When The Grudge hit American theaters in 2004, audiences had no idea that they'd be introduced to a sprawling saga of horror that Japanese fans had already been subjected to for the better part of the decade -- though, to them, it was better known as Ju-On. Takashi Shimizu raised this saga from the grave, both in the East and West, as one of the most relentless, cruelest J-Horror franchises of all time.
In total, if we count the two short films that started the saga as well as the American films, there are a total of 14 films in the Ju-On saga, which is... probably about ten more than most people realize there are. The upcoming American reboot, simply called The Grudge, is set to introduce a new generation to the world where particularly cruel crimes leave lethal curses behind.
The Grudge's film tally puts it far ahead of similar, long-running horror series like A Nightmare on Elm Street (9 films), Halloween (11) and Friday the 13th (12). This impressive total also makes Kayako -- the titular, long-haired spook at the franchise's black heart -- one of horror's most prolific, unsung villains.
If you search for the film, Ju-On, you'll find Ju-On and Ju-On 2. You'd think that this is where the saga began, but what you'd actually be watching are the third and fourth films in the series -- fourth and fifth if you count the two short films that aired together and started the saga.
Ju-On started as two direct-to-TV movies that aired together in 1998: Katasumi and 4444444444. These two horror films introduced the two core antagonists of the series: Kayako and Toshio Saeki. They served as a proof-of-concept that the then-unknown director, Shimizu, used to bolster confidence in two films that would outline the origins of these spirits.
Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 are short, direct-to-video horror films that came out in 2000, back-to-back. They proved big enough successes to motivate studios to give Shimizu the opportunity to direct two theatrical films in the same series: Ju-On: The Grudge and Ju-On: The Grudge 2, which were released in 2002 and 2003. If you watch The Curse films after seeing The Grudge films, you'll notice a significant downgrade in terms of presentation. The film quality is far cheaper and the cinematography is, at times, far less polished.
Ju-On: The Curse establishes the origins of the Saeki household's curse, which is later reused in both Ju-On: The Grudge and the American remake, The Grudge. The film also ties into the two short films by showing what happens to the characters in said films and how they got into those scenarios in the first place. The second film is less fondly remembered, but it does introduce the character of Izumi Toyama, whose plot would directly continue into Ju-On: The Grudge, proving that both The Curse and The Grudge films, as well as the two short films, all take place in the same continuity. This proved to become a tradition for the franchise: one character would remain alive to transition into the next film, only for the curse to ensnare them, too.
However, Ju-On: The Grudge 2 ends on quite possibly the most horrific, nightmarish note in the series thus far, but also seemed to offer a definitive endgame for Kayako's curse. And, indeed, this is where the initial story comes to an end.
Ironically, however, The Grudge was about to become bigger than ever.
Around this time, J-Horror had become immensely popular in America, thanks to the success of The Ring, the remake of Ringu. Sam Raimi, the director behind The Evil Dead and Spider-Man, bought the rights to remake the film, via his production company, Ghost House Pictures. However, rather than take the original concept of the Japanese film and bring it to America, like with The Ring, it was decided to just set the film in Japan and bring back Shimizu since he seemed to understand what made the franchise work best.
The Grudge starred Sarah Michelle Geller and Bill Pullman in a cast primarily of Japanese character actors, such as Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki and Takashi Matsuyama (reprising their roles as Kayako, Toshio and Takeo Saeki from the prior films) and Ryo Ishibashi (well-known by J-horror fans for Audition and Suicide Club). The remake had no huge star -- just a concept that drew in audiences. Lots of them.
With a budget of $10 million, The Grudge grossed $187.2 million. This led to the sequel The Grudge 2 in 2006 and the direct-to-video The Grudge 3 in 2009. The Grudge 2 starts in Japan but brings the curse of Kayako to Chicago. The third film, directed by Splinter director Toby Wilkins, is the first film in the series that did not involve Shimizu -- and it shows. After 2009, Shimizu stepped away from the films and the franchise he created ran to new, wilder heights in his absence.
In 2009, three films came out in the series. Aside from the aforementioned Grudge 3, two Ju-On films hit Japanese theaters. Ju-On: White Ghost and Ju-On: Black Ghost hit theaters simultaneously. The films were intended to celebrate the franchise's ten-year-history but shared little connection to the prior films in either continuity, save for a cameo from Toshio.
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The films deal with separate curses in stand-alone narratives. Black Ghost focuses on the ghost of an unborn child haunting the family, while White Ghost focuses on a victim of a cruel mass murder coming back to haunt their former friend. Both proved that the Ju-On franchise didn't have to be shackled to just the Saeki house and its spirits. This is a lesson the upcoming reboot, The Grudge, will draw from. While the 2020 film is in continuity with the other American films, it focuses on a different curse.
Following that, this won't be the first reboot. 2014's Ju-On: The Beginning of the End already gave the series a complete continuity reboot. This is the first film in which Shimizu had no involvement in at all. The film reboots the continuity of the Saeki household, recreating and reinterpreting iconic visuals from the original films, but with one key difference: In the prior films, the primary antagonist was Kayako, the mother. In the reboot, the main threat was Toshio, the son.
This continuity ended a year later in Ju-On: The Final Curse and, with this film, the series felt concluded. We had three separate continuities, all of which were wrapped up. What else could the franchise possibly do? Well...
Remember Ringu? The film that made J-Horror popular all over the world returned in the 2010s with a series of sequels that, while critically regarded as inferior to the originals, turned enough of a profit to make Sadako a name again in the scene of horror. But, while fans would compare Ringu to Ju-On, no one expected anyone to actually make a movie about it. Especially not when the same year Ju-On "ended," an April Fool's Day teaser was posted teasing a fight between Sadako Yamamura and Kayako Saeki.
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The joke proved so popular Japanese studios decided to just make it a movie and, just as you'd expect, it proved to be the single most insane film in the franchise.
Neither the Ringu or Ju-On continuity is really honored in this cartoonish, over-the-top film. (Sadako's videotape that kills you in seven days kills you in two here.) But that hardly matters -- the film is just wild. Much like how Freddy vs. Jason was more of A Nightmare on Elm Street film with a cameo from Jason Vorhees, Sadako vs. Kayako is more of a Ringu movie that happens to also feature Kayako and Toshio. While the final fight is ultimately disappointing, the exaggerated energy of this film, which ends with an almost apocalyptic implication, is just too ridiculous to not be entertaining.
2020's The Grudge hopes to revive the franchise (again) in a new way and, considering what an unkillable franchise Ju-On has proven to be, it'll be far from the last time we hear that unsettling death rattle.
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