Ju-on

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

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 himself killed, 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 Ringu (1998), Kurosawa and Ringu screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi helped Shimizu develop Ju-on as a theatrical feature starring Megumi Okina. 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. The theatrical films retain the central premise of the direct-to-video films, but tell different stories. In 2004, the US remake, The Grudge, was released.

Contents

1 Chronological list 1.1 Katasumi and 4444444444 (1998) 1.2 Ju-on (2000) 2 External links

Chronological list

Katasumi and 4444444444 (1998)

Takashi Shimizu first became involved with the Ju-on saga when writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who was teaching a filmmaking class that Shimizu, then working as an assistant director, attended, was impressed by a three-minute short film Shimizu had written and directed. When Kurosawa learned that a producer he knew had just commissioned a feature length horror film for Kansai Telecasting Corporation, he recommended Shimizu for the job of directing one or more sections of the film. To complete this task, Shimizu wrote several scripts, each roughly thirty minutes in length, only to be asked to make two brief three minute segments (Katasumi and 4444444444), as the television movie was intended to be an anthology of short films. After being edited together, the collection of four shorts (one of which was helmed by Kurosawa) was titled Gakkō no kaidan G, which roughly translates to School Ghost Story G ("G" supposedly standing for "Great"). It was first broadcast on Kansai TV on September 27, 1998, and ran for around seventy minutes, meaning that Shimizu contributed to just under ten per cent of the finished product.

While there is an oft-repeated claim that the subsequent feature length video films Ju-on and Ju-on 2 are remakes of Katasumi and 4444444444, the two segments are "are actually the foundations of Ju-on," according to Shimizu, and act "almost like the true prequel of the story." [1] (http://japattack.com/japattack/film/juon_itv.html) Katasumi, in particular, is notable for marking the first appearance of actress Takako Fuji as (at this point anonymous) Kayako Saeki, a role that she would reprise for every Ju-on-related production thereafter.

Katasumi and 4444444444 did not become widely available in the US until Shimizu's unrated director's cut of The Grudge (2004) was released onto DVD on May 17, 2005. The shorts were included as special features on the disc, with Katasumi being retitled In a Corner.

Ju-on (2000)

Ju-on was originally released under that exact name, but due to audience confusion regarding the V-Cinema films around the time that the theatrical Ju-on: The Grudge (2003) hit cinemas, has latterly become informally known among Ju-on enthusiasts as Ju-on: The Curse (abbreviated as JTC1). When Kurosawa (serving as executive producer) gave Shimizu the go-ahead for his first feature length film, the project also attracted the help of producer Taka Ichise, a veteran of the highly successful Ringu series. In addition to Ichise, screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi, who had also worked on Ringu, was enlisted as a script consultant. It is perhaps because of the presence of these prominent filmmakers that Ju-on, while a direct-to-video release, boasts a rather well-known cast, including Yûrei Yanagi and Taro Suwa (both of whom are in Ringu 2), Chiaki Kuriyama (Shikoku), and Yoriko Douguchi (Cure). Explaining the fractured, episodic nature of the film, Shimizu revealed that he had written the script based on many short films he had originally written in the hopes that they, like his work on Gakkō no kaidan G, would be produced one day.

After going direct-to-video on February 11, 2000, Ju-on was so well received that it was given a brief theatrical run on March 18 at the Box Higashi-Nakano theatre in Tokyo. It has since developed a strong cult following.

• 1998:
  • Katasumi and 4444444444 (shown within television movie Gakkō no kaidan G);
• 2000:
  • Ju-on, aka Ju-on: The Curse (V-Cinema);
  • Ju-on 2, aka Ju-on: The Curse 2 (V-Cinema);
• 2003:
  • Ju-on: The Grudge, aka The Grudge;
  • Ju-on: The Grudge 2, aka The Grudge 2;
• 2004:
  • The Grudge, aka The Juon;
• 2006:
  • The Grudge 2 (pre-production);
  • Ju-on: The Grudge 3 (in production);

External links

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• Official site for The Grudge (http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thegrudge/index.html)
• Official site for Ju-on: The Grudge (http://www.juonthegrudge.com/)

ja:呪怨 sv:Förbannelsen - The Grudge