NEW Ju-on 2 (DVD)

I'm a huge fan of the original Ju-on film, and was very excited to see this second installment (which is actually the 4th movie made in the series, but it's all very confusing, so i'll stop there). First off, this movie is extremely slow moving. there are times while watching it, i wanted to yell at the characters on the screen to do or say something, instead of just standing and staring off into space. Now, don't get me wrong, Japanese horror movies are a lot different from the ones we're used to in the US. They do tend to be more cerebral and off kilter. but this film, just couldn't hold my interest until the last 20mins. Like the original, the story is very confusing and hard to follow. BUT, unlike with the original, i was nearly about to give up on this film by the time it got interesting.

The basic plot: a horror movie actress and her fiance get into an accident, where she encounters the mysterious little boy from the first film. The story is told through several points of veiw, seeing the events surrounding a film crew's documentary inside an 'infamous' haunted house that has a curse attached to it(anyone who comes in contact with the house, will be touched by the curse) and the movie jumps around back and forth between them, which adds to the confusion. the same effect was used in the first film, but there, i found myself so engrossed in the story, and the performances (which are far superior then in this film),that i was happy to go along for the ride. There are a few moments of uncomfortable creepiness, but there are also moments of b-movie camp which make the film at times , a bit of a joke. Unfortunitely, it just wasn't enjoyable to watch, so i can't recommend it.

That's the only conclusion I could come to when I finished watching this film. First off, let me start by saying that the American sequel is NOTHING like the original sequel. This sequel picks up with Yoshimi Kitada and her husband. They're traveling down the road after she had done a show where she'd been labeled as the Japanese horror queen(she had just come from the grudge house). She and her husband are discussing when she'll tell his parents that she's pregnant. Just then, he hits a black cat, killing it. He goes back to look, and as she's leaning out of the car to see, she sees instead a pair of ghostly white legs and bare feet running past the back of the car. He gets back in the car, and they get into an accident that causes her to miscarry.

Flash forward. Husband is still in the hospital, unresponsive. She is on set of a horror movie, filming. The scene is about to end with a bunch of extras coming in and seeing the actress passed out on the floor. One of the extras screams, scaring everyone. She's staring at Yoshimi Kitada, but specifically at her stomach. Kitada goes to the doctor, where she learns that she's about three months along in her miscarried pregnancy. Flash back again as she gets a job going to the original Ju-On house, where weird things happen(even in reviewing the film, I can't keep all the time changes straight). Each person who went to that house as part of the film crew also has weird things happen to them. Weird things and death also happen to people that the film crew love or come into contact with. The extra who screamed had gotten trapped in the house, and weird things happened to her. All of the people died in bizarre ways, except for Kitada, who lived to give birth to Kayako Saeki, who pushes Kitada down some stairs when Saeki is five.

It's a bizarre little film, and the individual vignettes that provide the back story are interesting in themselves. It's almost like watching a series of Night Gallery episodes with a common thread. They used Takako Fuji in this to play Kayako again. They used Ryôta Koyama to play Toshio. The really strange thing is Koyama looks almost exactly like Yuya Ozeki in the American version. The resemblance is uncanny. I can understand why Shimizu dumbed down the originals for American audiences. The lore and superstition surrounding Japanese culture is a little hard to grasp at times. However, I really think that American audiences should invest some time and energy into watching some of these Asian gems in their original forms. They are quite enjoyable, and spookier than standard American haunted house fare.

A lot of people tend to over analize the J-horror films and forget to let themselves be entertained. Just let yourself enjoy it and you will be creeped out.

It is a hard film to follow,and I think it's because it is subtitled, but it's just as satisfying as Juon 1. A scene I found particularly creepy was a guy is hung by the croaking hair of the lady ghost. What got me was his feet hitting the wall...tapping...it got under my skin!

Sometimes the horror does seem a fraction contrived and alittle over-the-top for the context of this movie, but it's still all good.

Anyways, just let yourself be entertained. The Juon series seems to be the better of the current J-horror on the market today.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars