J-Horror Rising (Limited Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Japan have produced various types of films throughout the decades and one of their most well-known genres has been horror, with a few of them considered classics among the film industry. But when you think about what else the genre has to offer outside of the likes of Ring, Cure, Ju-on, House, Dark Water, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Pulse or One Missed Call, there aren’t that many that a majority of film watchers would know about.

Japan have made dozens of horror films even going as far back as the 1950s and 1960s, like what Radiance Films will soon be releasing on home video with their Daiei Gothic collection, but the point I want to make is there’s a lot of other films that very few know about. The UK has received a fair few from various distributors but those are now out of print or stuck in licensing hell. Now, with the increased support for Asian Cinema thanks to special editions or brand new restorations in 2K or 4K or even Blu-ray debuts, Arrow Films have jumped in at the right time to bring us more J-Horror thanks to Kadokawa Pictures with J-Horror Rising.

There are still many classics like a few from Takashi Miike that are still not yet available or re-released over here, whether its due to legal or licensing issues or issues with the master, but this new collection by Arrow is a step in the right direction.

J-Horror Rising Line-up:

“Vengeful ghosts returning from beyond the grave, young women with supernatural abilities, investigative narratives, a terror of technology, and an ominous aura of urban alienation and isolation mark the wave of horror and mystery films that emerged in Japan at the turn of the millennium, collectively labeled as “J-Horror”. Remastered from the best available elements and packed with a host of new and archival extras, J-Horror Rising presents seven of the genre’s most distinctive titles.

In the ghostly pastoral horror of Shikoku, a young woman returns after many years to her rural birthplace, only to find her best friend from childhood has died by drowning when just sixteen. The dead girl’s mother, the local Shintoist priestess, has embarked on the region’s famous pilgrimage – but why is she walking backwards? The aftermath of the devasting Kobe Earthquake of 1995 creates fissures in the already fractured mind of a high-school girl in Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, allowing an unwelcome intruder to set up home in her head and leaving a volunteer worker with psychic powers to determine which of her personas is the fake one. Shikoku also provides the mystical backdrop to Inugami, as a teacher from Tokyo finds himself drawn to a local papermaker, only to find himself the subject of some hostility from her extended family, who have long ties to the region and are rumored to be the descendants of the guardians of ancient evil canine spirits.

Megumi Okina (Ju-On: The Grudge) plays the art designer for a horror-themed videogame in the innovative St. John’s Wort, who is forced to confront her childhood traumas when her colleagues ask her to gather visual materials from the creepy gothic mansion she has inherited from her estranged artist father. Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman features the titular predatory murderess drawn from urban legend, where it turns out home isn’t the safest place for her potential child victims in this disturbing supernatural horror. A new craze for wearing ceramic masks sweeps the students of a high school, unleashing a wave of anonymous juvenile delinquency amongst the literal fashion-victims of Persona, which boasts early appearances from Battle Royale stars Tatsuya Fujiwara and Chiaki Kuriyama. Last but not least, the chilling Noroi: The Curse adopts a pseudo-documentary format as an investigative reporter into paranormal phenomena is forced to confront horrors beyond his wildest imagination after learning about an ancient folkloric demon.”
Plot Synopsis via Arrow Video, October 2024.

J-Horror Rising contains seven films from the Japanese horror genre by six different directors. Some of these films have previously been released in the UK many years back.

Shikoku (死国) is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Shunichi Nagasaki, with screenplay written by Kunimi Manda and Takenori Sento, and music composed by Satoshi Kadokura. The story is based on a novel written by Masako Bando.

The cast of the film includes Yui Natsukawa, Michitaka Tsutsui, Chiaki Kuriyama and Toshie Negishi. The film was released theatrically in Japan on January 1999 and has previously been released in the UK on home video by distributor Ventura International.

Isola: Multiple Personality Girl (ISOLA 多重人格少女, Isola: Tajuu jinkaku shôjo) is a 2000 Japanese film directed by Toshiyuki Mizutani, with screenplay written by Mugita Kinoshita and Toshiyuki Mizutani, and music composed by David Matthews and Takeo Miratsu. The story is based on a novel written by Yusuke Kishi.

The cast of the film includes Yoshino Kimura, Yu Kurosawa, Ken Ishiguro and Satomi Tezuka. The film was released theatrically in Japan on January 2000 and has previously been released in the UK on home video by distributor Ventura International.

Inugami (狗神) is a 2001 Japanese film directed and written by Masato Harada, with music composed by Takatsugu Muramatsu. The story is based on a novel written by Masako Bando.

The cast of the film includes Yuki Amami, Atsuro Watabe, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Eugene Harada and Shiho Fujimura. The film was released theatrically in Japan on January 2001 and has previously been released in the UK on home video by distributor Ventura International.

St. John’s Wort (弟切草, Otogirisō) is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ten Shimoyama, with screenplay written by Goro Nakajima and Takenori Sento, and music composed by Asako Yoshida. This is an adaptation of the 1992 visual novel of the same name written by Shukei Nagasaka and developed by Chunsoft (before they became Spike Chunsoft) for the Super Famicom.

The cast of the film includes Megumi Okina, Yoichiro Saito, Koji Okura, Reiko Matsuo and Minoru Terada. The film was released theatrically in Japan on January 2001.

Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (口裂け女, Kuchisake-onna) is a 2007 Japanese film directed and written by Kōji Shiraishi, with screenplay written by Naoyuki Yokota, and music composed by Gen Wano and Chika Fujino.

The cast of the film includes Eriko Sato, Haruhiko Kato, Miki Mizuno, Rie Kuwana and Yurei Yanagi. The film was released theatrically in Japan on March 2007.

Persona (仮面学園, Kamen gakuen) is a 2000 Japanese film directed by Takashi Komatsu, with screenplay written by Hiroshi Hashimoto, and music composed by ma – o. The story is based on a novel written by Osamu Soda.

The cast of the film includes Tatsuya Fujiwara, Maya Kurosu, Ikkei Watanabe, Yuma Ishigaki and Chiaki Kuriyama. The film was released theatrically in Japan on August 2000 and has previously been released in the UK on home video.

Noroi: The Curse (ノロイ, Noroi) is a 2005 Japanese film directed and written by Kōji Shiraishi, with screenplay written by Naoyuki Yokota.

The cast of the film includes Jin Muraki, Rio Kanno, Tomono Kuga, and Marika Matsumoto. The film was released theatrically in Japan on August 2005.

Out of the seven, the one that I recognised the most was Noroi, as I recall it was well-received by critics and fans of the genre. The director Kōji Shiraishi I was also familiar with because one of his films Grotesque was actually rejected classification by the BBFC due to its extreme violence (though it will probably be accepted nowadays with how a lot has happened since).

Honestly I’m looking forward to exploring more J-Horror films and hopefully we can see more of them released on Blu-ray. Coincidently, both J-Horror Rising and the Ju-On: The Grudge box set were both handled by Kadokawa Pictures so I wonder if these sets of films were either part of the same package or Kadokawa was happy with how the latter performed to allow Arrow Video to release more from their catalogue.

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 2024+ line-up for Asian Cinema is quiet but will include Tomie from Ataru Oikawa, The Good, the Bad, the Weird from Kim-Jee Woon and a third volume from the Shawscope series.

Limited Edition Contents:

Arrow Video have bundled the films together into a single box set which works as it helps with the shelf space. Whether they plan to make J-Horror Rising a series I have no clue but if there’s more that haven’t been brought over sure why not.

The release is presented in a rigid box, and housed inside are four slim Blu-ray cases (one covering at least 1-2 films each) with 21 double-sided art cards (three for each film), alongside a 78-page book and a double-sided foldout poster. Both the rigid box and poster are newly commissioned artwork by artist John Conlon.

The book contains information about each film as well as seven essays; “Otherworldly” by Eugene Thacker, “Chasing the Ghost” by Jasper Sharp, “The Face of Another: Figures for the Disruption of Identity in Three J-Horrors” by Anton Bitel, “Evil Inaka: Examining Japanese Folk Horror’s Place in the Modern Age through Inugami and Shikoku” by Amber T., “Shikoku: Shunichi Nagasaki and the Land of the Dead” by Mark Player, “St. John’s Wort: Computer Games, Cruelty and Controversy” by Jim Harper, and “Finding Kagutaba: Fake Urban Legends and Other Pseudo-Documentary Tropes in Noroi: The Curse” by Sarah Appleton.

The SRP is £59.99 and has an unspecified print run. Once the print run is out of stock, this edition won’t be available but given Arrow’s track record, there should be a re-release version that won’t have the rigid box and physical items later down the line or the films be released separately on their own.

Physical Contents:

Rigid Box with clean artwork and Amaray packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by John Conlon.
78-page book with new writings by Eugene Thacker, Jasper Sharp, Anton Bitel, Amber T., Mark Player, Jim Harper and Sarah Appleton.
21 Art Cards with scenes from the films
Double-sided foldout poster featuring newly commissioned artwork by John Conlon

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Arrow Video
Released: 28th October 2024

The limited edition release for J-Horror Rising contains seven films across four Blu-ray discs. Each disc has different restorations/transfers, audio and bonus feature content.

Disc	Films
1	Shikoku High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 5.1 and lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles Isola: Multiple Personality Girl High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 5.1 and lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles
2	Inugami High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 5.1 and lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles St. John’s Wort High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 5.1 and lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles
3	Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 5.1 and lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles Persona High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles
4	Noroi: The Curse High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation Original lossless 5.1 and lossless stereo sound options Optional English subtitles

The white subtitles are optional during playback, and the discs are region accessible to players set to A & B.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Shikoku, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Inugami, St. John’s Wort, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman, Persona & Noroi: The Curse Japanese
Audio	Shikoku, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Inugami, St. John’s Wort, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman & Noroi: The Curse Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 Persona Japanese Linear PCM 2.0
Video	Shikoku, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Inugami, St. John’s Wort, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman, Persona & Noroi: The Curse 1080p High Definition Native format 1.85:1 aspect ratio
Region	A B
Subtitles	Shikoku, Isola: Multiple Personality Girl, Inugami, St. John’s Wort, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman, Persona & Noroi: The Curse English
Locked Subtitles	No
Discs	4 BD-50s

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

Disc 1: Shikoku & Isola: Multiple Personality Girl

Shikoku: Audio Commentary by Tom Mes
Shikoku: The Aftermath (23:53 runtime)
Tom Mes discusses J-Horror at the turn of the millennium.
Shikoku: Something in the Water (22:54 runtime)
Director Shunichi Nagasaki discusses the making of Shikoku.
Shikoku: Archive Interview with Shunichi Nagasaki (03:47 runtime)
Shikoku: Archive Interview with Chiaki Kuriyama (02:15 runtime)
Shikoku: Archive Interview with Yui Natsukawa (03:34 runtime)
Shikoku: On the Set of Shikoku (03:27 runtime)
On-set footage of the filming of Shikoku.
Shikoku: Trailers and TV Spots
- Original Theatrical Trailer for Ring 2 and Shikoku Double Bill
- Shikoku TV Spot 1
- Shikoku TV Spot 2
Shikoku: Image Gallery
Isola: Audio Commentary by Jasper Sharp and Amber T
Isola: Archive Interview with Yoshino Kimura (01:44 runtime)
Isola: Archive Interview with Yu Kurosawa (01:32 runtime)
Isola: Behind the Scenes of Isola (02:45 runtime)
On-set footage of the filming of Isola – Multiple Personality Girl.
Isola: Original Theatrical Trailer for Ring 0 and Isola Double Bill
Isola: Image Gallery

Disc 2: Inugami & St. John’s Wort

Inugami: Audio Commentary by Jonathan Clements
Inugami: Dog Days (29:50 runtime)
An interview with director Masato Harada.
Inugami: Image Gallery
St. John’s Wort: Audio Commentary by Amber T.
St. John’s Wort: The Making of St. John’s Wort (21:51 runtime)
Behind the scenes footage during the making of St. John’s Wort.
St. John’s Wort: Archive On-set Introduction by Megumi Okina (00:44 runtime)
St. John’s Wort: Archive Interviews
- Archive Interview with Megumi Okina (17:39 runtime)
- Archive Interview with Koichiro Saito (19:50 runtime)
- Archive Interview with Reiko Matsuo (04:24 runtime)
- Archive Interview with Koji Okura (04:56 runtime)
St. John’s Wort: Trailers and TV Spots
- Inugami and St John’s Wort TV Spot
- St John’s Wort TV Spot 1
- St John’s Wort TV Spot 2
- St John’s Wort Trailer
St. John’s Wort: Image Gallery

Disc 3: Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman & Persona

Carved: Audio Commentary by Zack Davisson
Carved: Why So Serious? (18:40 runtime)
Director Koji Shiraishi discusses the making of Carved.
Carved: Weapon of Choice (16:56 runtime)
Scholar and J-Horror specialist Lindsay Nelson discusses Carved.
Carved: Image Galleries
- Production Stills
- Behind the Scenes
Persona: Confessions of a Mask (17:12 runtime)
Director Takashi Komatsu discusses the making of Persona.
Persona: Image Gallery

Disc 4: Noroi: The Curse

Audio Commentary by Julian Singleton
Interviews
- Director’s POV (25:38 runtime)
  Director Koji Shiraishi discusses Noroi.
- The Man in the Shadows (17:48 runtime)
  Interview with the producer of Noroi and J-Horror maestro Taka Ichise.
- Changing Perspective (21:56 runtime)
  Scholar Lindsay Nelson discusses Noroi and the mockumentary approach of Koji Shiraishi.
- Ectoplasmic Worms (20:32 runtime)
  Critic Amber T. on Noroi and cosmic horror.
Bonus Footage
- How to Protect Yourself Against Curses (13:35 runtime)
- Urgent Report! Pursuing the Truth about Kagutaba!! TV Special (38:11 runtime)
Deleted Scenes
- Deleted Scene #1 (04:00 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #2 (01:10 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #3 (03:13 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #4 (03:29 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #5 (02:13 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #6 (02:18 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #7 (02:18 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #8 (02:57 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #9 (01:27 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #10 (00:28 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #11 (02:28 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #12 (00:49 runtime)
- Deleted Scene #13 (02:22 runtime)
Trailers and TV Spots
- Teaser Trailer
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot A
- TV Spot B
- TV Spot C
Image Gallery