju-On", for me, is a far better film and is far more effective than "Ringu", at least to my mind. Got it? Good. Now, I'll qualify that rather bold statement by saying that "Ju-On" is cleaner, sleeker, better produced, better paced, and scarier than "Ringu". Certainly, there are similarities. Arguably, "Ju-On" more than simply borrows riffs from "Ringu" (in fact, it downright steals some imagery). It's a similar situation we have with "Harware". It's a better movie (on many levels) than both "The Terminator" and "Saturn 3", which clearly inspired it. In "Ju-On", the scares are more jarring, the haunting imagery more effective, the score more evocative, the characters more believable, and even the quality of filmmaking generally higher than those features of "Ringu". At the same time, they can easily be viewed as companion pieces...two sides of the same coin, if you will...that in different ways perfectly encapsulate the Japanese obsession with the theme of vengeful spirits exacting bitter justice on those they perceive to be a part of their suffering. There are many, many more examples of this recurring theme, but "Ju-On" is the pinnacle of the sub-genre. Honestly, there is nowhere to go with these themes after "Ju-On", and that includes the sequels and the American remake (but more on that later). All that said, "Ju-On" is not a perfect film...like "Ringu" (and like many Japanese ghost stories), "Ju-On" suffers a bit (at least to Western sensibilities) from being far too non-linear and obtuse. Now, I won't say that this is really a "fault" for the film...it's perhaps the most "western" example of J-Horror yet released. Besides, that's just the way the Japanese like their stories. They don't go into a film expecting a neat, tidy little closing act that perfectly explains everything that came before. No, they tend to like their horror a bit more ambiguous, unlike American audiences, in particular, who crave complete resolution (following the "setup, conflict, resolution" pattern) in their Horror. The Japanese know that some mysteries are best unsolved. More to the point, perhaps, is that some mysteries don't have a solution...at least not the way we think of it. None of this is to say that Western audiences are less sophistocated than Japanese audiences. It's just that we're different, that's all. It takes a little more "willing suspension of disbelief" for western audiences to absorb this kind of thing. Which leads us to the remake starring Buffy. All I can say is that, whether or not one "likes" the remake, one cannot deny just how completely pointless it is. I mean, here we have "Ju-On", arguably one of the most "Westernized" of the recent crop of J-Horror films, and fuckin' Sam Raimi of all people decides that American audiences somehow need a remake? I just don't get it. I dig Raimi as much as the next guy, and he's always been (despite having abandoned genre filmmaking altogether in favor of big-budget action extravaganzas) a patron and supporter of up-and-coming genre filmmakers. As such, it's admirable that Raimi's intentions are in the right place, misguided as they might be. So, if you've only seen "The Grudge" and not "Ju-On" (in any of its various incarnations), you really owe it to yourself to see the original film. In my humble opinion, this version...the version on this here DVD...is by far the most "complete" and "true-to-form" version of this story that is available. It's truly creepy. It literally bleeds creepiness. Did I happen to mention how goddamned creeeeeepy this film is? This disc, brought to us by the fine people over at Lion's Gate Films, is a real treat. The transfer is quite good, and the sound...whoa, the sound. Enough cannot be said of the importance of sound in "Ju-On". Every scene features some important aural component that really needs to be heard...and heard in true 5.1 sound, which this disc provides...to be appreciated. This is the kind of film that, should you turn off the sound, the images would still retain some of their impact, but it would be hugely diminished. It's for movies like "Ju-On" when I feel truly sorry for hearing impared film-buffs. Anyway, it's a great presentation in terms of both sound and video. The extras are worth a mention, as well. There are a handful of deleted or alternate scenes, with commentary by director Shimizu, and they're a hoot to watch. Also, there is a great commentary by Rob Tapert & Sam Raimi...those wacky guys responsible for "The Evil Dead", etc., and the unfortunate remake of this very film. The commentary is educational, entertaining, and often quite humorous. Warning: those of you who are somehow unaware of the preoccupation these guys have always had with The Three Stooges, you're in for a rough time when listening to this commentary track, as Raimi and Tapert are frequently "in character" when issuing their comments. Lines like "Why-I-oughta...", "Oh, a wiseguy, huh?", and the like are not uncommon. Sometimes, it's hard to tell...but they might actually be making fun of the movie on some level. Each of them openly admit to having seen "Ju-On" only once before doing the commentary, so their "scene-specific" reactions are often based on half-assed or even blatantly wrong perceptions about the intention of the film. They usually correct themselves, though. All in all, a very entertaining commentary track, though why Shimizu, who clearly speaks English fluently (as is evidenced by his commentary throughout the "deleted scenes" section) didn't do the commentary himself is absolutely beyond me. Whatever...it's still fun stuff all around. The bottom line: this release of "Ju-On" is near perfect. See it more than once. The sound and image quality are excellent, and the extras are intriguing enough to bear mention. Watching this movie is evidence enough of how completely pointless the American remake is. Highly recommended. If you liked "Ju-On", Atrocities Cinema Also Recommends the similarly-themed Ringu & the equally dark J-Horror Classic "Audition" The Atrocities Cinema Scoreboard Movie: DVD: Overall: