Go see JU ON! Get in on the ground floor of a cinematic phenomenon!

[Kai Lord]

This October, Sarah Michelle Gellar is starring in "The Grudge" a haunted house/ghost story horror movie based on a Japanese film called "Ju On."

Both the Japanese and upcoming American remake are directed by the same man, Takashi Shimizu.

If the remake is even *half* as creepy as the original, this movie is going to *explode.*

I don't want to give the story away, but it basically involves a haunted house that effects everyone who steps inside, even after they leave....

Its *freaky*. Cinema 21 in Portland, Oregon is showing an exclusive engagement for a week, if this movie is playing anywhere within driving distance in your area, go see it! It has elements of Amityville Horror, The Ring, The Shining, The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead, and more all repackaged into a unique whole.

Its told in a disjointed "Pulp Fiction" style narrative as you follow the paths of all the people who encounter the house in the movie. It does a good job of explaining just enough to be satisfying, but leaves enough open that my friend and I spent an hour at the bar down the street after the movie discussing all the in and outs and ramifications of the story, or at least our interprations of it.

I'm going to bump this thread when "The Grudge" comes out to prove how right I am, two months early. Go see this and get in on the ground floor of what could be the best horror film of all time. As spectacular as "Ju On" was I shudder to think what the director could do with an American budget....

But you never know what meddling the studio will do, so now's your chance to see the untainted original. Have fun.

 

[Dark Jezter]

I saw the trailer for this movie earlier today. It definately looks like it could be spooky. It should also be interesting to see how Ms. Gellar handles herself outside of movies intended for younger audiances.

 

[ShadowX]

This is the remake of some the first in a series of similar movies? I heard about this somewhere, I will most likely throw it on my rental list.

 

[Krug]

Well I dunno. I felt Ju-On concentrated too much on scares in place of story. It kind of dilutes everything. Some scenes are pretty creepy though, and made me jump in my seat.

The director did two tv-movies, and then two movies. The Grudge is a remake of the first movie.

You can find reviews of the tv movies and the first movie on http://www.mandiapple.com

 

[Kai Lord]

Well I dunno. I felt Ju-On concentrated too much on scares in place of story.

What impressed me so much about the scares was that for me virtually none of them were "BAM blast you with volume so you jump in your seat" scares, but rather the kind that give you shivers from the base of your neck down the length of your body, like several scenes in The Exorcist or the infamous finale to The Ring.

The story itself is very simple, like Amityville Horror or The Exorcist, and I'm glad they didn't over explain anything. That's the way the Japanese tend to do it. Compare "Ringu" to "The Ring." The Ring explained much more (though not to its discredit, I much prefer the American remake to the original.)

I thought the balance between scares and story was very well done in Ju On, and don't want to get into details as to why until everyone at least has seen the American version this October.

"Ju On" wasn't perfect, but its scary. Damn scary. Obviously movies can't scare me like when I was a kid, but I got more chills watching this movie than any film I've seen as an adult, with the possible exception of the Exorcist rerelease a few years ago (which was my first time seeing that film.)

Like I said, not so much "jump in your seat" scary, but the kind of creepiness that actually made me think twice about what was lurking in the dark of my apartment as I went to bed Friday night. That just doesn't happen anymore. It was kinda cool.

 

[KChagga]

I actually own all four of the Juon movies. Both of the tv movies and both of the theatrical movies.

Kai Lord you are totally right. This movie is going to destroy the american horror movie audience. These movies are some of the only movies out that actually give me the heebie-jeebies. After I watch these movies I feel creeped out and jumpy for at least a week.

I believe the american version is going to be a remake of the first theatrical juon movie, so that would make it what #3 then. Of course don't worry people the theatrical movies are kind of remakes of the tv movies. Basically the director made the first two movies for tv and then studios threw money at him due to the popularity of them. The theatrical movies have some similar scenes to the tv movies where you can see that he tried to outdo himself. They are different enough to count as separate movies. You could watch any movie in the series without having seen any of the other movies. They all explain a little, but even after seeing all of them you still won't know everything

On a side note, this summer I did a study abroad program in Japan. In my homestay families house the entrance look just like the entrance to the house in juon. Even the stairway was the same. When I entered their house for the first time my heart jumped up in my throat. I just stood there thinking oh crap.

 

[Krug]

Hey Kchagga is it true that the second TV movie uses a lot of the same footage from the first?

 

[KChagga]

Well Krug sort of yes. The way these movies are set up they each have six different sections to them. In the second tv movie the first two sections are the last two sections of the previous movie. They are edited sort of differently though. Other than that they are different. If it has been a while since you watched the first movie then these serve as a refresher. Of course if you are watching them back to back then you would see a large chunk of rehash. Due to the slightly different way they are cut I would say to skip the last section of the first movie and then skip the first section of the next movie. That way you would get the best cut of each sequence and only watch them once. I hope that makes sense.
Let's have a little graphic just for the heck of it.

first movie....1--2--3--4--5--6
...................................|| ||
second movie.................1--2--3--4--5--6

There now it should be as clear as mud. :\

 

[Krug]

Thanks KChagga for clarifying. Guess I will try to catch the TV movies once the Olympics are over.

 

[Kai Lord]

I saw the trailer for this movie earlier today. It definately looks like it could be spooky.

Ooh, your post made me go see if the trailer was online and sure enough it is: http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/the_grudge/high.html

Looks like he used many of the exact same shots from the original. I can't wait....