The Grudge 1 Where To Watch

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Inthe late '90s, the horror genre was arguably desolate in the West, with the once popular teen-slasher flicks nearing extinction and the inception of future franchises like Saw and Paranormal Activity still a ways off. Meanwhile, across the globe in Japan, a new wave of horror was emerging, devoid of humor and steeped in darkness. One of the biggest franchises was The Ring, but there was another that continues to thrill genre fans today.

Takashi Shimazu's Ju-On (better known in North America as The Grudge) led the J-Horror charge into the 2000s. Two decades on, it can be daunting for new viewers seeking to delve into the mythos of what has become an extended franchise that includes a whopping 13 feature films, multiple shorts, and even a TV series. There is, however, a viewing order in which most entries can be seen as part of the larger storytelling tapestry.

Updated on June 4, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: Although the first English-language remake paled in comparison to Ju-On, The Grudge helped open the world's eyes to what Japan was doing with the horror genre. The resulting franchise has since cemented itself in the annals of pop culture while simultaneously influencing numerous other movies. There is also a video game based on the series. As such, we've updated this article with some more relevant information.

Ironically enough, the latest entry in this franchise can also be considered the first, chronologically speaking. Ju-On: Origins delved into the franchise's rich history by transporting viewers back to the past, long before the events of the first installment. The movie takes place in the 1980s and 1990s, with a brief but crucial layover in the 1950s that offers a fresh perspective on the origins of the series' supernatural horror.

What set Ju-On: Origins apart was its claim to authenticity. The series presented itself as the "true" story that inspired the events of the original films. This narrative twist asserted the events as factual, positioning subsequent entries in the franchise as cinematic reinterpretations of reality should the viewer be so inclined to perceive them that way.

The true genesis of the Ju-On franchise can be traced back to two seminal short films crafted by filmmaker Takashi Shimizu. In the impactful three-minute-long shorts Katasumi and 4444444444, Shimizu introduced audiences to the iconic characters who would come to define the series in the haunting presence of a crawling contortionist and a young boy capable of emitting feline-like cries.

Shimizu later credited the eerie appearance of his creations to the influence of Butoh dance groups, which he first encountered during childhood. This form of avant-garde theater originated in postwar Japan and utilized contortion, body paint, and otherworldly movements to convey intense performances, often centered around taboo themes. The unsettling atmosphere he created in these shorts would later be recycled when they were turned into feature films, which is an excellent reason to watch these two first so they don't lose their impact.

Takashi Shimizu expanded his acclaimed short films into a full-length feature in 2000. Ju-On: The Curse pioneered the unconventional chronology and fragmented storytelling that would become synonymous with the franchise through six interconnected segments, which immersed audiences in the tragic backstory of the series' spectral antagonists. The narrative unfolded around a Tokyo house, where a heinous jealousy triggered a chain of supernatural events.

From that point forward, anyone who dared enter the cursed abode met a grim fate at the hands of the vengeful spirits Kayako and Toshio Saeki. While some of the scares from the original short films were revisited in Ju-On: The Curse, they acquired newfound depth due to the expanded context. Moreover, the indiscriminate nature of this curse instilled a sense of pervasive dread that transcended typical horror tropes. This film's ominous atmosphere was good enough to jump-start an entire franchise.

Shot concurrently with its predecessor, Ju-On: The Curse 2 was a peculiar sequel. Most notably, almost half of its 76-minute runtime consisted of footage recycled from Ju-On: The Curse. However, this unconventional approach allowed for reimagining specific segments, enhancing their overall impact. The latter half of Ju-On: The Curse 2 shifted to focus on a new family's plight upon moving into the cursed Saeki house.

This segment distinguished itself with a brisker pace and more inventive scares. Most notably, the film's climax delivered an unforgettable punchline in an exaggerated depiction of the curse's unending malevolence that borders on the absurd. Critics praised the sequel's unique vision, claiming that it produced the same feeling of dread as the first movie. Interestingly, there is also theatrical adaptation of Ju-On based on the first two movies.

Following the success of The Curse films in Japan, Takashi Shimizu was tasked with transitioning Kayako and Toshio to the grandeur of the big screen, a challenge he was more than up to the task of meeting. The result, Ju-On: The Grudge, culminated Shimizu's early mastery of the art form as he seamlessly maintained the structure and style of the series' predecessors while elevating the terror to new heights.

Shimizu deftly orchestrated a symphony of scares throughout The Grudge, each more sophisticated than the last. Every moment was crafted spectacularly, from the absurd surrealism of Toshio's elevator ride to the primal fear of Kayako's haunting presence beneath the bedsheets. Better yet, the film delivered the series' most unforgettable climax with Kayako's chilling descent down the home's staircase.

Hot on the heels of the original came Ju-On: The Grudge 2, a bizarre sequel that maintained the exact structure of the previous films but deviated from the established tone. While adhering to the familiar six-act format, this installment felt oddly disjointed, straying away from the more abstract narrative typically associated with the franchise. Instead, this film centered on a film crew's ill-advised expedition into the infamous Saeki house to investigate its tragic history.

A returning Shimizu took creative liberties with his supernatural inventions, endowing Kayako and Toshio with limitless powers to manifest as giants, melt into ceilings, transform into household objects, and manipulate others at will. These embellishments all generally detract from the simplicity and effectiveness of the original concept, like when a sentient wig terrorizes a hapless victim. That said, it's plausible that Shimizu intended Ju-On: The Grudge 2 to be a satire.

Though a bit of an outlier in the world of cinema, The Grudge is an immediate example of the fact that Hollywood adaptations of Japanese horror movies can do incredibly well, so much so that there was a whole wave of them back in the mid-2000s.

While there are tons of great adaptations of Japanese horror, there aren't too many that are widely recognized by the general public. As a consequence of this, there are tons of Japanese horror movies on this list that scratch the same itch as The Grudge, thanks in part to the unique folklore. There are a few overlooked haunted house films as well since that's essentially what The Grudge is at its core.

The film that served as the direct inspiration for the American remake of the film, entitled The Grudge, is Ju-On: The Grudge. Ju-On: The Grudge isn't the first film in the franchise, which pretty much follows the same structure all the way through; vengeful ghost takes revenge for the murder of which they were victims.

The haunting generally centers around anyone who's stepped foot in the house where the murder takes place, but it may follow them. The budget for this film is lower than The Grudge, but it also has a unique atmosphere as a result.

The Ring has been mercilessly parodied so many times that almost any reader is probably familiar with the premise. In case anyone reading isn't much of a horror-hound, the basic plot of the film consists of a few major points. There's a cursed VHS tape that's floating around Japan, and pretty much anyone who's found it and potentially watched it ends up dying after a period of seven days under very mysterious circumstances.

The film's plot centers around a small town in South Korea which are quickly stricken with a rash of incurable illness that begins killing people around the town. The police trace it back to a shack on the outside of town, owned by a man who moved near the village around the time the illnesses start happening. The main Police officer finds his daughter's shoe in the shack and quickly scrambles to stop the sickness.

Dark Water is actually a film made by the creators of Ring, meaning that, if you were a fan of the biggest two American Japanese Horror remakes from around the same time, it's pretty likely that you'll be a fan of Dark Water.

The film follows a woman named Yoshimi and her daughter in the shambles of a marriage that didn't quite last as long as Yoshimi had hoped. They move into an apartment together, now living on their own, which is prone to flooding and appearances of an apparition that appears to be a little girl.

Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a bit of a weird one, being an experimental art-house kind of movie, but its influence is nearly unmatched in Japanese cinema. The movie is counted among the first in the cyberpunk genre, but that doesn't mean it isn't also firmly in the horror genre, as well.

The movie follows a man who hits someone on the street and then ignores his crime, driving home... only to realize that he's been stricken by a horrible affliction that threatens to drive him insane and slowly replace all the organic cells in his body with metal. Oh, and the stop-motion showdown at the end is incredible.

House is a very special movie, even being so beloved that it got a Criterion Collection release loaded with bonus features and all sorts of other goodies for major fans of the film. The film has been described as a psychedelic haunted house tale, which was commissioned to compete with the overwhelming popularity of American-made horror movies in Japan.

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