Jo-on: The Grudge - 2003
Takashi Shimizu
What is it that makes a scary movie scary? The ingrediants are hard to define. Some films seem to follow all the same rules, yet something doesn’t work and the viewer is left annoyed at the characters rather than scared for their safety. This annoying trait chracters have in horror movies is essential for the plot however. Being struck dumb with fear allows our evil spirits, ghouls and monsters to approach as slow as is necessary to create the looming peril dsired. This can too often leave the viewer just annoyed with the stupid people in their stupid lives with no reason to get in the trouble they are in.
This however is not the case for Takashi Shimizus Jo-on: The Grudge. All the ingredients are there to show up the lacking plot and make this another scary movie without the scary bit, but it really works. The music tells you when it’s going to get scary, and it really does. Evarytime you think some character is going to get the better of the creepy evil, they get caught.
There’s number of thngs I like about this movie. Firstly, Japanese, and Asians in general, are much better at looking terrified and at looking like corpses terrified to death. There is also an additional erieness added to the film for western audiences with foreign sorroundings and a language whenn translated for subtitles still leavng some question marks.
The music is very good and sets each scene brilliantly. Shimizu’s camera work is superb, not over doing it, but when the time is right slowly rotating round from a victims terrified face to reveal what horrow awaits them.
I like how a lot of people get killed and the protagonist seems unstopable. I like that there is a child which in any horror equals scary. I like that you get to see the ghosts causing all the suffering, the director not letting your imagination do the work, but scarring it with his.
It’s this evil spirit that carries much of the fear. Like the ring we are allowed to see our supernatural foe, and the similarities classify what makes it scary. I find the movement really works. This evil deamon woman, like the evil Ring witch, like a spider, just moving all wrong. It’s horrible to think about it even now.
This film also has a new trick for me. Usually, those films that have scared me in the past have had some rules. You watch a film in the Ring or you tempt the Blair Witch by marching straight into her forrest. This time, the curse is going to get you if you somehow make contact with it or someone who has contacted it. The film cleverly keeps within a few areas, a house mostly, but we discover it can go anywhere and get you anytime.
The shocking eyes as she suddenly appears or the little boy coming as a forewarning. Or just the fact it’s goning to get all of them, and it’s creeking groan is unstoppabe, this will haunt my dreams for some time.
