The Shock Labyrinth (2009)

The movie was less than ten minutes in when I first noticed major themes and details that both appear in Takashi Shimizu's films "Tormented" and "The Shock Labyrinth". "The Shock Labyrinth" was made two years before "Tormented" and set the tone by using the same location of the fun park located in the shadow of Mt Fuji and the "hospital" neighboring it. In fact, the hospital in "The Shock Labyrinth" is actually another carnival ride, set up as a haunted house attraction. The next detail I noticed between the two films was the over emphasis on the spiral staircase; in fact, both movies center in on someone falling from the staircase. The final and most important shared detail between the two films is the rabbit doll! In "The Shock Labyrinth", the doll is actually a backpack that one of the main characters is wearing and in "Tormented", the two main characters are actually watching "The Shock Labyrinth" when the doll magically floats out of the screen and into young Daigo's hands. "The Shock Labyrinth" isn't as strong of a film as "Tormented" but it does contain more scares and overall creepy moments. 

Ken has returned to his old hometown after moving away ten years ago. While his friend Motoko is picking him up, Motoko's girlfriend Rin is visited by a panicked old friend Yuki. Motoko and Ken soon join Rin and everyone is shocked to see Yuki, who is still in a state of distress. They bring Yuki to her parents home, where her younger sister Myiu insists that Motoko is dead, at least that was what her late father had told her. Yuki is badly injured in a fall and the four teens take her to the nearest hospital, but once there, they can't find anyone to help them and Yuki runs off into the darkness. The four teens go off and look for her but begin to have visions of the past and they become aware that there are not in a hospital but in an old carnival haunted house that they had snuck into ten years ago, and quickly remember the horrible accident that occurred. The four teens are faced with the decisions that they made ten years ago and the consequences of dealing with Yuki's angry spirit..... 

Marebito (2004)

The only way I can think of describing the Japanese horror film "Marebito" is to imagine that you are watching a film that was equally inspired by the early works of David Cronenberg and H.P. Lovecraft. Directed by Takashi Shimizu between his original "Ju-on: The Grudge" and the American remake "The Grudge", "Marebito" is a lonely physiological nightmare about a lone man's journey to experience real terror. The film is narrated by the main character in a detached manner that sounds similar as if he was talking to a therapist. The movie is weird and the narrative feels like it's missing something at first and it does leave you with some questions at the end. Overall, the film is an unique and interesting experience worth watching.

Masuoka is a cameraman who carries his camera everywhere he goes and typically always has it recording. He prefers to see life through the camera lens, and when he happens to be on location and filming during a random suicide, he becomes obsessed by the man's look of sheer terror. Masuoka wants to experience real terror like that for himself so he goes on a journey into the tunnels and pathways hiding below Tokyo. He comes across the ghost of the man who killed himself and the ghost explains about the creatures known as Deros that stalk the tunnels. The ghost disappears and Masuoka finds himself at a mountain range underneath the city. There, he finds a mute, naked girl chained to a wall. He takes her home and names her "F". He tries to feed her but she refuses to eat or drink but he eventually finds out that she lives off of blood, so he begins to go out and kills two women to feed to "F". Masuoka begins to spiral into madness and it is soon revealed exactly what he has done that he can now finally admit to himself. The film ends when he finds the terror that he has longed for....

Tormented (2011)

Japanese horror master Takashi Shimizu is back with his 2011 film "Tormented". Filmed in 3D, this movie is more about atmosphere and mood rather than plot or scares. It's a very beautiful film and the 3D effects are not distracting while watching on a non-3D format screen. The story is heavy influenced by the "Little Mermaid" and is directly referred to several times. The movie is worth watching but not if you are looking for something intricate or scary. Although the rabbit suit is unnerving at first....


Kiriko is a mute young woman who lives with her 10 year old step-brother Daigo and their father, a reclusive children's book maker. One day Daigo kills an injured rabbit at school and then shortly after this event, he begins to have nightmares about a person in a giant rabbit suit. Kiriko tries to get her father to help them but it's apparent that she and her little brother are alone in dealing with the increasing terror that the Rabbit is causing. They soon believe that is has something to do with Diago's mother, who died during childbirth, Is she coming back to haunt them?

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....

The Grudge (2004)

The American remake of “The Grudge” came out in 2004, a year after the original debuted in Japan. Both movies were directed by Takashi Shimizu, a young Japanese film maker who went on to create two sequels to “Ju-on) series as well as a handful of other Japanese horror movies. The American version stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bill Pullman, and Ted Raimi and was the first official movie produced by Ghost House Pictures which was started by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert. It’s a great movie with amazing effects and some pretty decent scares for a horror movie with a PG-13 rating. The film was part of the craze of remaking Japanese horror movies from the 1990’s and 2000’s but what I find unique about this remake though is the fact that it still takes place in Japan; It’s as though it could be the same exact movie but with American actors replacing a few of the Japanese ones. I’m not sure if this is true because I have not seen the original although it will be one of the films I review when I begin my ambitious themes for Japanese and other Asian produced horror movies.

The storyline for “The Grudge” crisscrosses between flashbacks and present day scenes that involve a few sub-plots that revolve around the curse of the Saeki family. One plot line is about the Saeki family and how the housewife Kayako fell in love with her teacher and was murdered by her jealous husband Takeo, who in turn killed his son Toshio before hanging himself. The second subplot is about the Williams family moving into the Saeki house several years later and becoming victims to the angry spirits of the Saeki family. The third subplot is about Karen, a student social worker who is sent over to the Saeki house to assist Emma Williams, an older woman who suffered a dementia related breakdown after moving into the house with her son and daughter-in-law. Karen survives her first encounter with the ghost of Kayako and eventually discovers that anyone who enters the house becomes cursed by the never ending rage of the Saeki family.

Favorite moment – I really liked the scene when Karen watches a ghost/flashback of Peter finding Kayako’s diary and then finding her. It ties up the mystery of the Saeki family effectively. My other favorite moment is the very beginning of the movie when Peter kills himself; it’s so sudden and without warning and sets a great feel for the rest of the movie.