Ju-on 2 (2000)

Director:

Takashi Shimizu

Writer:

Takashi Shimizu (written by)

Release Date:

1 April 2004 (Thailand)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Police | Classroom | Disappearance | Rain | Aunt Nephew Relationship

Cast

Yûrei Yanagi	...	Shunsuke Kobayashi (segment "Kayako")
Takako Fuji	...	Kayako Saeki (segment "Kayako")
Takashi Matsuyama	...	Takeo Saeki (segment "Kayako")
Ryôta Koyama	...	Toshio Saeki (segment "Kayako")
Yûko Daike	...	Kyôko Suzuki (segment "Kyôko")
Makoto Ashikawa	...	Tatsuya Suzuki (segment "Kyôko")
Tomohiro Kaku	...	Nobuyuki Suzuki (segment "Kyôko")
Mayuko Saitô	...	Jimuin (segment "Kyôko")
Yue	...	Manami Kobayashi (segment "Kyôko")
Miyako Nakatsuka	...	Terebi Dorama no Joyû (segment "Kyôko")
Kenta Ishikawa	...	Satô (segment "Kyôko")
Ganko Fuyu	...	Hashimoto (segment "Kyôko")
Kaori Fujii	...	Yoshimi Kitada (segment "Tatsuya")
Hua Rong Weng	...	Hiroshi Kitada (segment "Tatsuya") (as Kaei Ô)
Taizô Mizumura	...	Taiji Suzuki (segment "Tatsuya")

Also Known As:

Ju-on: The Curse 2 (informal English title)

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:PG

Company:

Toei Video Company

Trivia:

The oft-repeated claim that this movie was a direct-to-video release is false. Its world premiere was at the Box Higashi-Nakano theater in Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo on Saturday 25 March 2000; it played there for seven consecutive nights.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Building the Inferno: Nobuo Nakagawa and the Making of 'Jigoku' (2006) (V)

"Meow...again"

So you sat through the first "Ju-On : The Curse" and thought it was pretty creepy. Your only complaint was that the ending left you confused and wanting more. Well, be careful what you wish for because here we have "Ju-On 2 : The Curse" and it may leave you wanting less.

For whatever reason, "Ju-On 2" starts off with teacher Shunsuke Kobayashi visiting the home of one of his students. It appears Toshio hasn't shown up in a while. Sound familiar? It should. Because for the first 30 minutes, you are simply watching the last 30 minutes of the first "Ju-On" - shot for shot.

But the real question here is how does this supposed sequel stand up against the original. Well, for starters, it is less confusing. Once you move into the new footage, the movie stays in a linear time frame right up until the end. It even helps in explaining some of the more confusing elements from the first movie.

As for the scares, you get more of the same here and this only serves to make them less effective. When we first saw a ghostly Kayko crawling around in the original, it was totally unexpected and genuinely creepy. However, in the sequel, you would've thought she'd entered the walking stage by now ala a toddler. But no, she's still hugging the ground and moving slower George Romero's dead.

And here is one aspect of these movies, particularly this one, that I find curious. When approached by these ghosts, every character seems to be frightened to the point of where they can no longer at even the most basic level. Running away? Out of the question. Walking away? I don't think so. Screaming for help? Only if you can stop your whimpering to belt one out. For the most part, these scenes do work, and are punctuated with some incredibly effective jump cuts. But there are times when watching a man slowly crawl away from an even slower ghost just seems plain silly.

So, with all that being said, should you give "Ju-On 2 : The Curse" a look? Absolutely - but only if you can somehow seamlessly merge the two movies together and cut out the half hour of repetition.

Rating for "Ju-On : The Curse" [on a 5 star system] : 3 1/2 stars

Rating for "Ju-On 2 : The Curse" [on a 5 star system] : 2 1/2 stars

Rating for both movies combined as one [on a 5 star system] : 3 1/2 stars