[The STE]

I can't remember if I've done this analogy here or not, but Ringu was to Japan what Scream was to the US. Both came out around the same time, both revitalized a waning genre, and both spawned a bunch of sub-par retreads. That's why we got flooded with the "new, hip" Dead Teeneager movies and Asia got flooded with the ghost movies, especially with the creepy little girls.

But all J-Horror being the same? Psht. And having only seen seven of them? How about I show someone who has never seen a horror movie Kairo, Three Extremes, Audition, Kwaidan, Tetsuo The Iron Man, Suicide Circle, and Dark Water, and then show them Halloween 3, Exorcist 2, Manos: The Hands of Fate, Jason X, The Wicker Man remake, Scream of the Mummy, and Jaws: The Revenge, and then have them say which place does it better?