In the late ’90s/ early 2000s, Japanese horror saw a massive boom in popularity. Kicked off by Hideo Nakata’s Ringu, this very peculiar and wildly popular blend of horror often featured creepy kids and huge scares. The movies were popular in their native Japan and crossed over internationally, helped by the American remake of The Ring, which was so big that American studios started remaking all of these J-horror movies as soon as they could get their hands on the rights. One of the most popular J-horror movies was 2002’s Ju-On: The Grudge.
Helmed by Takashi Shimizu, the film was based on his own low-budget V-Cinema (shot on video) film, which was so popular it was given a legit, lavish remake that became a phenomenon in Japan. The film was so popular that when the inevitable American remake, The Grudge, happened, Shimizu was invited to the U.S to direct it.
In this episode of Best Foreign Horror Movie, we dig into the Ju-On franchise and examine how the film holds up a full twenty years later. This episode is written and narrated by Andrew Hatfield, edited by Gonzalo Lopez, and produced by Tyler Nichols and John Fallon.
SERIES SYNOPSIS: Our Best Foreign Horror Movies series is dedicated to highlighting horror films from outside North America that carry lots of punch, bite, scares or/and stabs! Hop on and enjoy the horror ride around the world. Watch previous episodes below and let us know if you think Ju-On: The Grudge holds up in the comments!
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