In 2002, a movie came out that would influence horror for a long time to come. This wasTakashi Shimizu’sJu-On: The Grudge(2002). Along withRingufour years earlier,Ju-On:The Grudgekicked off a decade of American obsession with Japanese horror. These films spearheaded a cult following of J-horror in the United States in the early 2000s, with films likeOne Missed Call,Dark Water, andPulse. To this day,Ju-On: The Grudgecontains many of the essential elements of J-horror, elements that were exactly what Hollywood was looking for to revive thehorrorgenre in the 21st century.
What is ‘Ju-On: The Grudge’ About?
Ju-On: The Grudgeis the second installment in Shimizu’sJu-Onfranchise, following his 2000 filmJu-On: The Curse. This story revolves around a house in Tokyo where, years before, a man named Takeo Saeki (Takashi Matsuyama) murdered his wife Kayako (Takako Fuji) and son Toshio (Yuya Ozeki). The family of three now haunt the house and anyone who comes into contact with it, as part of a ruthless curse. Even worse, once a ghost latches onto someone, they can follow them out of the house. A series of characters, including a social worker sent to assist a recent resident, the detective hired on the original murder case of the house, and a teenager who visits the house on a dare with her friends, all succumb to the deadly curse. The film shares a similar theme with other J-horror films that came out around the same time:a plague-like curse that spreads from person to person,often through technology.
Ju-On: The Grudgeis intense. There is a ghost reveal in almost every scene, much likeJames Wan’sThe Conjuring,building a near-constant sense of dread in the viewer, with its nonlinear structure creating a feeling of disorientation. The film doesn’t follow one protagonist, but rather many different characters who are each haunted and eventually end up dead. The effect is a tragic feeling that bad things can happen to any bystander who happens to cross the curse’s path. In aninterview withThe New York Times,Oxide Pang, one half of the Pang Brothers duo who createdThe Eye(2002), explained how in Asian horror, the terrible things that happen to people are often random and “unreasonable.” No one wins inJu-On: The Grudge, not even the ghosts. There is no final girl, only terror and dread at the end.Ultimately,The Grudgeexemplifies the classic themes of J-horror:ghosts, psychological decline, and atmospheric dread, all of which would appeal to Hollywood filmmakers in the early 2000s.
‘Ju-On: The Grudge’ Launched Hollywood’s Obsession with J-Horror Remakes
In the late nineties and early 2000s, the horror genre in Hollywood had exhausted itself with slashers and was looking for something new. At the same time, Asian horror films were developing a cult following in the United States. A 2004New Yorkerprofileon a New York City Asian horror film distributor goes into detail on how an underground following led to mainstream interest, starting in cinemas like the Music Palace in Chinatown and the East Village’s New York Asian Film Festival. Once Hollywood directors got hold of J-horror films, everything changed. In the same interview withThe New York Times,Sam RaimiandRob Tapert(creators ofThe Evil Dead) said that watchingJu-On: The Grudgewas a huge moment for them in realizing thathorror could be quiet, atmospheric, and shot on small sets and in practical locations.
Why ‘Ringu’s Bizarre Sequel Is Actually Amazing
This horror sequel likely would have worked better as a stand-alone film.
Inspired byJu-On: The Grudge, Raimi and Tapert hired Shimizu to direct an English-language remake calledThe Grudge, which came out in 2004 and starredSarah Michelle Geller. The remake celebrates its 20th anniversary on November 5.Ju-On:The Grudgewas one of many American remakes and franchises that started with Japanese horror films,most of which pale in comparison to their Japanese originals.Ju-On: The Grudgestill holds up as one ofJ-horror’s best. Its eerie ghostliness, the cruel, random tragedy of it, and one of the most unsettling death rattles in cinema history might leave you with a chill next time you have to go up a staircase into the darkness alone.
The Grudge
Ju-On: The Grudgeis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
Watch on Prime Video
