I was eager to view this movie; given that some people had commented on it being the scariest movie they had ever seen. I thought Ringu was fantastic, and was looking forward to more of the same.
However, Ju-on was a horrible film on many levels -- sure it had a creepy scene or two, but this is a film that you can put a one-minute reel/trailer together for and dump the rest of the movie.
Take an event that you could hear on your nightly news: a parent goes nutty and brutally kills his family and himself -- now add to the notion that this grisly murder creates some kind of embodiment of evil psychic energy-spirit that seeks to end any life with which it comes in contact. This frames what this movie is about. The story of Ju-on is told as a series of very thinly connected scenes (a bunch of short stories), shown out of order. The theme remains constant, in that if you come in contact with the spirit, you die.
The problems with this movie are many, there is no character development, and when the audience doesn't care about the characters, they don't get sucked in, and they don't care when said characters meet their demise. This whole movie is a collection of 5 minute short stories where a character is introduced, they somehow connect them to the house/spirit, then they die. Over and over, same thing.
As I stated earlier, Ju-on has a theme, but is missing a plot. Since the movie is a narrative about the evil spirits and the scenes change every 5 minutes, you'd think it'd be a great opportunity to go all out to maximize the scariness, but this movie is actually quite boring. There are a couple creepy moments, but nothing downright scary.
The biggest complaint you'll have if you watch it is the time-line bounces around so much it discombobulates you from the movie. It doesn't help that the characters are so briefly introduced, and a few of them look alike and are wearing the same outfit, so you can expect an enhanced feeling of frustration as you watch it trying to figure it out; Who just got killed? The girl? Her sister? Her brother's girlfriend?
Ju-on isn't really a haunted house movie, it isn't really a supernatural slasher (ala Freddy Kruger/Jason), it isn't really a straight horror movie; but has some of each these elements. The movie Fallen (1998, Denzel Washington) is an example of more successfully combining these themes.
I wouldn't have been happy paying $10 to see this movie, catch it on cable if you can, if not, wait for the inevitable Hollywood remake.
However, Ju-on was a horrible film on many levels -- sure it had a creepy scene or two, but this is a film that you can put a one-minute reel/trailer together for and dump the rest of the movie.
Take an event that you could hear on your nightly news: a parent goes nutty and brutally kills his family and himself -- now add to the notion that this grisly murder creates some kind of embodiment of evil psychic energy-spirit that seeks to end any life with which it comes in contact. This frames what this movie is about. The story of Ju-on is told as a series of very thinly connected scenes (a bunch of short stories), shown out of order. The theme remains constant, in that if you come in contact with the spirit, you die.
The problems with this movie are many, there is no character development, and when the audience doesn't care about the characters, they don't get sucked in, and they don't care when said characters meet their demise. This whole movie is a collection of 5 minute short stories where a character is introduced, they somehow connect them to the house/spirit, then they die. Over and over, same thing.
As I stated earlier, Ju-on has a theme, but is missing a plot. Since the movie is a narrative about the evil spirits and the scenes change every 5 minutes, you'd think it'd be a great opportunity to go all out to maximize the scariness, but this movie is actually quite boring. There are a couple creepy moments, but nothing downright scary.
The biggest complaint you'll have if you watch it is the time-line bounces around so much it discombobulates you from the movie. It doesn't help that the characters are so briefly introduced, and a few of them look alike and are wearing the same outfit, so you can expect an enhanced feeling of frustration as you watch it trying to figure it out; Who just got killed? The girl? Her sister? Her brother's girlfriend?
Ju-on isn't really a haunted house movie, it isn't really a supernatural slasher (ala Freddy Kruger/Jason), it isn't really a straight horror movie; but has some of each these elements. The movie Fallen (1998, Denzel Washington) is an example of more successfully combining these themes.
I wouldn't have been happy paying $10 to see this movie, catch it on cable if you can, if not, wait for the inevitable Hollywood remake.