Ju-On: The Grudge (呪怨じゅおん) is a Japanese live-action film directed and written by Takashi Shimizu released theatrically in 2002. The film is the third instalment of the Ju-on franchise that Takashi Shimizu also produced, with the film’s cinematography by Tokusho Kikumura, edited by Nobuyuki Takahashi, music composed by Shiro Sato, and distributed by Kadokawa.
Background:
““Ju-On”: the name given to a deadly curse spawned when someone dies in the grip of a violent rage. All who come into contact with it are doomed… Collected together for the first time, writer-director Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge series represents the flesh-crawling pinnacle of Japanese chillers that swept the globe at the turn of the millennium.
The films introduce the anonymous family house in the suburbs of Tokyo where an unspeakable evil lingers alongside its residents, the ghastly mother-son pairing of Kayoko and Toshio Saeki. Shimizu’s disconcerting approach to plotting, unnerving eye for the uncanny details in the dark corners of the frame and an innate talent for effective jump scares so impressed Evil Dead director Sam Raimi that he invited the director to helm two Hollywood remakes.”
Plot Synopsis via Arrow Video, December 2022.
Takashi Shimizu (清水 崇), born in Maebashi, Japan in 1972, is the creator of the J-Horror franchise Ju-on so his name is well-known among the Japanese community. He’s also directed a bunch of individual horror films throughout his career like 2004’s Marebito (稀人), 2005’s Reincarnation (輪廻, Rinne) and in a rare case even the American remake of Ju-on: The Grudge in 2004 as well as its 2006 sequel. He’s also directed a few live-action adaptations with 1997’s Last Bronx ~Tokyo Bangaichi~ (ラストブロンクス -東京番外地-, Rasuto Buronkusu ~Tōkyō Bangaichi~), 2001’s Tomie: Re-birth (富江 re-birth), 2014’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便, Majo no Takkyūbin) and 2021’s Homunculus (ホムンクルス).
When I think of Japanese horror films I look at the late 90s to early 00s era because a lot of what made the genre more well-known in my opinion were those films that came during this time period. Films like Audition, Dark Waters, Ju-on, One Missed Call, Pulse, and Ringu each provided a great taste of horror with their own spin on the monster, curse or a mix of two.
Much like Battle Royale and the Hong Kong Martial Art craze, a lot of these film did see some international home video releases. In the UK most of them pretty much were released by Tartan Video or similar distributors like Manga Entertainment and Premier Asia. Ju-on: The Grudge was also amongst the big Japanese films that also received remakes over in North America (and as mentioned earlier, the director of the original also worked on the remake which is unheard of).
As Blu-rays became more common, eventually Tartan Video and other local UK distributors started to lose the rights to a number of Asian releases. However, the UK was fortunate enough to have a distributor dedicated to Asian Cinema like Arrow Video who rescued a number of these films and made them available again on Blu-ray over the past couple of years. Ringu for instance was even re-released in theaters with a 4K restoration. Since the release of Ringu which came in a collection box set with its sequels, many UK fans have hoped to see Ju-on receive the same treatment.
Ju-on for those who don’t know, is more than just Ju-On: The Grudge. In fact, Ju-On: The Grudge is the third film in a pretty big franchise. Takashi Shimizu (清水崇) started the franchise with two short films Katasumi and 4444444444 in 1998, two years before the first two official instalments in the franchise. Both of which were direct to video films in 2000; Ju-On: The Curse (呪怨, Juon) and Ju-On: The Curse 2 (呪怨2, Juon 2).
2002’s Ju-On: The Grudge (呪怨じゅおん) was the one that made the franchise became well-known and since its theatrical release multiple instalments appeared in both Japan and North America, though for the latter only one more came afterwards straight away with 2003’s Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (呪怨2じゅおん2) since the director then focused on the American films. Eventually Japan bounced back with the 10th anniversary releases Ju-On: Black Ghost (呪怨: 黒い少女, Juon: Kuroi Shōjo) and Ju-On: White Ghost (呪怨: 白い老女, Juon: Shiroi Rōjo) helmed by Mari Asato (安里麻里) and Ryuta Miyake (三宅隆太) in 2009, followed by different Ju-On releases in the form of films, television shows and video games. And a crossover with the Ringu franchise also.
So much like Ringu, Ju-On was also relicensed in the UK by distributor Arrow Video, and what we have are collection of the first six official films from the franchise together on Blu-ray. But that’s not all, Ju-On: The Grudge was also given a 4K restoration and that means Arrow will also releasing the film on the 4K Ultra HD format (the film is also a combo pack for those who don’t own a 4K setup).
About Arrow Video / Arrow Films:
Arrow Films, also known as Arrow Video, is an independent UK distributor for Asian Cinema, Spaghetti Westerns, Italian Cinema, Horror, Cult Classics and Action. Their line-up of films in the Asian Cinema scene includes the works of Chan-Wook Park (JSA, Oldboy), Hideo Nakata (Dark Water, Ringu), Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale, Battles Without Honour & Humanity), Takashi Miike (Audition, Dead or Alive Trilogy), Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman’s Curse, Horrors of Malformed Men), Yasuzo Masumura (Black Test Car, Giants & Toys) and also many individual films from Hirokazu Kore-eda, Jia Zhangke, Seijun Suzuki, Shohei Imamura, Tomu Uchida and more. The distributor also has a US branch which offers some of the same range as titles that are available in the UK. Their 2023+ line-up for Asian Cinema is quiet but will include The Executioner Collection from Teruo Ishii, a Bruce Lee 4K box set and once again more volumes of the Shawscope series.
Limited Edition Contents:
Arrow Video have gone for the usual approach to their big box sets which offers a bunch of Amaray cases and a booklet.
The rigid box set includes three Blu-ray Amaray case and one 4K Ultra HD Amaray case. The UHD case houses both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs for Ju-On: The Grudge, while the Amaray cases house the Blu-ray discs for the other films. All four cases house a set of art cards as well. Also included inside the box is a booklet and fold-out poster. The booklet features essays written by Grady Hendrix, James Marsh, Tom Mes, William Carroll and Lindsay Nelson.
The SRP is £69.99 and has a print run of around 3000 units. Once the print run is out of stock, this edition won’t be available. There’s currently no word on a standard edition or standalone release of Ju-On: The Grudge on its own.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork and Amaray packaging
- 60-page booklet featuring essays written by Grady Hendrix, James Marsh, Tom Mes, William Carroll and Lindsay Nelson.
- 24 double-sided, postcard-sized artcards
- Reversible Poster with New and Original Artwork
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Arrow Video
Released: 12th December 2022
The limited edition release for Ju-On: The Grudge Collection contains six films spread across multiple cases.
Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 are together on a single Blu-ray disc, in Japanese audio with optional English subtitles.
Ju-On: The Grudge is presented on a single 4K Ultra HD disc and Blu-ray disc, with a new 4K restoration from the original camera negatives by Arrow. Dolby Vision HDR is also available on the UHD disc, while both discs have Japanese audio and optional English subtitles.
Ju-On: The Grudge 2 is presented on a single Blu-ray disc, in Japanese audio with optional English subtitles.
Last but not least, Ju-On: Black Ghost and Ju-On: White Ghost are together on a single Blu-ray disc, in Japanese audio with optional English subtitles.
The 4K discs are all region, and while the Blu-ray discs are region restricted to Blu-ray players set to B.
4K Ultra HD Specs (Ju-On: The Grudge):
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | 2160p Ultra High Definition format 1.85:1 aspect ratio Dolby Vision HDR |
| Region | All Region |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-100 |
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Ju-On: The Curse 1 & 2, Ju-On: Black Ghost & Ju-On: White Ghost: Japanese Ju-On: The Grudge 1 & 2: English, Japanese |
| Audio | Ju-On: The Curse 1 & 2: Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 Ju-On: The Grudge 1 & 2: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Ju-On: Black Ghost & Ju-On: White Ghost: Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | Ju-On: The Curse 1 & 2: 1080p High Definition Upscale format 1.33:1 aspect ratio Ju-On: The Grudge 1 & 2: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.85:1 aspect ratio Ju-On: Black Ghost & Ju-On: White Ghost: 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 4 BD-50s |
4K Ultra HD On-Disc Extra Features (Ju-On: The Grudge):
- Audio Commentary by David Kalat
- Audio Commentary by Sam Raimi and Scott Spiegel
- Introduction by Takashi Shimizu
- Extras:
- Haunting in Monochrome: Takashi Shimizu on Ju-On
- Being Kayako: An Interview with Takako Fuji
- The Evolution of Ju-On
- Through a Glass Darkly
- Whispers in the Dark
- Fade to Black
- On-Set Interviews:
- Takashi Shimizu
- Megumi Okina
- Misaki Ito
- Misa Uehara
- Yui Ichikawa
- My Most Terrifying Experience
- Deleted Scenes:
- Sachie’s Vision
- Izumi and her Mother
- Chiharu and Miyuki Visit Izumi
- The Shrine
- Bathroom Visitation
- Alternate Ending
- Behind the Scenes:
- Setting the Scenes of Terror
- Rika’s Story
- Hitomi’s Story
- Izumi and Chiharu’s Story
- Ju-On True Stories
The ghostly true-life tales ‘Newspaper’ and ‘Red Person’ that inspired the film series, narrated by Hiroyoshi Kihara. - Trailers:
- Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
- UK Theatrical Trailer
- US Trailer
- Image Gallery
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 1: Ju-On: The Curse 1 & 2
- Introduction by Takashi Shimizu
- Introduction by Takako Fuji
- Trailer
- Image Gallery
Disc 2: Ju-On: The Grudge
- Audio Commentary by David Kalat
- Audio Commentary by Sam Raimi and Scott Spiegel
- Introduction by Takashi Shimizu
- Extras:
- Haunting in Monochrome: Takashi Shimizu on Ju-On
- Being Kayako: An Interview with Takako Fuji
- The Evolution of Ju-On
- Through a Glass Darkly
- Whispers in the Dark
- Fade to Black
- On-Set Interviews:
- Takashi Shimizu
- Megumi Okina
- Misaki Ito
- Misa Uehara
- Yui Ichikawa
- My Most Terrifying Experience
- Deleted Scenes:
- Sachie’s Vision
- Izumi and her Mother
- Chiharu and Miyuki Visit Izumi
- The Shrine
- Bathroom Visitation
- Alternate Ending
- Behind the Scenes:
- Setting the Scenes of Terror
- Rika’s Story
- Hitomi’s Story
- Izumi and Chiharu’s Story
- Ju-On True Stories
The ghostly true-life tales ‘Newspaper’ and ‘Red Person’ that inspired the film series, narrated by Hiroyoshi Kihara. - Trailers:
- Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
- UK Theatrical Trailer
- US Trailer
- Image Gallery
Disc 3: Ju-On: The Grudge 2
- Audio Commentary by Raechel Dumas and Jasper Sharp
- Interview with Takashi Shimizu
At the time of the making of Ju-On: The Grudge 2 - On-Set Interviews:
- Noriko Sakai
- Chiharu Niiyama
- Kei Horie
- Yui Ichikawa
- Emi Yamamoto
- Shingo Katsurayama
- On Takashi Shimizu
- Deleted Scenes:
- A Death in the Family
- End of the Shoot
- The Murky Depths
- Reviewing the Evidence
- Behind the Scenes:
- Behind the Scenes of Ju-On: The Grudge 2
- How to Make Takashi Shimizu-style Horror pt. 1
- How to Make Takashi Shimizu-style Horror pt. 2
- On-set report by Noriko Sakai
- On-set report by Yui Ichikawa and Erika Kuroishi
- Premieres and Stage Greetings:
- Japanese Preview Screening
- Japanese Preview Screening TV Promo
- Japanese Premiere
- Korean Premiere
- Taiwan Premiere
- Trailers:
- Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
- UK Theatrical Trailer
- US Trailer
Disc 4: Ju-On: White Ghost & Ju-On: Black Ghost
- Interview with Mari Asato
- Trailer
- Image Gallery
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Ju-On: The Grudge Collection is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The limited edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray set is available on Arrow Video’s store and Amazon UK.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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