Horror by Harrison

It’s been about a year since I covered the original Ju-On so it felt like a great time to revisit the sequel. It’s not on the schedule at the moment, but I’ll probably also be covering The Grudge at some point. Ju-On 2 was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu ( Hell Girl ) and was released on August 23, 2003. Ju-On 2 was made on a budget of ¥1.1 billion (roughly $10,120,000 in US dollars) and went on to make $2,705,820 worldwide. Ju-On 2 has received largely mixed reviews. Like it’s predecessor, Ju-On 2 follows the victims of the Ju-On curse in six vignettes which overlap with one another and are told in a non-linear fashion. Ju-On 2 is an interesting film. It’s largely “more of the same” in its relationship with the first film both to the film’s benefit and detriment. In its conversations with the first film, it does feel like a seamless continuation and expansion. However, that does mean that the film can feel a bit repetitive. Luckily, it’s a formula that works so even ...

“ Ju-On: the curse of one who dies in the grip of powerful rage. It gathers and takes effect in the places that person was alive. Those who encounter it die, and a new curse is born.” Thus begins the 2002 J-Horror film Ju-On: The Grudge . This film has been on my mind a lot recently and I’ve been eager to revisit it. As I was putting together my review schedule I knew that I wanted to visit some international horror and I realized almost immediately that this was the one I wanted to explore first. Ju-On: The Grudge was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu and is a sequel to Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 (both of which are largely unavailable outside of Japan). Ju-On: The Grudge was released on October 18th, 2002 (the first in the franchise to be released theatrically) and was met with mixed reviews; with critics praising the film’s atmosphere but comparing the film negatively to the popular Ringu . I was unable to find information on the film’s budget, it grossed $3...