Ju-On (The Grudge) – 2002 – Dir. By Takashi Shimizu

The Grudge is a remake of the 1986 film of the same name which would then be remade again in 2004 for a more western audience by the same director. It follows the story of various characters that fall prey to the grudge in the film.

However unlike our more modern films in which the audience is introduced and is expected to empathize with a character that is introduced early on as the protagonist the Japanese version bucks that trend and instead goes to make the Grudge/monster itself the main character of the film. This in effect makes it so that there are a multitude of characters in the film that would be later revealed to be the victims (as opposed to a titular character in the American remake being the focus of the film) This in a sense gives the film a shroud of mystery as the viewer must think as to why the people are being killed and what circumstances makes it so that they are the victims.

The approach to the horror aspect of this film is one that could be argued as one that has aged quite well. Instead of relying on jump scares and loud audio cues to scare the audience Takashi in his first theatrical release opts to use a more subtle sense of horror by showing and not telling. This is a nice fresh (albeit old cir 2002) breath of air as the context of the scene gives it horror. The film takes its time and is passive in its presentation. It is only when the audience realizes what is happening in the scene that the horror is recognized and known. The Grudge monster is an everlasting presence that follows the characters around. The horror comes from the environment itself (man v environment) as the grudge is a curse inflicted upon anyone who visits the house. The characters are victims to an outside source torturing and killing them.

The characters are normal people with often redundant problems that stem from society itself. An elderly woman with no family or friends to care for her. A normal husband and wife in which the husband snaps and thinks the child is not his own, A nurse or the opening murdered family of a man who murdered his wife and child thinking that she had cheated on him. All these supernatural events stem from hatred or anger. A revenge tale for those who were powerless in life given a second chance.

This is a contrast to Frankenstein as the problems in that story stems from the characters themselves rather than the environment. (Frankenstein's tragedy are due to his own shortcomings). The monsters in Frankenstein isn't the actual monster itself but human nature. As his need to dominate the power over the dead leads to him being a monster as he abandons what he created quickly. Without guidance his child is left to the horrors of humanity and the world.