The Rage and Fury Omnibus, Part VI: "The Grudge 2" (2006)

Some sort of drama occurred between the release of the original "Grudge" here in the States and the production of this movie. Of course, the first movie was a huge hit by budgetary standards ($110 million domestic gross on a $10 million budget, which effectively makes it a huge winner), and the sequel was already in the works literally three days after the flick's release. Nobody could have foreseen just what would occur after that, as Takashi Shimizu spent more time than originally envisioned attempting to come up with an original story, and Sony Pictures attempted to get the funds and the cast together for the motion picture to come to fruition. Lo and behold, in October of 2006, we got "The Grudge 2." But is it any good?

Yes, it is. Not QUITE as strong as "The Grudge," or "Ju-On: The Grudge," but definitely a worthy addition to the series and a continuation of the incredible roll that the "Ju-On/Grudge" series found itself on in the early-to-mid portions of the ought decade. Takako Fuji is back, the cast is top notch (and everybody in this one really gives it their all), and more than anything else, it's just got that trademark "Ju-On" atmosphere.

If you read a lot of the external reviews (and why would you? You've got me, for Christ's sakes), a common theme to be found is that the storyline of this movie sucks, and that it's confusing to follow. Um, not really. If you give the film more than 10% of your active attention, it's pretty easy to place the converging pieces of the puzzle. More than anything else, unlike the recent blockbuster "Inception," this movie boasts one very complete moment during the film's climax that serves as a very clearly-defined "Ah, right!" moment for the audience when the timeline and the sequence of events becomes clear. It's always been my belief that when a film leaves the viewer going "huh?" when walking out of the theater, either the director or writer did something wrong. Not so here.

One guy that I didn't give enough credit (in fact, I didn't even mention his name) in the last review was Stephen Susco. Currently, he's attached to a reboot of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," and I for one am very excited about the prospects that brings, because this man did wonderful things to the "Ju-On" mythos in the first two American "Grudge" films. He kept the mythology almost identical, paid homage to the series' best moments without seeming like a downright ripoff, and added just enough of his own flair for story to make the films seem distinct. So five gold stars for Mr. Susco.

Also on display here is the AFOREMENTIONED awesome cast of legitimately good actors. Amber Tamblyn (TV's "Joan of Arcadia"), Arielle Kebbel ("American Pie Presents Band Camp") and Sarah Roemer ("Disturbia") are favorites of mine, and all play slightly more than two-dimensional characters. Tamblyn, in particular, is electric in this movie. Of course, I'm biased, because as someone who has gone through a sibling death it wasn't hard for me to relate to her character. Regardless of the context, I was mightily impressed with her here, and am mightily disdained that she's now dating my most hated comedian David Cross. Ugh. Well, anyway...Edison Chen is an actor who is unknown to me in roles other than this film, but all of his scenes in "The Grudge 2" are show-stealers as his nice-guy reporter character develops a rapport with Tamblyn, and makes the "get to the bottom of the mystery" portions of this film (the SIXTH TIME that loyal fans of this series have witnessed it) not boring. And, of course, it's got Takako Fuji back for another round of mayhem and maliciousness, so what more do you need?

Well, I know...you need some story.

In the same fashion as "The Grudge," the previous American film, "The Grudge 2" bobs and weaves between three different storylines, all taking place in entirely different time frames. The theme of this film is escalation; held in sequel context, this would be your dark "Empire Strikes Back" chapter of the "Grudge" saga (one that "The Grudge 3" wouldn't live up to, but more on that later). By the end of this movie, the curse has morphed in Sadako-like fashion from one continent to another, with the implication being that the K & T double-trouble combo are about to conquer the great, grand ol' USA...

Storyline #1: Aubrey's search for the truth
Aubrey Daniels (Tamblyn) is sent to Japan by her distressed mother to find her sister and bring her back home. Her sister, of course, is Sarah Michelle Gellar, a.k.a. Karen Daniels if you're interested in character names. It doesn't take long for Kayako to return, get tired of toying with Karen, and claim her as a victim in a very creepy hospital sequence and an iconic "maybe suicide" death. During the death (which Aubrey witnesses), she meets up with Eason (Chen), a reporter hot on the trail of the Saeki murders and their trail of murder and mayhem. In one of the most heartbreaking moments of the series, Aubrey (whose mother, by the way, blatantly favors Karen and makes no bones about her dislike for free-spirited Aubrey) follows Eason to the infamous Saeki house and watches him enter. Standing outside the front door, she suddenly finds herself "pulled in" to the house, almost as if by magic. It's one of the ways that this movie implies that the curse is getting stronger, and it succeeds in getting an "oh s**t" from the audience.

One BIG risk that both Shimizu (who returned ONCE AGAIN to direct this movie, as he had with all previous films) and Susco took with this film was to tackle the childhood of Kayako Saeki. The character had been the perfect image of pure evil thus far, and all we knew about her were the things that had either been shown to us explicitly or told to us by authority figures, and almost all of them related exclusively to the murders that launched the curse. This movie takes us all the way back to her very early days, and her time spent with her mother. I won't spoil these scenes, but the risk paid off. It adds an interesting dimension to the character of Kayako without killing the mystique, and also gives us a very cool and appropriate moment where Kayako gets sweet vengeance on Mama Saeki.

Storyline #2: The practical joke that doomed the world
Kebbel plays Allison Flemming, unpopular girl at an English-speaking Japanese high school. I don't know if Kebbel did it the old-school way and gained weight for this role or wore some padding, but she definitely looks the part, and plays it well. After all, this chick sported a smoking hot men's magazine body in her films both prior and after this, and it comes across realistic, so mucho points there. At any rate, two bitchy classmates take her to THE HOUSE (cue drumroll), which is now a derelict, and, of course, all three enter it, setting in motion the chain of events that would bring Kayako and Toshio to the United States. From the appearance of the house, it's clear that these segments take place well after the Aubrey segments, and in fact, they do - about two years afterward, to be exact.

This storyline gives us some excellent jump scares, and serve as the "creepy up" moments to pepper in between Aubrey's story and the slightly confusing Chicago segments. That guidance counselor scene? Masterpiece. In addition, we get a rarity for the "Ju-On/Grudge" franchise here - genuine "act as the villain" malice interest for the audience. We want to see the two popular c**ts who drug innocent Allison into the house bite the dust, and when Kayako gets them, it's poetic justice.

Storyline #3: Chicago, Illinois
Not as strong as the other two segments, mainly due to the fact that we have absolutely no clue as to what exactly is going on here until the very end of the film. At that moment of epiphany, however, these scenes begin to carry a lot of weight upon repeat viewings. Jennifer Beals (in yet another of this movie's great performances) plays a businesswoman newly married to the father of two children - hot girl Lacey (Roemer) and troubled Jake (Matthew Knight) - and has just moved in with her new family.

Weird things start piling up around the non-traditional family unit. Jake is awakened at night by loud knocking noises, presumably from the neighbor who just moved in next door (you know, the insane one). One very disquieting scene shows us Lacey's friend Sally (Jenna Dewan), suffering the effects of the curse, who begins downing milk, vomiting it up, and then drinking the liquid again. Ech. All of this builds toward the startling finale that shows us how these events are connected to the Saeki curse. What's even better, the ending scene is awesome.

As is this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azu4oFXpUvw

To this day, that may be my favorite movie opening ever. It's amazing that Shimizu had the balls to do this with the legendary Columbia torch lady, but I for one am glad he took the risk. It's little touches like that which set the "Ju-On" and "Grudge" movies apart from other films; their sense of fun, their knowing campfire ghost-story feel and their propensity for clueing the audience in on the illusion while then proceeding to wrap each individual viewer up in it is second-to-none.

As for my favorite horror actress and villain, some of Kayako's best moments are from this film. The image of Kayako rising from the developer fluid toward Eason is something that will burn itself into your brain's permanent space, as are Karen's final moments and the death of both of Allison's tormentors. To date, this was the last time that Fuji would play Kayako, and the last that Shimizu would be behind the director's chair; she has stated that she would be willing to return to the role if Shimizu comes back to helm the series. Nonetheless, we need to pray for this to happen, because a final "Grudge" film would not be complete without Ms. Fuji behind the white face paint.

Overall, I couldn't have been happier with "The Grudge 2." It does what as sequel is supposed to do; it raises the stakes, and it isn't merely a repeat of the first film. At the conclusion of the movie, we even legitimately WANT to see a third movie, which seems to promise an epic, Stephen King-"Stand" style showdown of global proportions, with Kayako and Toshio as the new Grim Reapers of the world, and variable groups of survivors desperately attempting to save the world from its death sentence. This movie makes you conjure up that scenario, and as such, it can be nothing other than a major success. While the third film wouldn't deliver on that promise, this is nonetheless quite the awesome movie that holds up amazingly well with repeat viewings, and remains one of the best American horror movies of the '00s.

The Rage and Fury Omnibus, Part V: "The Grudge" (2004)

When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage, a curse is born. The curse gathers in that place of death. Those who encounter it will be consumed by its fury.

It took 3.5 films, but writer-director Takashi Shimizu believed that he had accomplished everything he had set out to do with the Japanese “Ju-On” films. Thus, the only logical next step was to come to the U.S., remake his own series, and repeat the task in a bold new market. Either that or Sony Pictures offered him a ton of money, one of those two.

Well, however it happened (Brian Doyle-Murray in “Caddyshack,” thank you), in the year 2004, God himself manifested his holy powers in Columbia studios, and in human form with producer Sam Raimi, and the denizens of believers and non-believers began to see TV ads and trailers for this new nifty horror flick from those horror masters in Japan called “The Grudge.” Of course, since this was 2004, America hadn’t quite yet been bombarded with Japanified horror films quite yet; this was actually the FIRST in the wave of remakes of J-horror modern classics in the wake of the success of “The Ring,” and it’s still the best out of all the slightly dumbed-down long-haired ghost girl movies that the majority of the U.S. film fandom got sick of. Shimizu was brought back as director by Raimi, along with Taka Ichise (the producer of the “Ju-On” films). The movie itself is definitely one of the more faithful remakes you’ll ever see; a lot of the most memorable moments that I’ve described in the previous reviews are here, and in this regard, “The Grudge” won’t give you anything new.

That DOESN’T, however, lessen its impact or effectiveness. If anything, “The Grudge” is a kind of “best of” reel, incorporating tons of elements from “Ju-On: The Curse” and “Ju-On: The Grudge.” All of the back story stuff is redone pretty much scene-by-scene, as we get a pensive-looking Bill Pullman wandering around in place of teacher Kobayashi, and the horror-tastic elements are repeated from both films. All you really need to know, however, is that this is “Ju-On” in English, with a slightly higher budget (a modest $10 million; the film would gross more than $100 million, making it a huge success in ROI regards) and with Takako Fuji decidedly NOT going anywhere when her good friend Shimizu scored this cozy remake deal. That’s really the deal breaker, right there – take Fuji out of the equation, and this is just another ghost-girl film. With her, it’s electric stuff.

THE MOVIE!!

While not quite as Tarantino-esque as the “Ju-On” series, this is one of the rare remakes that doesn’t dumb itself down too much for U.S. audiences. It still tells its long story of woe (but not of Juliet and Romeo – God, I hate myself for writing that) in nonlinear fashion, shifting between three very distinct plots and somehow making it all come together in a non-confusing fashion (unlike this review).

Peter Kirk and the Saeki murders: Well, this is the one that introduces the film, so we might as well get on with it. Peter (Bill Pullman, aces in this role) is quintessential nice guy teacher that Kobayashi filled the role of in “Ju-On: The Curse.” Of course, if you’ve seen that film or read my review, you know that this is the character that Kayako falls in love with, leading to her untimely death at the hands of Takeo. The “Toshio” and “Kayako” chapters from that film are repeated pretty much verbatim here, but for the uninitiated, here’s a loose summary.

Peter becomes worried when he finds out that Toshio Saeki hasn’t been in class for several days. He makes a trip to Toshio’s house, finding the boy a shocked wreck and unresponsive. Eventually, he makes his way upstairs and finds the journal of Kayako, revealing that Toshio’s mother stalked – and was in love – with the married teacher. After finding the murdered body of Kayako, he attempts to carry Toshio out of the house, but is summarily consumed by the angry ghost of Kayako, beginning the grudge – the powerful curse of those who die with revenge and anger in their hearts.

One interesting thing to note is that in this version, it is explicitly spelled out that Takeo drowned Toshio in the bathtub, whereas in the Japanese films it is said – more than once – that the body of Toshio was never found, the implication being that Kayako actually claimed Toshio as her first victim. Another difference in regards to the original murder is that Takeo commits suicide after killing his wife and son; this is actually a change I don’t like, as it robs us of the emotional revenge on Takeo by Kayako that we get in “Ju-On: The Curse.”


The Williams Family: After the original murders and the Bill Pullman Incident, as it shall come to be known, a new family moves in to the Saeki abode – your American equivalents of Katsuya’s family from “Ju-On: The Grudge.” There’s husband Matthew (William Mapother), wife Jennifer (Clea DuVall) and mother Emma (Grace Zabriskie). The mother is immediately mortified of the house and clams up faster than *insert punchline here*, so it’s up to the rest of the family to carry this plot thread.

This is where a good deal of this movie’s jump scares take place, and in short, they’re excellent. The calling card of the “Ju-On” series was that these were movies that were master classes in how to executive jump scares without relying on cymbal crash-style sound effects; they drew out their “danger scenes” to the point of delirium before FINALLY giving us release. Of course, this whole familial unit is doomed; we know that from the start, but we’re given no less than three classic scenes in this segment of the plot. First is the wife’s death by Toshio. Second is the husband’s meeting with the ghosts. And the third is a FANTASTIC recreation of the “Hitomi” sequence in “Ju-On: The Grudge,” with KaDee Strickland doing an amazing job as Matthew’s incredibly bad luck-cursed sister who wanders into the house and spends the better part of five minutes of screen time attempting to escape from the onslaught of Saekis.

The social workers: I suppose one could say that this is your “main” story arc of the film. After all, it’s from here that we get the name above the marquee. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Karen Daniels, your Rika Nishina character for “The Grudge.” She’s very likable, very kind, and a very good social worker who just so happens to get sent to the devil demon house from hell in the first fifteen minutes of this movie. After witnessing the final moments of Mama Williams, it’s up to Karen to get to the bottom of just what the frig is going on in abode Saeki. Much of it has been spelled out already – jealous husband murders wife and son in a rage and kills himself, causing a “curse” or “grudge” to develop and, in effect, damning everyone who crosses the threshold into the house. Including Karen.

This segment includes another instance of actually IMPROVING on a sequence from the original films. This movie recreates the infamous “torn-off Jaw” jump scare of doom from “Ju-On: The Curse”; now that scene is difficult to top, but nonetheless, they took it on. Due to a bunch of make-up and a higher budget, the scene is still laid out incredibly well, and still gets under your skin just as much as the original moment that made its way into your permanent memory.

What the movie leads to, of course, is a final showdown in the house between Karen (hoping to burn down the cursed house with gasoline) and Kayako. We’re given a slightly different ending than the one we got in “Ju-On: The Grudge,” and for what it’s worth, I think it really worked. Doing the exact same thing that we got in that monumental classic would have been a tall order to accomplish, and while I usually HATE the tactic, this is definitely a movie (and a series of movies, mind you) where doom-and-gloom “the villain is still out there” endings seem very appropriate.

Overall, this is definitely a remake that works. It takes the best parts of the previous movies in the series, and while some tweaks are slightly different (mostly in regards to the original murders), almost nothing is changed for the worse. It also creates enough of an identity for itself so as to allow for maximum impact (and sequels), and the acting…this might be one of the best-acted horror films of all time, bar none. Everyone in this cast was on top of their game, from Buffy to Captain Lone Star, and, of course, Fuji and Yuya Ozeki, who makes his third appearance as Toshio in this film. I don’t believe I’ve mentioned Ozeki yet in this series of reviews, but suffice to say, he does as amazing of a job as a cat-loving demon boy that could have possibly been done. Very impressive. This isn’t my favorite movie in the series, but it probably ranks a very respectable second, and in this series that’s a HUGE compliment.

The Rage and Fury Omnibus, Part IV: "Ju-On: The Grudge 2" (2003)

"Ju-On: The Grudge 2" (once again, just like the V-cinema films, known simply as "Ju-On 2" in many circles - but this indeed the FOURTH film in the series if you're keeping score, ladies and gents) is a pretty damn beloved movie. Many fans of the series consider it the absolute best film in the entire franchise, and for good reason. It's also the perfect capper to follow up the original "Ju-On: The Grudge" with. That film will leave you so hungry for more bob-and-weave Kayako action that another 92 minutes with the same main star and the same apocalyptic feel of the previous movie is the perfect way to sate your thirst.

I can definitely say it worked on me; hell, I watched this movie exactly 24 hours after my first viewing of "Ju-On: The Grudge." It didn't disappoint in the slightest; while not QUITE as strong as that incendiary classic, this movie has tons going for it. In the absolute simplest way I know how to put it, this HAS to be the best horror franchise of the 21st century, because I can think of no other series that featured a FOURTH film as good as this one. And we're talking GOOD good, not cheesy good ("Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter," I love you, but lord knows you ain't a Shakespearian epic). Yes, folks, this is a great movie. Perhaps not in the way that it should have walked away with a bagful of Oscars, but as both a continuation and a stand-alone story that's meant to creep the holy f**k out of you, there's few better than "Ju-On: The Grudge 2."

The story and slight effort to unconfuse you: The first two direct-to-video films focused on the first two families to call the cursed Saeki home, well, home. The third had another poor bunch of blood- and not-blood kin getting systematically butchered, along with a few ill-fated social workers meeting their ends at the hand of Superonryo and her son. By the time the events of this movie have rolled around, the house has been abandoned for many years, which is right where this story picks up.

The bookend story this time revolves around a pregnant actress named Kyoko Harase (Noriko Sakai, in an excellent performance). Kyoko makes an appearance on a Japanese variety show that specialized in haunted houses and other horror-tastic tales, and what better way to spike the ratings than visit a house where everyone who has ever entered dies a horrific death? Seems like a good idea to me. Hey, nobody ever said characters in horror films were Mensa members, and if they'd turned back at the front door to start the movie...there wouldn't be a movie, schmucks.

Anyway, if you've been following these things, the rest you know. Cast and crew of said show goes into house, only to be systematically slaughtered by Kayako and Toshio. The "Ju-On" experience has always been much more style than substance, however; its joys lie not in its minty freshness, but its creativity in springing its money scenes. In this regard, this is indeed the best movie in the series. The kill scenes in "Ju-On" films contain virtually no blood (well, with the exception of that "ripped-off jaw" scene in the original "Ju-On: The Curse," later cribbed for "The Grudge 1" in the States), but a lot of them have the genuine power to scare the crap out of anyone watching them for the first time sometime in the wee morning hours. The first time I watched this particular flick, I was amazed at Takashi Shimizu's ability to top himself with every one of the murder scenes. They're elaborately planned, well-paced and built-to, and paid off with perfection.

One thing, however, that stands in stark contrast to the previous film is the amount of screen time given to Takako Fuji and her amazing portrayal of everyone's favorite black-haired demon. In the previous film, her appearances (and it might not even need to be pluralized) were brief and scarce; this time, she's all over the place. Of all seven "Ju-On/Grudge" films with Fuji as Kayako, this is the one where she has the most face time, and she definitely makes the most of the opportunity. If you want to see Takako Fuji eating the souls of many, many unfortunate victims, and see it on the glorious big-screen, this is your bag, baby.

THE SEGMENTS

The movie begins with a pre-credits sequence showing Kyoko and her fiance Masashi driving down a lonely stretch of road. All appears innocent until Toshio makes a surprise appearance, forcing them off the road in an accident that effectively makes Masashi an invalid and seemingly kills Kyoko's unborn child. Or does it? Dun dun dun.

Kyoko: More of Kyoko's story, and unfortunately this segment kind of drags. The main gist of the thing is that Kyoko (known as the "Horror Queen" in her native Japan due to her propensity of starring in various horror flicks - I'd dig her if she was real) finds out that her previously-thought terminated pregnancy is in fact NOT terminated. So who or what is growing inside of her? There's a couple nice trademark "Ju-On" jump scares here, as well.

Tomoka: Now we're talking. Chihari Niiyama plays the title character, a sexy young TV show host who serves as our first lamb being led to slaughter in this go-round. And this...segment...is...awesome. Perfectly plotted, well-paced, containing a foreboding sense of dread and amazing payoff with one of the BEST, most imprinted images in all of the "Ju-On/Grudge" franchise. You don't mess with Kayako hanging two people with her demonic hair and Toshio playing around with the dead bodies like rag dolls.

Megumi: Another classic segment with a wonderful payoff. Megumi (Emi Yamamoto) is the hairstylist for the doomed TV show crew, and it's in this sketch where we see the actual taping of the show. There's one creeptacular scene where Kayako and Toshio - in human form - appear in the background behind Megumi and Kyoko, and the ending - the wig from hell - is once again an ingenious death scene.

Keisuke: Unfortunately, this is another segment that drags, and it's one with a character we don't really care about (even by the end of this part). More than anything, it's more exposition on Kyoko's pregnancy. Yup - creepy stuff is going on, we get it. Moving along...

Chiharu: Probably my second favorite segment in the entire "Ju-On" saga. It begins with an eerie tracking shot that seemingly follows the consciousness of Kayako roaming throughout Tokyo, and the rest of the segment is no less foreboding. Remember Izumi, the daughter of Detective Toyama from "Ju-On: The Grudge?" Well, now Kayako's after her friends. Chiharu is played by Japanese pinup idol Yui Ichikawa; she's fun to look at, but she's also really great at screaming. This part of the film is a mindf**k of Biblical proportions; Chiharu is shuttled in and out of realities with seemingly no pattern. The end result, of course, is that she's screwed.

Kayako: The third "Ju-On" film to have a "Kayako" chapter, and it's just as epic as the others. The entire movie has been building to the birth scene seen in so many romantic comedy and drama films...THIS, however, is a birth unlike any you've ever seen before, I'll tella you that much (Italian mode). What a rocking ending, and it even ends with the premeditated death of boring Keisuke. LOVE the ending, as well; it's tragic, it's sad, and it's ultimately VERY fitting, just as the ending of "Ju-On: The Grudge" was.

In a way, "Ju-On: Grudge 2" was the end of an era. It was, thus far, the final Japanese film to feature Kayako and Toshio before Shimizu would take this grand concept to the United States for even greater fame and fortune. It's also the highest-budgeted film in the Japanese series. Watching the movie in this regard, it's kind of sad; nobody had ever made J-horror movies of this nature before, with a singular sense of focus coupled perfectly with a nonlinear story. It's not quite as strong as "Ju-On: The Grudge," but as an opus for one of the most creative, incendiary chapters in the history of horror films, it's dynamite. As you can probably guess by now, a little over a year after the release of this film, "The Grudge" was released in the U.S. - in and of itself a glorified TRIBUTE to the four films that preceded it in the land of the rising sun. To me, truly a befitting honor for 3.5 classic films.

The Rage and Fury Omnibus, Part III: "Ju-On: The Grudge" (2002)

JU-ON: The curse of one who dies while in the grip of a powerful rage. It gathers and takes effect in the places where that person was alive. Those who encounter it die, and a new curse is born.

Well, if you're a devoted fan of all the crap that I post (all three of you), you know that I've already reviewed this movie - several times. I've harped about it on various message boards, I inducted into the International Horror Registry, and it's all for a reason. "Ju-On: The Grudge" (or simply "Ju-On" to many, and even "Ju-On 3" to Japanese audiences) is probably my second favorite horror movie of all time, one of my ten favorite FILMS in any genre, and still a flick that I can pop in any ol' time and either drift off to sleep or pay my full attention to, picking out various camera tricks and subtleties in character shifts that I had never noticed before. As an example, I just watched this film a few days ago, and I had never picked up on the fact that Katsuya (we'll be getting to him later) is acting like Takeo, and may in fact be possesed by him.

Information that you already know - this is the first "Ju-On" movie I ever saw. I don't count the first American "Grudge" film, since I was surfing the internet and playing "Castlevania" in the background at the time. It blew me away, and continues to blow me away. It's without question my favorite horror movie of the previous decade (which is called what, exactly? The Ohs? The oughts?), a horror film where all of the elements - acting, writing, direction - are firing on all cylinders. As with the previous movies, it's done in "short" form, with a series of six segments making up the flick's 90-some minute running time, but MUCH moreso than the direct-to-video "Curse" films, this is a movie where all of those parts add up to one unbelievable, cohesive WHOLE, better than any other movie in the nine-film franchise.

Another thing that leapt out at me a few days ago (as it has before) is just how LITTLE Takako Fuji is onscreen in this one. It's funny; Japanese audiences had to be expecting something pretty epic when the announcement came that these two cult favorite V-cinema films were being given the big bucks to make a fully-loaded theatrical movie, complete with all the production values and CGI you could ask for. No doubt they expected Kayako transforming special effects-driven monstrosities, bringing victims into some sort of web with her tentacles of doom, and whatever other crap I cam come up with running off three hours of sleep. Instead...she's shown INCREDIBLY sparingly, usually only for the money shots. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the scariest cat in all of horrordom Toshio actually has MORE screen time than the all-time J-horror queen in this one. Most unexpected, and most effective.

Nope, what we get with "Ju-On: The Grudge" is a STORY, and that story is told in separate parts all adding up to one hell of an emotional wallop finale. The plot threads are separate but equal: Rika Nishina (Megumi Okina) is your Sarah Michelle Gellar character, the poor doomed caregiver who pays the visit to the house of death; we get the husband-wife-mother familial unit also cribbed for the first American remake, along with a sister who gets the movie's single best sequence; and there's the tragic case of the original Saeki murders' investigator, which picks up several years down the line.

Let's take a look at the segments that make up "Ju-On: The Grudge"...

Rika: As mentioned, this is your star character, and the inspiration for SMG's Karen Davis character. As played by Okina, she's sweet and charming, completely innocent and undeserving of the death sentence she walks into. The segment is classic "Ju-On" slow burn, all building up to the first reveal of Kayako - but not in the form we're used to.

Katsuya: This part is a double whammy; the main DEATH in this segment is Kazumi, the wife of Katsuya (a businessman). The Tokunaga family - complete with a mute mother-in-law who stays up till all hours of the night - make up the current residents of the ol' Saeki abode, meaning that their lease on life isn't very long. There's two great jump scares in this segment, along with yet more slow burn leading to the next chapter.

Hitomi: Oh yeah - my favorite chapter in the entire "Ju-On" saga, right here. ALSO cribbed for "The Grudge," Hitomi (Misaki Ito) is Katsuya's sister who had just arrived at their household at the end of the previous segment. No developments here - just one long execution, as both Kayako and Toshio pursue, torment, and eventually get this scared-to-death (and again, wholly innocent) victim. Awesome stuff.

Toyama: While it's a sort of sigh of relief after Hitomi's story, this one really kicks you in the nuts emotionally. Years after the original incident, Detective Toyama (Yoji Tanaka) is still haunted by the case of the Saeki murders. He has read the reports of the deaths cropping up, all with the house as the impetus, and resolves to burn the damn thing to the ground - of course, with disastrous results...

Izumi: At this point, the movie flashes forward several years. Toyama's daughter - a little girl in the last segment - is now in her teenage years. It was shown in the "Toyama" chapter that Izumi and her friends entered the Saeki house on a dare. This segment is similar to the "Hitomi" chapter, although it might be even scarier, because the extent that the curse has effected Izumi's life is shown in detail. Hell, this girl plasters newspapers on her walls - not to avoid looking out, but to stop things from looking IN.

Kayako: And this is where it all comes together. In the same time frame as the "Izumi" segment, we are shown Rika, several years after the incident at the Saeki house. She appears carefree and enjoying life, and then the things that haunted her several years ago come back. Tender, tragic, and emotional, this ending is pure perfection, and also gives us a very cool big-budget recreation of the "Kayako crawls down the stairs" sequence in the ONLY scene in this movie with a clear camera shot of Takako Fuji in the role!

Finally, there's that CLASSIC ending montage, showing one "MISSING" poster, and then another, and then another...and then the empty streets of Tokyo...

Overall, I can't say enough good about this film. It continues to amaze me every time I watch it, not only for its scare scenes, but its sense of FOCUS that is truly rare among J-horror films, and MOVIES in general. Writer-director Shimizu, given a large budget and stellar cast, could have settled for a cooler-looking version of "Ju-On: The Curse." Instead, we get a story that builds to a true heart-breaker of an ending, and the conviction - the feelilng that Shimizu KNEW what he was trying to accomplish with every scene and shot - shines through in vivid color. As such, this movie is absolutely essential for horror fans, and I wouldn't NOT recommend it to movie fans at large either!