#1  
Old 08-08-2009, 03:58 AM
roshiq's Avatar
roshiq roshiq is offline
Pirate of Bengal

 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dhaka
Posts: 8,691
Ju-On Saga

Though most of us may already properly know about this series but to avoid any further confusions regarding its origin and the follow-ups this thread is hereby presented for the fans among us.

The title of the films translates roughly to The Curse or The Grudge. The story is a variation on the classic haunted house theme, as well as a popular Japanese horror trope, the "vengeful ghost" (onryou). The curse of the title, ju-on, is one which takes on a life of its own and seeks new victims. Anyone who encounters a ghost killed by the curse is killed themselves and the curse is able to be spread to other areas.

Origin/Creation of the Series:

Takashi Shimizu first became involved with the Ju-on saga when writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who was teaching a film making class where Shimizu, then working as an assistant director, attended, was impressed by a three-minute short film Shimizu had written and directed.
When Kurosawa learned that a producer he knew had just commissioned a feature length horror film for Kansai Telecasting Corporation, he recommended Shimizu for the job of directing one or more sections of the film. To complete this task, Shimizu wrote several scripts, each roughly thirty minutes in length, only to be asked to make two brief three minute segments (Katasumi and 444-444-4444), as the television movie was intended to be an anthology of short films. After being edited together, the collection of four shorts (one of which was helmed by Kurosawa) was titled Gakkô no kaidan G, which roughly translates to School Ghost Story G ("G" supposedly standing for "Great"). It was first broadcast on Kansai TV on September 27, 1998, and ran for around 70 minutes, meaning that Shimizu contributed to just under 10 percent of the finished product.





While it is often claimed that the subsequent feature length two low-budget straight-to-video films Ju-on and Ju-on 2 (or knows as Ju-On: The Curse) are remakes of Katasumi and 4444444444, the two segments "are actually the foundations of Ju-on", according to Shimizu, and act "almost like the true prequel of the story." Katasumi, in particular, is notable for marking the first appearance of actress Takako Fuji (at this point anonymous) as Kayako Saeki, a role that she would reprise for every Ju-on-related production thereafter except for the 3rd movie in the American series. Moreover, the main characters of this two short films - Kanna and Tsuyoshi - are further extended in Ju-on: The Curse.
Katasumi and 444-444-4444 did not become widely available in the US until Shimizu's unrated director's cut of The Grudge (2004) was released onto DVD in 2005. The shorts were included as special features on the disc, with Katasumi being retitled as In a Corner.

Ju-on:The Curse was originally released as Japanese television movies in 2000. Three years later, due to the success of the videos, Takashi Shimizu, director of all, made a theatrical version based on the videos, titled Ju-on also, (but later known as Ju-on: The Grudge). Then that version spawned a sequel, titled Ju-on: The Grudge 2. A year later Takashi Shimizu directed The Grudge, an American remake. It is based on theatrical version of Ju-on, but it contains scenes re-enacted from all of the Ju-on movies.

The Ju-on movies follow the lives of the people affected by a curse created by a murdered housewife in a house in Nerima. It was said that when one person dies with a deep and burning grudge, a curse is born. The curse gathers in the place where that person has died or where he was frequent at (in the series's case, the house in Nerima) and repeats itself there. The curse manifests on those who encounter the curse by any means, such as entering the house or being in contact with somebody who was already cursed. The curse's manifestation is mainly death, where the victims' body may or may not disappear. The following deaths create more curses and spreads the curse in other places. This concept was further extended in Ju-on: The Grudge where the curse caused the end of humanity.

The Series line up:

Katasumi (Gakkō no kaidan G)
444-444-4444 (Gakkō no kaidan G)
Ju-on:The Curse
Ju-on: The Curse 2
Ju-on: The Grudge
Ju-on: The Grudge 2
Upcoming Japanese Sequels:
Ju-on: Shiroi rōjo
Ju-on: Kuroi shōjo


The Grudge (US Remake)
The Grudge 2
The Grudge 3


Source: Wikipedia
__________________
@Letterboxd

Last edited by roshiq; 08-08-2009 at 04:02 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-10-2009, 04:13 AM
Angra's Avatar
Angra Angra is offline
No, fuck YOU


 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Right behind you!!!
Posts: 16,234
Thumbs up

Thanks man.

I didn't know about the two Gakkō movies.

I'll hunt them down right away. :)
__________________
I'm right. It's the rest of the world that's wrong.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-10-2009, 04:37 AM
roshiq's Avatar
roshiq roshiq is offline
Pirate of Bengal

 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dhaka
Posts: 8,691
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angra View Post

I'll hunt them down right away. :)

but they are already here, I posted the full version of those two from youtube...yeah, they are very short, each three minute segments.
__________________
@Letterboxd
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-20-2009, 10:39 AM
BASSI BASSI is offline
Evil Dead
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Birmingham, England
Posts: 352
Ju-on: Shiroi rōjo
Ju-on: Kuroi shōjo

i really looking forward to these to movies, they look really scary
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:23 AM.