Ju-On: The Grudge Collection Review

4 star box set of super creepy retro Japanese horror.

Ju-On: The Grudge Collection is a box set containing all six of the Japanese films from the Ju-On franchise. Written and directed by Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge, Howling Village), the first film Ju-On: The Curse was released in 2000, with the sequel Ju-On: The Curse 2 following quickly behind the same year. These two films are enjoying their home entertainment premiere outside of Japan.

The two final parts of the story Ju-On: The Grudge and Ju-on: The Grudge 2 were made for theatrical release in 2002, 2003. The last two films included with this release are Ju-On: Black Ghost and Ju-On: White Ghost (to be watched in that order), which were released in 2009 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release. They still feature a story by Takashi Shimizu, but are written and directed by Mari Asato (Bilocation) and Ryûta Miyake (White Lily).

All six films are presented here in a Limited Edition Box set as well as the Arrow streaming service, courtesy of Arrow Video.

“Ju-On: A curse born when a person dies in a powerful rage. It gathers where the dead person lived and becomes a “stain”. Anyone who touches it dies and a new curse is born.”

 

The story begins in an unassuming suburban family home in Nerima, Tokyo, owned by Takeo Saeki (Takashi Matsuyama – Ghost In the Shell) and his wife Kayako (Takako Fuji – Reincarnation), with their young son Toshio (Ryôta Koyama – Fireworks). School teacher Shunsuke Kobayashi (Yûrei Yanagi – Ringu, Boiling Point) is dispatched to the house to investigate why Toshio has not been attending school.

What he finds is a terrible tragedy, Takeo has brutally murdered Kayako believing her to have been unfaithful as well as slaughtering the family cat. So is born a curse which runs throughout the four films, as everyone who enters the house is marked and continues the curse to new locations. The characters and locations are cleverly interwoven to create a huge and terrifying story.

The final two films follow a different but equally cursed family as they try to survive the Ju-On.

“Sake imbued with a powerful energy will taste different to certain people. If someone has a strange reaction to it, the house is too dangerous for them.”

The Ju-On films are a very enjoyable watch. It’s a really good story and although the budget was very low to start with, Takashi Shimizu manages to extract the maximum atmosphere with minimal effects. It’s also very interesting to see the evolution of the franchise as higher budgets became available for the theatrical releases and better special effects allowed for even creepier scenes.

These films throw convention to the wind and are filmed in named segments, with no regard for chronological order or even explanations, although everything does become clear in due course if you are patient and pay attention.

The Ju-On franchise came at a time when global interest in Japanese horror, especially in Japanese vengeful ghosts, or onryō, was at it’s height. It spawned several Western adaptations, but it’s really good to see the original Japanese films gathered together. A must own for the discerning horror fan.

“The people who moved in after the incident and their relatives have all died or disappeared. Actresses are said to have a strong sense of intuition. Do you feel anything here, Kyoko?”

Ju-On: The Grudge Collection is available to buy now on Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration of Ju-On: The Grudge from the original camera negative by Arrow Films

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Ju-On: The Grudge in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all films

• Home video premiere outside Japan of Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2

• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (except The Curse and The Curse 2) and 2.0 stereo audio

• Optional English subtitles

• Exclusive 60-page collector’s booklet featuring writing by Grady Hendrix, James Marsh, Tom Mes, William Carroll and Lindsay Nelson [Limited Edition Exclusive]

• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative

• Twenty-four double-sided, postcard-sized artcards [Limited Edition Exclusive]

• Reversible poster with original artwork [Limited Edition Exclusive]

 

DISC 1 – JU-ON: THE CURSE AND JU-ON: THE CURSE 2 (BLU-RAY)

• Introduction to both films by writer-director Takashi Shimizu

• Introduction to Ju-On: The Curse by actor Takako Fuji

 

DISC 2 & 3 – JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY / BLU-RAY)

• Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films

• Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu

• New audio commentary by film historian David Kalat

• Audio commentary by Sam Raimi and Scott Spiegel

• Alternate English dub track in 5.1 Surround

• Haunting in Monochrome, a new interview with Takashi Shimizu on the Ju-On films

• Being Kayako, a new interview with Takako Fuji on her role as Kayako

• The Evolution of Ju-On, a brand new featurette with authors and Japan specialists Tom Mes and Zack Davisson discussing the cultural forces that shaped the series

• Through a Glass Darkly, an archive interview with Takashi Shimizu

• Whispers in the Dark, an archive interview with actor Megumi Okina on her role as Rika

• Fade to Black, an archive interview with actress Kayoko Shibata, who plays Mariko

• On-set interviews with Takashi Shimizu, Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara and Yui Ichikawa

• Deleted scenes with commentary by Takashi Shimizu

• Almost an hour of behind-the-scenes footage

• Ju-On True Stories, two ghostly true-life tales that inspired the films, narrated by Hiroyoshi Kihara

• Original trailers

• Image gallery

 

DISC 4 – JU-ON: THE GRUDGE 2 (BLU-RAY)

• Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu

• New audio commentary with scholar Raechel Dumas and critic Jasper Sharp

• Alternate English dub track in 5.1 Surround

• Interview with Takashi Shimizu from the time of making Ju-On: The Grudge 2

• On-set interviews with Noriko Sakai, Chiharu Niiyama, Kei Horie, Yui Ichikawa, Emi Yamamoto and Shingo Katsurayama

• Deleted scenes

• 55 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage

• On-set reports by cast members Noriko Sakai, Yui Ichikawa and Erika Kuroishi

• Premieres and stage greetings footage from Japan, Taiwan and Korea

• Trailers and TV spots

• Image gallery

 

DISC 5 – JU-ON: WHITE GHOST AND JU-ON: BLACK GHOST (BLU-RAY)

• Introduction to Ju-On: Black Ghost by writer-director Mari Asato

• New interview with Mari Asato

• Original trailer

• Image galleries