Ju-on: The Beginning of the End Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: An alternate retelling of the Saeki family's murder and the grudge haunting that resulted.

Review: Well, I have to take a brief intermission from the Christmas movies as I discovered this film's surprising existence. Or maybe this is a Christmas gift in a way. As a huge "Grudge" enthusiast, I feel it's my obligation to review this film as soon as possible (and by asap I mean 6 months later). Let's face it, there are two ladies in my life I can hardly go a review without mentioning: my goddess, Rika, and my lovable, yet creepy, undead friend, Kayako; just don't bring up Natre or all hell breaks loose! Rika may have the looks, but Kayako has those sexy croaking noises--goddamn--so hot. I know Japan may see Sadako as the quintessential yurei, but she's really some kind of demigod or whatever. Kayako is supposed to be a regular woman so I prefer her. Plus, who doesn't want to take a trip off into Kayako-land?

"Enough of the games, Ryan, talk about the movie!" Okay, fine! This movie sucks plain and simple. Even "The Grudge 3" and "Ju-on: The Curse 2" were better with all things considered. That was hard for me to accept, but it's difficult to defend this film when it didn't stay true to the original story. They seriously ruined everything about the original to the point that I question whether they even watched any of the previous films. Kayako isn't even the main antagonist for god's sake! Besides, did this franchise really need ANOTHER version of the Saeki family murder? They've already told the same story 5 fucking times! Realistically, this franchise only has two legitimate sequels and one standalone entry--which is pathetic considering there are 9 (10 depending on your outlook) movies! This is why I love "Ju-on: The Grudge 2" so much since it tried to push the story forward while being awesomely scary at the same time. Is it really this hard to tell an original story? Fuck...no wonder Takako Fuji appears to have quit acting. Even Takashi Shimizu backed out...and he invented the damn franchise! That should tell you something.

Right now you're probably wondering what are the changes. Glad you asked! The most annoying change is that Toshio is the primary antagonist. My fucking god...no. Think of, say, "The Grudge" and imagine all the key scenes with Kayako now replaced with Toshio. Sounds stupid, huh? The only thing Kayako still does is the whole coming down the stairs trick. They probably only kept this scene because they knew it was the scariest part and couldn't think up anything original on their own. Why is Toshio the main villain anyway? Well, because he's apparently already a ghost before Kayako gave birth to him! Uuuuggghhh. In fact, they kind of give the implication that perhaps Toshio has been reincarnated multiple times, but, I admit, that's debatable. The entire story's flow of events have been reworked so that it is actually the Saeki family that are the ones moving into the house...which is haunted by Toshio. By the way, the house looks too plain and nowhere near as foreboding or atmospheric as the original. Kayako is impregnated by Toshio's spirit, she gives birth to evil Toshio, Takeo suspects the child is not his and kills them as usual, then Toshio takes over as the embodiment of the curse. No...

One thing that made me especially angry was Kayako's ghost not only talking but having whole conversations! She barely had makeup effects to boot. That's not the Kayako character anymore at that point. The same kind of fodder characters still end up dead, for the most part, but a lot of it feels out of place--like the girl with the jaw ripped off for example. They did continue with the vignette style of storytelling, but the segments are shorter and oddly paced. They also tried too hard to confuse the audience regarding the order of events as if it will be a cool realization that they ruined the story. And what's with the dumb spirals? Hello, did you forget that shit was from "Ringu?" See, I knew whoever wrote this didn't actually watch the original movies! Arrrgghh...that ending. What were they thinking?

If they got anything right about this entry it's that it sure as hell is the beginning of the end--for the franchise. I don't get it, why not simply continue with what "Ju-on: White/Black" was going for? That didn't have the Saeki family (for the most part), and it seemed like it was well received; it was a decent addition to the lore at the very least. Or, considering a few sources have cited this as "Ju-on 3," why not pick up where "Ju-on: The Grudge 2" left off with Kayako reborn? As it stands, this was an unnecessary entry that adds absolutely nothing to the franchise yet manages to hurt the series simultaneously. If you're a fan of this franchise, I cannot possibly recommend this to you. If this is your first foray into the series, then, whatever, maybe you'll get a little enjoyment out of it. Just know that the made for TV "Ju-on: The Curse" from 2000 looks to have better production value than this. Come on Japan, don't let this happen!

Notable Moment: When the main chick is in the shower. Now hold on! It's not what you think. This scene is especially stupid, because it's randomly inserted with no meaning or context. It's as if they forgot that the other films had Kayako screwing with people in the shower. Seriously, did they even watch any of the previous entries?

Final Rating: 4.5/10