Ju-on

From Eigapedia

Ju-on (呪怨, Ju-on) is a series of horror movies directed by Takashi Shimizu.

[edit] Ju-On Films

[edit] Timeline

[edit] 1998

[edit] Short Films

In 1998 Takashi Shimizu was taking a night class in film production taught by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa gave the students an assignment to make a 3-minute short based on an original script. Liking Shimizu's work, Kurosawa eventually introduced him to a producer at Kansai-TV who was working on a 90 minute television program called Gakko no kaiden G (学校の怪談G, literally School Ghost Story G). Shimizu created two 3-minute segments for the program which would become the foundation of the entire Ju-On series.

In A Corner (片隅, In A Corner), aka Katasumi - Hisayo and her friend Kanna are at school during summer break to feed the rabbits. Kanna pricks her finger and Hisayo goes to into the school to get a bandage. When she comes out she sees the rabbit cages destroyed with blood and fur all over the area. She trips over Kanna's sneaker and after calling for her a few times a pale long-haired woman (Kayako) comes crawling out of the bushes toward her. She grabs a gardening trowel to defend herself and we see Kanna on the ground, now pale and bloody. Both Kanna and Kayako crawl toward Hisayo and the scene fades out.

4444444444 - A teenager (Tsuyoshi Murakami) hears a cell phone ringing on the ground next to a school. The incoming call number shows up as 4444444444. He answers it and the only reply he gets is the sound of a cat's meow. Eventually he asks if the person on the other end is watching him and hears "I am." He turns to see a pale naked boy (Toshio) sitting there staring at him. The camera focuses in on the boy's face as he suddenly meows and black liquid pours out of his mouth.

[edit] 2000

[edit] Ju-on (V-Cinema)

In 2000 Shimizu directed a feature-length V-Cinema version of the Ju-on story broken into 2 parts, Ju-on and Ju-on 2. These were never officially released in English but were widely bootlegged, traded, and sold with fan-created subtitles as Ju-on: The Curse. The first movie has references to the scenes from Katasumi and 4444444444 that explain the circumstances surrounding the events in those shorts.

[edit] 2003

[edit] Ju-on: The Grudge

In 2003 Shimuzu directed Ju-on: The Grudge starring Megumi Okina as Rika Nishina a social worker who visits the Saeki house to check up on Tokunaga Sachie, an elderly woman whose family has been unreachable recently.

[edit] Ju-on: The Grudge 2

Later in 2003 Shimuzu directed Ju-on: The Grudge 2 in which a movie about the Saeki house murders was being filmed on location in the house itself.

[edit] 2004

[edit] The Grudge

In 2004 Shimizu directed The Grudge starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. The storyline largely paralleled Ju-on: The Grudge, other than the involvement of American characters and other subtle changes made for American audiences at the suggestion of Hollywood producers involved in the project.

[edit] 2006

[edit] The Grudge 2

In 2006 Shimuzu directed The Grudge 2 featuring an entirely new story and starring Amber Tamblyn.

[edit] Trivia

Kayako's distinctive throat clicking noise is performed by Shimizu himself.

In the Japanese films people can become cursed with the Ju-on simply by interacting with someone who had been in the Saeki house. According to Shimizu, a new rule was agreed on for the American version in which only people who entered the house would be affected. The thought was that American audiences would not accept randomness and the rules needed to be clear.

[edit] External Links