Customer Reviews

Ju-On 2

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm a huge fan of the original Ju-on film, and was very excited to see this second installment (which is actually the 4th movie made in the series, but it's all very confusing, so i'll stop there). First off, this movie is extremely slow moving. there are times while watching it, i wanted to yell at the characters on the screen to do or say something, instead of just standing and staring off into space. Now, don't get me wrong, Japanese horror movies are a lot different from the ones we're used to in the US. They do tend to be more cerebral and off kilter. but this film, just couldn't hold my interest until the last 20mins. Like the original, the story is very confusing and hard to follow. BUT, unlike with the original, i was nearly about to give up on this film by the time it got interesting.

The basic plot: a horror movie actress and her fiance get into an accident, where she encounters the mysterious little boy from the first film. The story is told through several points of veiw, seeing the events surrounding a film crew's documentary inside an 'infamous' haunted house that has a curse attached to it(anyone who comes in contact with the house, will be touched by the curse) and the movie jumps around back and forth between them, which adds to the confusion. the same effect was used in the first film, but there, i found myself so engrossed in the story, and the performances (which are far superior then in this film),that i was happy to go along for the ride. There are a few moments of uncomfortable creepiness, but there are also moments of b-movie camp which make the film at times , a bit of a joke. Unfortunitely, it just wasn't enjoyable to watch, so i can't recommend it.

That's the only conclusion I could come to when I finished watching this film. First off, let me start by saying that the American sequel is NOTHING like the original sequel. This sequel picks up with Yoshimi Kitada and her husband. They're traveling down the road after she had done a show where she'd been labeled as the Japanese horror queen(she had just come from the grudge house). She and her husband are discussing when she'll tell his parents that she's pregnant. Just then, he hits a black cat, killing it. He goes back to look, and as she's leaning out of the car to see, she sees instead a pair of ghostly white legs and bare feet running past the back of the car. He gets back in the car, and they get into an accident that causes her to miscarry.

Flash forward. Husband is still in the hospital, unresponsive. She is on set of a horror movie, filming. The scene is about to end with a bunch of extras coming in and seeing the actress passed out on the floor. One of the extras screams, scaring everyone. She's staring at Yoshimi Kitada, but specifically at her stomach. Kitada goes to the doctor, where she learns that she's about three months along in her miscarried pregnancy. Flash back again as she gets a job going to the original Ju-On house, where weird things happen(even in reviewing the film, I can't keep all the time changes straight). Each person who went to that house as part of the film crew also has weird things happen to them. Weird things and death also happen to people that the film crew love or come into contact with. The extra who screamed had gotten trapped in the house, and weird things happened to her. All of the people died in bizarre ways, except for Kitada, who lived to give birth to Kayako Saeki, who pushes Kitada down some stairs when Saeki is five.

It's a bizarre little film, and the individual vignettes that provide the back story are interesting in themselves. It's almost like watching a series of Night Gallery episodes with a common thread. They used Takako Fuji in this to play Kayako again. They used Ryôta Koyama to play Toshio. The really strange thing is Koyama looks almost exactly like Yuya Ozeki in the American version. The resemblance is uncanny. I can understand why Shimizu dumbed down the originals for American audiences. The lore and superstition surrounding Japanese culture is a little hard to grasp at times. However, I really think that American audiences should invest some time and energy into watching some of these Asian gems in their original forms. They are quite enjoyable, and spookier than standard American haunted house fare.

A lot of people tend to over analize the J-horror films and forget to let themselves be entertained. Just let yourself enjoy it and you will be creeped out.

It is a hard film to follow,and I think it's because it is subtitled, but it's just as satisfying as Juon 1. A scene I found particularly creepy was a guy is hung by the croaking hair of the lady ghost. What got me was his feet hitting the wall...tapping...it got under my skin!

Sometimes the horror does seem a fraction contrived and alittle over-the-top for the context of this movie, but it's still all good.

Anyways, just let yourself be entertained. The Juon series seems to be the better of the current J-horror on the market today.

As a general rule, I'm usually very disappointed by sequels, but this one is an exception. While it doesn't add much to the first Ju-On, it's a virually seamless continuation, and is just as odd and twisted as the first.

I couldn't say exactly why these movies are so unsettling, but they certainly are- the Japanese versions make my skin crawl. On the other hand, they seem to lose almost all value when they have Buffy the Vampire Slayer in them. Well worth the money to check out this and the first one, but if the first film was any indication of how well these translate, I'll stay well clear of the American version.

I'm sure a lot of folks will have bad things to say about this as a sequel, but someone always does- for my buck, this movie is far creepier than even the worst western horror flicks, sequel or no.

*This* is how you make a horror movie! The Japanese got it right all along.

You're not supposed to have all these super Hollywood special effects that dominate American horror movies that really do nothing but make the storyline more predictable and less frightening because you know when and what is going to happen.

Nope, none of that in Ju-on 2.

What makes this movie work so well is that the little creepy boy that appears occasionally appears when you LEAST expect him to. The atmosphere in the movie is incredibly and disturbingly silent for the most part, meaning there's no predictable build-up to the actual scary segments that you can see coming a mile away. That's why Japanese horror is superior to American horror.

Watch Ju-on 2 to see how it's done. If you think the atmosphere is too quiet, well, keep in mind THIS is how it's done. THIS is how you feel fear. It's done exactly like this.

If you are tired of the American rip-offs of Asian horror movies, or not sure of the difference. This is the movie to make it perfectly clear...as is Preminition! I absolutely horror movies and no one does it better Ashikawa! Hope you enjoy this and Ju-On 1 as much as I do.

. . . then this film may be for you!

Like "Ju-On: The Grudge," "Ju-On 2" presents a series of interconnected vignettes. Though the non-linear presentation can sometimes confuse the viewer, it takes only a moment to realize the correlation between the last portrait and the next. So, be patient;)

This film has a bit of a postmodern spin (which many horror-film scholars may enjoy). One of the main characters, Kyoko Harase, plays an actress known as "The Queen of Horror." She is taken to the infamous Saeki home to give a television interview about her own experience as a horror actress. It is there that she is marked with the curse (in a fairly unpredictable way!!) And, there that true horror enters her own life.

To the joy of many viewers, Toshio figures prominently into "Ju-On 2." Though the make-up on Toshio is a little flat (unlike "Ju-On The Grudge") his acting is still pitch-perfect. Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that Yuya Ozeki (who play Toshio Saeki) did not understand the part he was playing in earlier films (simply as a result of his tender age). He has now refused to watch his own films and his parents go to the premieres alone:) (You can discover this information on the American version of "The Grudge" in Takashi Shimizu's commentary).

Some reviewers seem hyper-critical of this work. Yes, the film has some missteps, but they are easily overlooked. If you watched and enjoyed "Ju-On: The Grudge" then try "Ju-on 2" . . . you might be pleasantly surprised!

Japan is not a place that calls for great originality in cinema. After all, this is the country that made 26 films in the Zatoichi series and 48 in the Tora san series, all with the same actors and essentially the same plot. Even with the phenomena of what is usually called J-Horror, most Western audiences don't realize that this is nothing new or ground-breaking, but that they have only just discovered a cinematic style and tradition that has been going on virtually unchanged for decades. The classic ghost story "Yotsuya Kaidan" has something like 20 or so versions filmed, with new ones still coming out, and Japanese audiences aren't bored yet.

By this measure, I'm not sure if Takashi Shimizu needs to either be praised or shamed. He keeps banging out different versions of his horror series Ju-On, and while he has never matched the intensity and terror of his original vision, he hasn't made a real stinker either. He just does what a traditional Japanese filmmaker does, and keeps producing variations on a theme.

This version, "Ju-On 2", actually the 4th film in the series which makes it even more confusing, is only bad by comparison. I have gotten a little too used to Toshio and Kayako, and their simple appearance is not enough to creep me out and get me looking over my shoulder anymore. Shimizu does drive the plot a bit more in this one, giving the ghostly Kayako more motivation than just simple vengeance, trying to make her into more of a character than a costume and a creepy sound effect. However, the emphasis on plot is ultimately the weak point. The horror of the Ju-On films is the absolute lack of motivation on the part of the vengeful ghosts. They kill, because that is all they know how to do. Giving them desires, objectives...it somehow makes them less scary, and a bit too human.

Some of the ghostly devices come out more comical that terrifying. I don't care how you light it and what music you use, a ghostly wig is just not going to cut it. I think Shimizu can still make something of the Ju-On series, but he needs to remember what worked in the first place. Toshio cannot come out in the daytime and play soccer, even if he is only using his head. Stick to the dark corners of the house, the closets and the mirrors. That's where the ghosts should hide.

Like the first Ju-on, this also takes place in Japan and centers around the cursed house and the effect it has on others. A famous actress finds out that she is pregnant but after a mysterious encounter with a cat and a little boy she finds that her baby may not be hers after all. The movie focuses on this woman and her tv/movie crew and what happens to them as a result of filming in the cursed house. This movie, like the other, warps time a bit but it keeps your interest. It also ends with a little twist. ;) I recommend it!

Having seen the four 'main' Ju-On-related movies (this one and its predecessor, the "Grudge" remake and its sequel; the only ones I've yet to see are the made-for-Japanese-tv "Ju-On: The Curse" movies) I can say that this one is my favorite by far. It's the scariest, the most believable, the best-made, and has the best cast of characters.

It all starts with a car accident, and is then revealed that the woman in the car, an actress, was recently in the house where most of the events from the first "Ju-On" took place. This movie unfolds in Extremely unlinear fashion. It's far more 'out there' in its unorthodox-ness than its predecessor, but winds up making more sense and being deadly believable in spite of all the enigmas and paradoxes. Basically - the movie consists of segments, each telling the story of a different character. Characters from other segments may play parts in another's feature segment, and the different segments do not follow a chronological order - they may happen before, after, or even concurrent with different segments of the movie. For example, near the end of one segment a phone call received by a character plays a role. In another segment later on, we see the character who's making that call. It may sound impossible to understand, but it's not. It certainly demands close attention - perhaps even more so than with movies like "Mute Witness" and "When A Stranger Calls Back" - but it's more than worth the effort.

"Ju-On 2" could never have been presented in a conventional way; the pieces only come together through this strange fashion of presenting each main character's part in the larger story separately.

The larger story is that when a television program that investigates supposedly paranormal places decides to film an episode in the house where the first "Ju-On: The Grudge" took place, it opens all kinds of unexpected doorways for the curse to come forth and grow. And the ways it does this are fearsome and unexpected; as with a good number of Asian horror movies you may find yourself half-jolted out of your seat a couple of times.

Solid acting brings an interesting cast of characters to life very well; especially noteworthy are Emi Yamamoto as Megumi (an endearing production assistant on the documentary crew) and Yuya Ozeki as Toshio, the ghost child. Well produced, great atmosphere, and capped off with a hauntingly powerful ending. An all-around great.