Ju-On

Ju-on (呪怨, Juon) is the title of a series of horror films by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-on projects to fruition.

History

The title of the films translates roughly to The Curse or The Grudge. The first two films in the series were so-called V-Cinema, or direct-to-video releases, but became surprise hits as the result of favorable word of mouth. The story is a variation on the classic haunted house theme, as well as a popular Japanese horror trope, the "vengeful ghost" (onryou). The curse of the title, ju-on, is one which takes on a life of its own and seeks new victims. Anyone who encounters a ghost killed by the curse is killed themselves and the curse is able to be spread to other areas.

Under very tight budgetary constraints, Shimizu's films garnered much acclaim from both critics and genre fans for their effective use of limited locations and eerie atmosphere to generate chills. Shimizu was at the same time perfectly willing to show his ghosts onscreen, in contrast to some directors who might choose only to hint at their appearance. But critics noted that Shimizu's minimalist approach to directing and storytelling — a necessary by-product of the production's limited overall resources — allows the films to retain their ability to unnerve viewers. Very few scenes in the movies are graphically bloody, making such scenes more disturbing when they occur.

Following the success of the two direct-to-video films, and the international success of Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998), Kurosawa and Ring screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi helped Shimizu develop Ju-on as a theatrical feature starring Megumi Okina and Takako Fuji. Titled Ju-on: The Grudge, this was released in 2003 to critical acclaim, and the US remake rights were purchased, with Shimizu himself attached to direct and Sarah Michelle Gellar starring. Later that year, a theatrical sequel, Ju-on: The Grudge 2, was released. In 2004, the US remake, The Grudge, was released.

Ju-on Timeline

Ju-on was originally released as two straight-to-video Japanese television movies in 2000. They were low-budget, and not available in stores in America. Three years later, due to the success of the videos, Takashi Shimizu, director of all, made a theatrical version based on the videos, titled Ju-on also, (sometimes noted as Ju-on: The Grudge). This version is widely available in America. Then that version spawned a sequel, now available in America, titled Ju-on 2 (Ju-on: The Grudge 2). A year later Takashi Shimizu directed The Grudge, an American remake. It is noted that it is based on theatrical version of Ju-on, but it contains scenes re-enacted from all of the Ju-on movies

The Curse

The Ju-on movies follow the lives of the people affected by a curse created by a murdered housewife in a house in Nerima. It was said that when one person dies with a deep and burning grudge, a curse is born. The curse gathers in the place where that person has died or where he was frequent at (in the series's case, the house in Nerima) and repeats itself there. The curse manifests on those who encounter the curse by any means, such as entering the house or being in contact with somebody who was already cursed. The curse's manifestation is mainly death, where the victims' body may or may not disappear. The following deaths create more curses and spreads the curse in other places. This concept was further extended in Ju-on: The Grudge where the curse caused the end of humanity.

1998

Katasumi and 4444444444 (shown within television movie Gakkō no kaidan G)

Katasumi follows the demise of Kanna and her classmate, Hisayo. They were feeding rabbits at :school when Kayako, the ghost in the series and the curse's fulfiller, attacks the both.

4444444444 also follows the death of Tsuyoshi, Kanna's older brother. Tsuyoshi comes to school to meet her girlfriend Mizuho and finds this mysterious ringing phone whose caller belonged to a strange number 4444444444. The ghost of Toshio, Kayako's son and also the curse's fulfiller, appears and also kills Tsuyoshi.

The stories of Kanna and Tsuyoshi are further extended in Ju-on 1.

2000

Ju-on, aka Ju-on: The Curse (V-Cinema); (Available only in Japan, and in Scandinavia, has been on US TV)

Ju-on 1 follows the lives of the people connected to the house in Nerima where a gruesome murder of a housewife occurred. School teacher Shunsuke Kobayahsi visits the home of his absent student, Saeki Toshio, where he discovers Toshio not in a very good state. He waits for Toshio's parents to come. It was now already too late when he realized what the Saeki family has become and not even Kobayashi's wife make it out alive. The movie also explores the fates of the next family to live in the house, the Murakami family. This timeline of the film also extends the stories of Tsuyoshi and Kanna from Gakkō no kaidan G. The last timeline shows a snippet of Suzuki Kyoko's experience, a psychic invited by her brother to look into the house that he was going to sell, which was the cursed Saeki house. This movie showed death as the curse'ds manifestation.

Ju-on 2, aka Ju-on: The Curse 2 (V-Cinema); (Available only in Japan, has been on US TV)

Ju-on 2 continues the story of Suzuki Kyoko and shows how the curse affected everyone in her family. It also shows the story of another couple, the Kitadas, living in the house and the extended storyline of Det. Kamio from Ju-on 1. Ju-on 2 also shows a snippet of a scene that will play on to the theatrical versions of the films, being the fate of the school girls who had snucked into the house, one of which is Toyama Izumi, whose story would be continued in Ju-on: The Grudge. This movie featured another facet of the curse and that is it can drive a person made before finally killing him.

2003

Ju-on: The Grudge, aka The Grudge; (Japan, released in the UK and USA)

Ju-on The Grudge centers on the fate of social worker Nishina Rika. Rika comes to visit the house of Tokunagas (the old Saeki house) where she was summoned after the social worker assigned to the house has disappeared. Surviving a terrible experience in that house, she discovers the real reason about the deaths connected to the house. It was later revealed that Rika was the one destined to play out the curse: she was to die the same way as Kayako and become the next fulfiller of the Ju-on. In this movie, it was revealed that the curse has some time-traveling capabilities (or residual haunting) where a victim may see another victim from another time frame. An example is that Det. Toyama Yuji saw what will happen to his daughter, Izumi, years after his death when she entered the house. Izumi was just 12 when Yuji died and when she entered the house at 16, she found her father enacting his last deeds moments before his death.

Ju-on: The Grudge 2, aka The Grudge 2; (Japan, released in the UK and USA)

Ju-on: THe Grudge 2 revolves around the actress Harase Kyoko's pregnancy. After a car accident caused by Toshio's ghost, Kyoko pressumably miscarried. When her doctor assured her of a healthy pregnancy, Kyoko becomes perplexed. Producer Keisuke informs Kyoko that all of the crew involved in a certain project, including Kyoko herself, Kyoko was further mystified. This traces to their shooting in the house of Saekis in Nerima which was believed to be cursed. The outcome of Kyoko's pregnancy was horrifyingly revealed as she was the one to give birth to Kayako. As another incarnation of the curse, this showed that the curse itself could cause a pregnant woman to carry Kayako in her womb, which was strangely parallel to the story of Takano Mai in Rasen.

2004

The Grudge; (American)

This was a total remake of Ju-on: The Grudge following the story of Karen Davis, a social worker assigned to take care of Emma Williams. The movie somehow differs in ending with Karen surviving the movie and the house bring burned down.

2006

The Grudge 2; (American)

THis movie tells the story of a school girl Allison who entered the house upon the pressure of her friends Vanessa and Miyuki. The curse follows her to Chicago even though she was trying to escape it causing the whole Chicago apartment be cursed. This movie also followed the story of Aubrey, Karen's younger sister, on her quest to stop the curse.

2007

Ju-on: The Grudge 3 (In Pre-production);

2008

The Grudge 3; (American) announced at the 2006 Comic-Con.

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