Ju-on: The Curse Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: After a man kills his wife and son, their ghosts haunt and kill anyone who comes into their home.

Review: Let me begin by saying this is the very first of what I will refer to as the Grudge franchise. This is the Japanese original made for TV/Video version and not to be confused with "Ju-on: The Grudge" or "The Grudge:" the American remake. I know it is kind of confusing since the titles are all so similar as well as the plots, but I will do my best to sort this mess out. Lastly, there are a total of 8 films in this franchise counting the American trilogy but technically 9 if you count "Ju-on: Old Lady in White/Girl in Black" as two films (which I don't); I also heard there is going to be an American reboot coming so...just fucking great! Anyway, this is quite the impressive film given its low budget and how inexperienced the crew were at the time. Although many have come to know the story quite well, this and "Ju-on: The Curse 2" have the darkest stories of the franchise in my opinion. The non linear storytelling has often thrown off viewers, but it's what makes this franchise feel so unique, and I've come to appreciate this fragmented method whereby you put the pieces together in your mind as you go much like solving a mystery. To sum the story up from the tidbits during each segment: a few years back, the Saeki family, which consisted of the husband, Takeo, wife, Kayako, and son, Toshio, lived in a house in the suburbs. Kayako was obsessively in love with Toshio's teacher, Kobayashi, and eventually Takeo found out and lost his mind; Takeo then murdered Kayako, Toshio, and the family's cat creating this "curse" whereby Kayako became an evil spirit and Toshio's spirit fused with the cat. Anyone who comes into the home is then seemingly infected with the curse, similar to a disease spreading, in which they will be haunted, possessed, or killed by the ghosts. For the most part, the horror elements are simply seeing the ghosts slowly get to those who have come to the house which include a new family that moved in as well as various friends or visitors. Of note is the girlfriend of the new home owner's son who's played by Chiaki Kuriyama of "Kill Bill" fame among other roles; this is one of her early works, and I barely recognized her if it weren't for her distinct look and nose. The scares were original at the time with some creepy atmosphere from how slow the buildups were. I felt the overall approach to the scares was creative and made effective use of a tight budget; the lighting was definitely a nice touch to enhance the imagery. At the same time there are some subtle story elements that weren't in the later films that I could be looking too deeply into such as my belief that Kayako raped Kobayashi sometime that he passed out from drinking and she took him home and into his room. Takeo also says something weird about how he raised Toshio for him which implies he at least suspected Toshio was not his kid. Finally, there is the awkward scene in which Kobayashi wants to tell his wife something about Kayako but never finishes. Another unbelievably disturbing aspect, cut from the other films, is that Takeo kills Kobayashi's pregnant wife, rips out the baby, and beats it repeatedly in a sack until finally Kayako comes and kills that bitch; this is another aspect that I liked better instead of Takeo just killing himself in the later entries. As creative as this film is, there are many flaws that hurt it: for one, even though I praise the style of storytelling, it can be confusing and annoying to many casual viewers. Although this is nitpicking, I never understood why the ghosts sometimes would appear normal looking and then other times "scary." It's never explained and makes next to no sense. The film is insanely short and the ending is nonsensical and incredibly stupid if it weren't for the sequel to fill in what the hell it was all about; basically, the Kyoko character is walking along, sees a woman in a window (I suppose she looks vaguely ghostlike) and just runs away scared...that is no way to end a damn film! Finally, for better or worse, Kayako talks while she's a ghost in this version which can be creepy or stupid depending on your outlook. If you have only watched the theatrical versions, I definitely recommend going back and seeing the origins of it all. There is enough new material that was cut for the later versions to keep you entertained, but don't expect too much different. It also makes a nice contrast to see the difference in production quality and how much you can accomplish with next to nothing.

Notable Moment: When Kayako crawls down the stairs. Although this happens in many of the versions, I felt the cheaper makeup effects somehow created a more visceral look to the ghost.

Final Rating; 7/10