Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (Ju-on 2) (2003)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Robert C

  
  Confusingly told and bringing two of (what were) very creepy horror entities out into the light repeatidly, really takes the creepiness out of them. I found their presence in this film almost a little comical.

• Jani H

  
  Now, here's the film that I'm mad at. Came to my profile ratings mysteriously and had to watch it. 'Ju-On: The Grudge 2' is what I've learned the fourth film in the series. Watched the first one, wasn't amazed and skipped right to this one. This film… More
  Now, here's the film that I'm mad at. Came to my profile ratings mysteriously and had to watch it. 'Ju-On: The Grudge 2' is what I've learned the fourth film in the series. Watched the first one, wasn't amazed and skipped right to this one. This film continues the story of the "curse" that was initialized in the original. In this one, a reality TV show host wants to make a feature of the house because he has become interested of the whole thingy. It doesn't come as a surprise that death is waiting for them all... This installment to the series is just as scary as the first one. Like I said, I skipped the middle ones and went directy to see this. Felt uncomfortable but not that much as in the original because the "curse" was familiar to me. Nevertheless, scared the shit out of me at times but I still prefer different horror movies, like 'The Others' or 'White Chicks'...

• Lafe F

  
  If you count the first two direct-to-video movies, this would be the 4th movie in the Takashi Shimizu's Japanese Ju-On series. The Ju-on Curse spreads and takes more lives in this followup sequel to the smash success Ju-On. Like Elm Street 5, this has the theme of motherhood,… More
  If you count the first two direct-to-video movies, this would be the 4th movie in the Takashi Shimizu's Japanese Ju-On series. The Ju-on Curse spreads and takes more lives in this followup sequel to the smash success Ju-On. Like Elm Street 5, this has the theme of motherhood, with the Ju-On ghosts attempting to enter the real world through a woman's baby. The plot also concerns a film crew shooting a documentary about the Ju-On curse on location. Let me tell you, everybody on the crew of that thing don't have a chance as the curse finds them and gets them in some weird and scary ways! The ghost boy Toshio is back with his freaky black cat. Kayoko, the long-haired ghost mother makes several freaky appearances. I don't think the evil daddy appears in this one. The stories are once again told episodically in a shuffled order. There's one great story with a Japanese schoolgirl who is stuck in a freaky time/space loop where she's inside and outside the cursed house in rapid succession. I was freaked with the apartment scene when the residents wonder what is causing a banging sound each night at the same time from the neighbour's wall. The ending is shocking, but no great surprise after witnessing all the freaky things which have just occurred. I liked the first theatrical Ju-On movie a bit more, because it had tighter pacing and more centered on the haunted house. The thing I don't understand with these Ju-On movies is why do the ghosts of the mother and boy want to cause harm to innocent people? They were innocent victims once themselves, and should show some understanding. They were killed by surprise, so shouldn't show much rage. They should go after who killed them instead.

• xGary X

  
  I personally find it bizarre how every single half-baked horror film that gets released seems to warrant a sequel these days; I honestly don't know why a lot of these movies exist. Ju-on is actually one of the few that deserved a sequel; whether or not it was a good idea to make… More
  I personally find it bizarre how every single half-baked horror film that gets released seems to warrant a sequel these days; I honestly don't know why a lot of these movies exist. Ju-on is actually one of the few that deserved a sequel; whether or not it was a good idea to make it is open to debate though. I personally consider the original Ju-on the best straight horror film I've ever seen, but the sequel seems to have fallen into the usual horror sequel trap. Instead of expanding on the idea, the director seems to have thought "well we did all the build up in the original, so let's jump straight in with the scary stuff!" Unfortunately, without the build up, there is no tension, and so instead of being scary, the spooky happenings seem faintly ridiculous; the opening section makes the ghostly boy look like some kind of albino gremlin! Add some rather gimmicky nonsense including hairy nooses and a mobile wig and it's very difficult to take seriously. It does improve towards the end, and the final half hour does contain some genuinely creepy moments, but it seems to be content to rip off the (inferior) Ringu rather than carrying on the tradition of the original movie. Not bad, but not in the same league as Ju-on.

• Stephen M

  
  If this film was any longer I don't think I'd have had the patience to sit through it. Frankly, it only makes occasional sense and the deliberately confusing narrative, replete with unacknowledged shifts in time, would still annoy if it even bothered to explain itself.… More
  If this film was any longer I don't think I'd have had the patience to sit through it. Frankly, it only makes occasional sense and the deliberately confusing narrative, replete with unacknowledged shifts in time, would still annoy if it even bothered to explain itself. I'm not the biggest fan of Japanese horror movies; they too often confuse 'Disturbing' with 'Scary' when they are not necessarily the same thing. This film is neither one thing nor the other.

• David L

  
  Have you ever considered that maybe - just maybe - the idea of revenge could be so terrible that it totally creeps you out and makes you unable to sleep for a month or two? Doesn't it scare you how much hate and horror does that kind of revenge keep? So, let's face it -… More
  Have you ever considered that maybe - just maybe - the idea of revenge could be so terrible that it totally creeps you out and makes you unable to sleep for a month or two? Doesn't it scare you how much hate and horror does that kind of revenge keep? So, let's face it - Ju-on: The Grudge is by far one of the scariest and creepiest horror movie ever made. Takashi Shimizu really knows how to fill the audience with fear. This movie is a good proof for that. Concerning the plot, there's actually not very much to tell. The idea is so simple that it makes it work so well. The whole movie is based on one simple yet terrifying thing: powerful rage in flesh. It's a curse no one can escape from. This is what makes Ju-on so creepy. No matter who you are or where, the curse WILL kill you. No cheap tricks or complicated mysteries - just pure fear... Besides this, there's also two very strong elements in Ju-on, a haunted house and a vengeful female spirit (with a long black hair of course). To add some creepiness, there's also this little dead kid running around and scaring people. The film is actually a bunch of different stories which are connected by the curse. They're "character-based", meaning that one story follows one or two characters till the end of their days. Those characters are always somehow related (or a better word could be "infected") to the curse. To make it more confusing, the stories are not in a chronological order. (This is very important thing to know if you're planning to watch this) Each story is a significant piece of the plot, meaning that everyone of them drives the main story forward until the whole thing is revealed in the end. And one more very important thing why is this so good; each story is more frightening than the previous one. I've seen a lot of horror movies which fall for a simple reason: the beginning is far better and scarier than the ending. This does not happen in Ju-on! The ending is just mind-blowing! In Ju-on it's all about horror. The director, Takashi Shimizu, really gets everything out of it. There's nothing this man can't do when we're talking about horror flicks. If he wants you to be scared, you will be scared. I've seen this movie like a thousand times and it still manages to creep me out every time I watch it. Nothing is more frightening than a good scare scene which first slowly builds up the tension and then blows it right to your face. Ju-on -horror is slow-paced (so you actually have enough time to be scared) and creepy. (I feel sorry for you if you have an attic in your house. Watch the movie and see what I mean..) but if you're sick and tired of all these vengeful-female-ghost-with-a-long-black-hair -movies, Ju-on has less (I'm not saying "nothing"!) to give to you. But do not call it "a cliché" 'cause it's not, "Finding a bunch of black hair blocking a sink" is a cliché. Having a dark-haired female ghost in a movie is not( even though it seems to be becoming one now), It's very important to know that these vengeful ghosts are the basic element in Asian horror. It's just the matter of how this element is used in a movie. (Trust me when I say that Takashi Shimizu really knows how to use this element) What about the script then? Well, it's not that good. The scares are awesome but the characters... They're simply just lacking personality. I can forgive this easily though 'cause there's still something that makes you care about them - they are the victims of something evil. It's not about the acting, it's just the idea of helplessness and desperacy. Just the idea of being a victim is awful... And about the actors - most of the acting is terrible. Especially that Katsuya guy who just keeps overacting whole the time. I'm not saying that would be laughable, it just lowers the fear-factor. Not all of the acting is terrible though! The main character, Rika, does an average job as a frightened social-worker. And let's not forget that girl who played Izumi! She's very convincing as a frightened high-school student. Overall, Ju-on: The Grudge is one of the best *horror movie* I've ever seen. It gives a whole new meaning to the word "fear". Why is it so good? Because it's all about the terror. No cheap tricks, no pointless confusion - just horror, nothing more. If you're waiting for a perfect script or flawless acting, forget it! Just let this movie fill you with fear.

• Kylie B

  
  Kayako's creepy. I love her.

• Cassandra M

  
  Although the word "grudge" doesn't quite fit the bill as part of the title of a horror film -- one thinks THE CURSE would have been more appropriate but such is the "curse" of translation -- JU ON holds up extremely well as a horror film. Built upon a notion… More
  Although the word "grudge" doesn't quite fit the bill as part of the title of a horror film -- one thinks THE CURSE would have been more appropriate but such is the "curse" of translation -- JU ON holds up extremely well as a horror film. Built upon a notion that when someone dies victim of extreme rage, the emotions are left behind and this overpowering, negative emotion will kill anyone who comes into the house, JU ON first gives us a grainy montage at the start of the story of what seems to be a man killing away his entire family. This sets the events that come next, told in a non-linear way so as to disorient the viewer of what has happened/will happen like for example, why is the old lady seemingly living in squalor in this otherwise impersonal looking place, and what part does her most recent caretaker, Rika (Megumi Okina) have to play there? I've always believed that using subtly disturbing images instead of bringing the horror up front in a broad manner creates more of a punch for the viewer. Amping up the dread, even when the horror seems inevitable, creates a sensation of anguish because one knows that something is terribly out of kilter in this house. What director Shimizu does here with introducing the old lady in the unkempt house by having us see her hands weakly bang on the rice door, and then having her stare vacantly out to nowhere as Rika tries to clean up the place only to later meet the entities in the house, is unsettling as anything else that comes later. She whispers, mantra-like, something closely rendered to an "I told you so" and one only has to see the mounting horror in her old eyes to know something horrible is about to happen to her while Rika witnesses this and faints in horror. It doesn't matter that one sees the little boy running around and then mutely screaming in that cat-like shriek, or the shadow and croak of someone even worse... it's the inexorability in which this curse comes forth and attacks this old, defenseless lady, and then each person who has come/will come in contact with it, and when it becomes clear that the curse is not bound only to the haunted house but is in fact a growing web of death, the rug gets neatly pulled out from the viewer's feet, because safe becomes only a word and something wicked this way comes. This is a film that people will love or hate. I don't think there will be an in-between feeling. The way that these ghosts manifest themselves as if they were part of the living, leaving hand-prints and footprints behind, the way that horror draws itself on screen -- in barely there suggestions like when Rika is wheel-chairing an elderly man who is making faces; we see the one second reflection on a glass door of Toshio, the malevolent boy --, the way the actors react to fear which is anti-Hollywood, the non-use of swelling music but the use of eerie sounds, this is one very spooky film which can stand aside some of the greatest ever filmed. Quiet yet intense, relying on atmosphere and dread, JU ON is very chilling, and very effective. This is the horror that is rarely done today.

• Luke B

  
  Another entry into the Japanese horror genre. The film focuses on a house where something truly awful has happened in the past. As different people enter the house the tormented spirits of the previous occupants wreak havoc. The films plot is simple and classic, it differs by offering… More
  Another entry into the Japanese horror genre. The film focuses on a house where something truly awful has happened in the past. As different people enter the house the tormented spirits of the previous occupants wreak havoc. The films plot is simple and classic, it differs by offering a string of episodic adventures for each different person who enters. This approach makes sure that the scares keep on coming, fast and furious, but means it lacks a real narrative depth. It also means we are unable to really feel for any of the characters. 'Ju-on' is basically a straight forward horror. We are thrust into a mystery, as to what the hell is going on, and we get a continuous string of scares until the final revelatory scene. The scares are very effective, using a stripped down budget, with simple make-up proving very scary in deed. Freaky children, crawling women with long hair and cracking bones. This is all stuff we have seen before, but it is presented in such an effective fashion it is like a remastered edition of your favourite horrors. Sound plays a very important part of the film, with cats screaming, fingers scraping and throats gurgling. The audiences imagination participates in creating a few extra scares where needed. Some may find that the film is like a never ending story, and becomes repetitive. It may be so, but it is easy to digest in its bite size segments.

• Emily A

  
  This movie makes NO sense. It doesn't even try. You know, I like a certain level of coherence to my movies, which is probably why I was never able to get into this movie. It's hard to explain, but the images in this movie are very different from the ones in the American,… More
  This movie makes NO sense. It doesn't even try. You know, I like a certain level of coherence to my movies, which is probably why I was never able to get into this movie. It's hard to explain, but the images in this movie are very different from the ones in the American, which is strange considering they were both directed by the same guy. The acting and imagery were really good in this movie, but everything else was bad. It succeeded where the American version failed, but also failed where it succeeded. Neither movie was very good, but I preferred the one that made the most sense (American). This isn't without merit, but you'd do better watching The Ring.

• Nicky M

  
  Another creepy Japanese ghost story, it is the basis for the American film The Grudge. Fantastic and just gives you that "not alone" feeling. Subtitled.

• Anthony V

  
  One of the scariest movies ever made.

• Eduardo C

  
  Nonesensical film which is MADDENINGLY structured yet somehow manages to be incredibly creepy. There are no jump-scares here, no loud noises, merely brilliant direction. Ringu may be the better film, but this takes the cake for j-horror scares. Almost as creepy as The Eye. and… More
  Nonesensical film which is MADDENINGLY structured yet somehow manages to be incredibly creepy. There are no jump-scares here, no loud noises, merely brilliant direction. Ringu may be the better film, but this takes the cake for j-horror scares. Almost as creepy as The Eye. and that is saying something.

• Christopher B

  
  Refers to DTV Japanese version. I also really liked the theatrical version. Amazing That's the word I'd use to describe this fantastic (rats, I guess I'd use fantastic too) film. For hardly any cash whatsoever, and using video format, this film used all those… More
  Refers to DTV Japanese version. I also really liked the theatrical version. Amazing That's the word I'd use to describe this fantastic (rats, I guess I'd use fantastic too) film. For hardly any cash whatsoever, and using video format, this film used all those constraints and turned them into assets. The video works here, adding a new level of creepiness and reality. Viewers are getting more accustomed to viewing things shot on video (thank you reality tv, I use thank because I can't write the other word), and Ju-on's story, characters, and sound design are so strong you immediately forget the format you're watching. And scary, boy is it scary. This movie is seriously unrelenting. The structure of the story has it so as soon as your done being terrified by one situation, another situation soon follows. This is the first time since I was a kid, I had to pause the movie, get up and turn on the lights. It was too much. The director is a genius. I saw the remake of Ju-on at the TIFF and wasn't that impressed, but now viewing the original 2, the remake makes a lot more sense (I hated the ambiguous ending which ain't ambiguous no more) and works now as a continuation of the story. I hope the director gets very rich off this incredible franchise.

• Robert F

  
  I preferred the US version of this film. It looked almost like a student film, and as such, it failed to frighten at the right moments. However, I still love the simplicity and the more delicate style of horror used in Japanese cinema.

• Adam M

  
  This is the sequel to the grudge,the Japanese version.Its really good, you see the different characters stories throughout the film which keeps you thinking and its scary to!

Read all 16 featured audience ratings