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Review

A hit in its native Japan, this extremely scary film about a virus-like vengeance from beyond the grave follows a young boy and his mother who are brutally murdered in their home, and as horribly miserable spirits, terrorize and kill anyone who comes in the house. The terror and death eventually spread to others outside the house as well. This, the third Ju-On film directed by Shimizu (the first, straight-to-video version is actually even more terrifying) is easily one of the scariest films of the past decade or so. Shimizu is a master at setting up -- then really delivering -- a payoff. The trouble for many viewers is that that's basically all the Ju-On films are: setups and "boo!"-style payoffs. Each segment is preceded by a chapter title (named after the doomed character), and there's little narrative drive (though the stories are connected, however tenuously). This does indeed give the film a stop-and-start, splintered structure, but does every horror film need to follow the generic "rules"? And when a film is this intense and terrifying, who cares? Turn out the lights, grab your honey's hand, and enjoy. (American remake: The Grudge) (Japanese with English subtitles)

 -- Dean C. Galanis