Ju-on 2 (2003)

"Ju-on 2", the full length sequel to "Ju-on: The Grudge", is a surprising improvement over the original film that kick started Americans interest in Japanese horror films. The film has a stronger plot and is scarier than the the original. The effects are more effective and more profound, using photo techniques rather than out right CGI. The story is again broken up into individual chapters that focus on a primary character. The chapters are not in exact chronological order but are presented in a way that is not too confusing and makes sense when the movie is over.

The film focuses on a set of primary characters who are involved with filming a TV show inside the haunted house where housewife Kayako and her son Toshi were violently killed by their husband/father.

Kyoko is a horror movie actress and is set to make a guest appearance on a weekly TV show. This particular episode takes place and is about the violent murder of a housewife and the disappearance of her son. After filming the episode, Kyoko and her boyfriend have a horrible car accident (cause by seeing Toshi). Her boyfriend falls into a coma and she believes that she lost her unborn child; the baby turns out to be ok. While she survived her run in, her mother dies at home under mysterious circumstances.

Others at the filming also have run ins with the ghosts, including the episodes co-star, Tomoka and her boyfriend, the make-up artist Megumi, and the random disappearances of the camerman and sound guy. Only the director, Keisuke, lives more than a few days....

Favorite moment - A chilling scene where Kayako is coming for one of the characters but is stopped by another force!

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

The original "Ju-on: The Grudge" is an excellent Japanese horror film that inspired an American remake, allowing director Takashi Shimizu that chance to go back and tweak his original work. I was surprised at how many little differences there were and yet satisfied that the two films were still alike. The first half is almost identical to the remake with only minor differences. The sound effects and visuals are better in the remake but the ones in the original still do a decent job. The story line in the remake also makes more sense, having an American family seen moving in versus having a family already there. Otherwise, everything is more or less the same.

In the Japanese version there is one additional chapter that is not seen in the American version, and this particular piece is perhaps the scariest part of the movie. It takes place several years later and revolves around a high school girl who, with her three friends, went inside the house. She ran away while her friends were killed, and now she knows that they are coming for her.

The final chapter revolves around Rika, the character that was later re-written for Sarah Michelle Gellar in the remake. This chapter also takes place several years later. Rika still works for the mental health insitution, and meets up with an old friend who is now a teacher. Her friend is having to make house calls and ends up visiting the same house. Meanwhile, Rika is having visions of the ghost boy and his cat, and when she realizes that her friend is in danger, Rika tries to stop her before it's too late. But this is a horror movie, so it's always too late....