Film Reviews

Ju-On 2: The Grudge 2

• Rating:
• Director: Takahashi Shimizu.
• Starring: Noriko Sakai, Chiharu Niyama, Yui Ichikawa, Takako Fuji.
• Details: Japan, 95mins, 15.

Driving home late one night with her boyfriend, pregnant actress Kyoko Harase (Sakai) is involved in a horrific car accident when a ghostly child appears in the front seat and hampers the steering. The accident sends Kyoko's boyfriend into a coma and results in Kyoko losing her baby. Returning to work weeks later, Kyoko is invited to be a celebrity guest on a haunted house TV show, investigating the legend behind one particular haunted house - one where a housewife was found murdered in the attic, the husband was found dead in the street and the six-year-old son was never found. Since then, anyone affiliated with the house or the family have all been killed. Soon, the television crew begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances. What is it about Japanese horror that really puts the shivers up you even before the opening credits role? Is it because they dispense with the usual jump and scare tactics and seem to understand psychological horror more than their western counterparts? Or is it that they are just simply better skilled at scaring us? This low budget follow up to the freaky Ju-On treads the same ground as the first instalment but Ju-On 2 has more of an ambitious plot to boast about. Unfortunately, this is also the film's downfall. Flicking through the various characters and story lines, director Takahashi Shimizu tries to weave a narrative that builds to one powerful climax but instead only confuses the audience as to what the hell is going on. The audience will also feel gypped as Ju-On 2 borrows a lot from Ringu and large chunks of the original film are cut and pasted into his sequel. Could have been a lot better.

Review by Gavin Burke