Okie...i'll start the ball rolling first...
I kinda liked Ju-On~ 
Even though there are some people who thought that it was lame or
even funny (?), I though it was quite a nice movie, which had
several freaky parts~!
"Story: JU-ON: a curse born of a grudge held by someone who dies
in the grip of powerful angers. It gathers in the places frequented
by that person in life, working its spell on those who come into
contact with it and thus creating itself anew.
Nishina Rika is a social worker sent to a home in order to check up
on its inhabitants. There she finds an old woman wrought in silent
terror amongst disheveled, stained sheets. While attempting to
clean up the house, Rika hears noises coming upstairs and discovers
a boy named Toshio duct taped inside one of the room closets. This
starts off the chain of events that would soon be known as the
JU-ON curse, passing through those who would come into contact with
this mysterious, dark residence.
Review: At a time when Japanese horror films are most prevalent and
impressive, and seem to have reached its creative heights after an
established legacy in the last half of the 1990s director, Shimizu
Takashi, under the tutelage of Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Director of CURE,
CHARISMA, and KAIRO) and Hiroshi Takahashi (Screenwriter of the
RING trilogy), delivers the next level of the horror spectacle with
JU-ON.
Taking the classic idea of a haunted house story and flipping it on
its head, Shimizu weaves a vengeful tale about a family whose own
demise was filled with so much ire and hate, an unforgiving grudge
manifested and was unleashed upon the world. While the concept may
seem similar to another Japanese masterpiece about vindictive
curses, the execution is a reinvention of classic tactics and
storytelling sensibilities recognized in the horror genre.
JU-ON is told and separated into smaller vignettes that hop to and
fro throughout the storys timeline, like little drip-drops of
visual horror haikus creating a larger reflection in the puddle.
While this leaves little room for character development, each fated
segment is pumped with enough scare adrenaline where the only thing
to worry about is the safety of the protagonists. It almost seems
to be a more appropriate and logical way of showing the
associations between the players and how the curse spreads. Even
though the supernatural aspects of JU-ON are not grounded with any
particular genre rules there is a method to the madness. Even with
repeated viewings, what may seem as chaotic instances for the
characters deaths and conclusions, really are complex and elaborate
designs that involve not only the present state of the curse, but
years off into the future.
The cinematography is darkly beautiful in the sense that every
shadow, corner, nook and cranny lends itself to the eerie,
iridescent ambiance that drives JU-ON, making the house become a
character of its own; a lifeless, tangible host for the curse.
Picture and sound compliment each other well as instrumental cues
interrupt viewing with sharp, pierce shrieks and harsh scratches
that sets up for each tiny frightening morsel, buzz pops for the
mind. Possibly the most terrifying specter of the JU-ON group is
the Toshio child and his waxy, blue hued figure lurking behind
every head turn and peer. He will become the most recognizable and
prominent persona of the curse, a panic warning in a sense, just
before his parental wraiths appear. There are numerous other subtle
elements of fear throughout that keep the atmosphere fresh and new
that will peak the audiences curiosity, wondering what is going to
happen next and how.
In the end, Shimizu Takashi, who also wrote the screenplay, has
created another outstanding achievement in Japanese horror. This
film is highly recommended whether or not you are an appreciator of
fine horror cinema. With an American remake from the executive
producers of U.S. RING in the works, it seems the curse will spread
here to the states as well, infecting all those of the JU-ON
grudge."
