Overview
”Ju-On: The Curse” (original Japanese title: Ju-On) is a Japanese original video production written and directed by Takashi Shimizu and produced by Toei Video. It marks Shimizu’s feature-length directorial debut.
In 2000, “Ju-On” and its sequel, “Ju-On 2,” were released by Toei Video as V-Cinema titles. While the runtime for “Ju-On” is approximately 70 minutes and “Ju-On 2” is approximately 76 minutes, the beginning of “Ju-On 2” contains an overlap (of about 30 minutes) with the latter part of “Ju-On.”
Based on the premise that a curse created by someone who dies while harboring strong resentment remains in a specific house, spreading like a chain reaction to those who come into contact with it, the films depict the horrors caused by the female ghost Kayako Saeki and her son, Toshio Saeki.
The films are characterized by a substantial depiction of ghosts—clearly showing the spirits as white-painted figures—and a non-linear, puzzle-like narrative structure presented in an omnibus format.
Production: Toei Video.
Producers: Takashige Ichise, Masaaki Takashima, Kazuo Kato.
Supervision: Hiroshi Takahashi.
Director/Screenplay: Takashi Shimizu.
Cinematography: Nobuhito Kizu.
Music: Gary Ashiya.
Main cast: Yūrei Yanagi (as Shunsuke Kobayashi), Hitomi Miwa (as Yuki), Asumi Miwa (as Kanna Murakami), Chiaki Kuriyama (as Mizuho Tamura), Makoto Ashikawa (as Tatsuya Suzuki), Yūko Daike (as Kyōko Suzuki), Kaori Fujii (as Yoshimi Kitada), Takako Fuji (as Kayako Saeki), Ryōta Koyama (as Toshio Saeki), Takashi Matsuyama (as Takeo Saeki).
Language: Japanese. Color, video shooting. Standard 4:3.
Plot Summary
Elementary school teacher Shunsuke Kobayashi visits the home of a long-absent student, Toshio Saeki, and discovers the dead body of Toshio’s mother, Kayako. Kayako had been murdered by her husband, Takeo Saeki, and she had transformed into a vengeful spirit along with her son, Toshio.
Takeo Saeki murders Kobayashi’s family, and Kobayashi himself meets his end due to Kayako’s curse.
Subsequently, the curse spreads to the members of the Murakami family, who moved into the house once inhabited by the Saekis, and their associates, leading to a series of disappearances and mysterious deaths.
Several years later, real estate agent Tatsuya Suzuki sells the now-vacant house to the Kitada couple, and they move in. Kayako’s curse reaches the Kitadas, Suzuki and his family, and the detectives investigating the series of incidents, causing an endless chain of the curse to spread like an infectious disease.
Commentary
Production Background and Context
Takashi Shimizu is from Gunma Prefecture. While in university, he studied under screenwriter Toshiro Ishido, then gained experience as a crew member on film sets while attending the Film School of Tokyo.
The three-minute short film “Katei Hōmon (Home Visit),” which he shot as a video assignment while attending the school, is the prototype for “Ju-On.” This work caught the eye of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and on Kurosawa’s recommendation, Shimizu directed two short films, “Katasumi (Corner)” and “4444444444,” for the 1998 Kansai TV horror omnibus program “Gakkō no Kaidan G (School Ghost Stories G).” These were Shimizu’s first commercial works.
Producer Takashige Ichise of “Ring,” who liked these two shorts, commissioned Shimizu to direct two horror titles for Toei V-Cinema.
This work was filmed primarily using Sony’s analog video recorder, Betacam.
The filming was done in a short period of nine days for both works.
The main filming location was in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.
Release
In Japan
”Ju-On” and “Ju-On 2” were released as V-Cinema titles for VHS sale/rental and DVD rental between February and March 2000, with a commercial DVD release in 2003.
Sales were sluggish at first, but the reputation that it was “scary” spread via word of mouth, leading to subsequent theatrical film adaptations.
A digitally remastered version was released on Blu-ray in 2021.
4K: V-Cinema Versions (2025)
In 2025, “Ju-On <4K: V-Cinema Version>” and “Ju-On 2 <4K: V-Cinema Version>,” which were 4K-remastered and converted to 5.1ch surround sound under the complete supervision of director Takashi Shimizu, were released in theaters (DCP screening).
The 4K remastered versions were released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in 2026.
These 4K remastered versions are upscaled from the original video masters to 4K masters using Sony PCL’s “RS+” technology. While the video noise and lack of resolution typical of video are reduced, resulting in a more detailed image than the original, it is not high-resolution footage like a 4K film restoration because the master is low-resolution video.
Outside of Japan
In 2022, Arrow Video (UK) released the Blu-ray box set “Ju-On: The Grudge Collection” (Region B). This box set includes the two 2000 video versions, the two 2003 theatrical versions, “White Ghost,” and “Black Ghost” with English subtitles.
Substantial Ghost Depiction
Director Hideo Nakata’s film “Ring” (1998) showed a tendency to treat ghosts as substantial “monsters,” as symbolized by the climax where Sadako crawls out of the TV screen.
”Ju-On” takes this trend further, characterized by its portrayal of ghosts not as psychological intimations from the start, but as substantial entities that interfere with everyday space.
In “Ju-On,” Kayako and Toshio, who are supposed to be vengeful spirits, appear frequently as white-painted figures, accompanied by strange sounds or the meowing of a cat, and are clearly shown on screen.
The excessive visibility and direct portrayal of the ghosts in this work are almost on the verge of being comedic, deviating from the classic horror movie method of producing fear through indirect depiction.
Overview of the “Ju-On” Series
The “Ju-On” series, originating from the two video works, has produced numerous spin-offs, including remakes and reboots. The series shares a worldview in which a curse born from the deaths of Kayako Saeki and her son Toshio expands centered around a house.
Below is a list of the “Ju-On” series produced in Japan and the United States.
Japanese Versions
- ”Ju-On: The Curse” (2000, video)
- “Ju-On: The Curse 2” (2000, video)
- “Ju-On: The Grudge” (2003, film)
- “Ju-On: The Grudge 2” (2003, film)
- “Ju-On: White Ghost” (2009, film)
- “Ju-On: Black Ghost” (2009, film)
- “Ju-On: The Beginning of the End” (2014, film)
- “Ju-On: The Final Curse” (2015, film)
- “Ju-On: Origins” (2020, Netflix original drama)
The two 2000 video versions and two 2003 theatrical films are the originals by director Takashi Shimizu.
The 2009 titles “Ju-On: White Ghost” and “Ju-On: Black Ghost” are side stories, the 2014–2015 titles “Ju-On: The Beginning of the End” and “Ju-On: The Final Curse” are reboots by director Masayuki Ochiai, and the 2020 “Ju-On: Origins” is a 6-episode serial drama by director Sho Miyake.
In addition to the above, there is the film “Sadako vs. Kayako” (2016, directed by Kōji Shiraishi), produced as a crossover between the “Ring” series and the “Ju-On” series.
In addition to the above, there are numerous spin-off works including games, novelizations, manga, and stage productions.
The U.S. Versions
- ”The Grudge” (2004, film)
- “The Grudge 2” (2006, film)
- “The Grudge 3” (2009, direct-to-video)
- “The Grudge” (2020, film)
”The Grudge” and its sequel “The Grudge 2” are Hollywood remakes directed by Takashi Shimizu; “The Grudge 3” is the third installment of the Hollywood remake series directed by Toby Wilkins; and “The Grudge” (2020) is a reboot directed by Nicolas Pesce.
Comparison Between the Video Versions (2000) and the Theatrical Versions (2003)
Although the 2003 theatrical versions were directed and written by Takashi Shimizu just like the video versions and inherits the characters of Kayako and Toshio, the entire cast was replaced and the episode structure was significantly altered; therefore, the video versions and the theatrical versions should be viewed as independent works.
The video versions were produced on a low budget with the assumption of distribution in the VHS/DVD rental market and viewing on CRT monitors, so the low resolution is noticeable on large screens. However, the production technique of frequently using fixed shots in rough image quality to capture the appearance of ghosts in everyday spaces creates an eeriness similar to real-life footage.
The theatrical versions had enhanced visual effects and sound for movie theaters, and the direction is more sophisticated, resulting in higher entertainment value as a horror film and greater visual perfection.
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Synopsis (Spoiler Alert)
Ju-On: The Curse
The following text is displayed at the beginning:
”Ju-On: The curse of one who dies while harboring a strong grudge. It accumulates in the place where the deceased was associated while alive, becoming ‘Karma.’ Those who come into contact with the curse lose their lives, and a new curse is born.”
”Toshio”
Elementary school teacher Shunsuke Kobayashi (Yūrei Yanagi) lives with his pregnant wife, Manami (Yue).
In Kobayashi’s class, there was a student named Toshio Saeki (Ryōta Koyama) who had been absent for a long time. Toshio was the only son of his father, Takeo Saeki (Takashi Matsuyama), and his mother, Kayako (née Kawamata) Saeki (Takako Fuji).
Kayako was a fellow student of Kobayashi and Manami at university.
The Saeki family lived in a house in Nerima Ward, Tokyo. When Kobayashi visits for a home visit for Toshio, he finds Toshio alone in a living room littered with trash in a house where his parents are absent. In the garden, the wooden tablet that had been placed on a cat’s grave is knocked over.
”Yuki”
Yuki (Hitomi Miwa) visits the Murakami house (the former Saeki house) as a tutor to teach her junior high school cousin, Kanna Murakami (Asumi Miwa).
Kanna’s mother, Noriko (Yumi Yoshiyuki), serves them barley tea and snacks before going out.
Kanna tells Yuki that her high school brother, Tsuyoshi (Kazushi Andō), has a girlfriend named Mizuho.
Remembering that it is her day to take care of the rabbits at junior high school, Kanna leaves for the school.
Left alone in the room, Yuki becomes frightened by a mysterious sound like a creak and the phenomenon of the CD player repeating the same part while playing, so she tries to go home.
Frightened by a black cat that appeared in the room, Yuki escapes into a closet. Peering into the attic from there, she discovers a woman with long hair and is pulled into the attic by the woman.
Tsuyoshi leaves the house on his bicycle, heading to high school.
”Mizuho”
High school student Mizuho Tamura (Chiaki Kuriyama) searches for Tsuyoshi at their high school after classes. She finds Tsuyoshi’s bicycle, but cannot find him. Since his mobile phone has been confiscated by a teacher, Mizuho cannot call him.
Mizuho finds a mobile phone dropped in front of the school building and picks it up.
Teacher Ms. Nakamura (Yoriko Dōguchi) tells Mizuho to wait in the staff room while she looks around the school to see if Tsuyoshi is there.
Mizuho calls the Murakami house on her mobile phone to ask if Tsuyoshi has returned, but the call goes silent in the middle.
Waiting alone in the dark staff room because the fluorescent lights will not turn on, Mizuho is terrified by the presence of someone in the room.
She receives a call on the mobile phone she picked up from the number “444444444444,” and when she answers, she hears a cat’s meow.
Mizuho discovers a white-painted boy right next to her. The boy emits a cat’s meow.
”Kanna”
A dismembered corpse of a female junior high school student is placed in a police morgue. A medical examiner (Shirō Namiki) tells Detectives Yoshikawa (Denden) and Kamio (Tarō Suwa) that the rabbit’s carcass and a stranger’s lower jaw are mixed into the dismembered corpse.
According to Detective Iizuka’s (Reita Serizawa) investigation, Kanna Murakami and another junior high school student were on rabbit care duty at the site when the incident occurred.
Kanna’s mother, Noriko, returns to the Murakami house. A letter addressed to Takeo Saeki is in the Murakami family’s mailbox.
A call from Mizuho comes to the landline phone. Noriko replies that Tsuyoshi does not seem to have returned yet.
Noriko screams when she discovers Kanna coming home, covered in blood and missing her lower jaw, as she goes up to the second floor.
”Kayako”
Kobayashi waits for the parents to return with Toshio, who is sleeping in the living room of the Saeki house. Kobayashi finds a torn-up family photograph. When he puts the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle, Kayako’s face is the only thing missing.
Guided by a cat’s meow, Kobayashi enters the bathroom and has a hallucination that both his hands are covered in blood. When he returns to the living room, Toshio is gone.
He hears a whisper from Toshio’s room: “Daddy killed Mommy…” In the room, Toshio is drawing a picture of cats.
He hears a woman’s voice calling, “Kobayashi-kun.” Kobayashi finds a notebook in Kayako’s room. The notebook is filled with writing detailing her obsessive love for Kobayashi.
Kobayashi finds Kayako’s dead body in the attic from the closet and tries to take Toshio out of the house.
Kobayashi’s mobile phone rings with a call from Kayako’s husband, Takeo Saeki. Takeo tells Kobayashi, “Have you met Kayako? Please take care of Toshio from today on. I’ve been raising him in your place until now.”
A blood-covered Takeo is talking inside a public phone booth. Holding a blood-covered fetus in his hand, Takeo laughs, saying, “The baby is born,” and “This is a girl.”
Kobayashi dies upon seeing Kayako, who is covered in blood and painted white, crawling down the stairs from the second floor.
Takeo throws away the bag containing the fetus’s corpse on the street and collapses into a trash dump. A hand reaches out toward Takeo from a plastic trash bag.
”Kyōko”
Real estate company president Tatsuya Suzuki (Makoto Ashikawa) lives with his junior high school son, Nobuyuki.
Tatsuya asks his sister, Kyōko (Yūko Daike), to look at a house (the former Murakami house) that has become a “stigmatized property” because residents have died or gone missing. Kyōko possesses psychic abilities.
Tatsuya tells Kyōko that the mother and daughter died at the Murakami house, and only the father is alive.
Visiting the former Murakami house with Tatsuya, Kyōko senses the curse remaining there and says that those two are not the only ones who died here.
Tatsuya sells the house to Hiroshi Kitada (Weng Hua-Rong) and his wife, Yoshimi (Kaori Fujii), and the couple moves into the former Murakami house.
Kyōko, who went to see the former Murakami house, is terrified to see Yoshimi standing by the window looking as if she had lost her will.
Ju-On: The Curse 2
”Kayako” (Overlaps with “Ju-On: The Curse”)
”Kyōko” (Overlaps with “Ju-On: The Curse” in the first half)
Tatsuya’s son, Nobuyuki (Tomohiro Kaku), is staring blankly at a crime suspense program on TV in his newly moved-into home (Room 205 of the housing complex). The TV image turns into noise, and someone’s hand touches Nobuyuki’s back.
Kyōko asks her acquaintance, Satō, to investigate the series of incidents.
Kyōko receives documents from Satō, such as copies of newspaper articles regarding the series of events. The newspaper articles state that mother Noriko and daughter Kanna died mysteriously at the Murakami house and that the son, Tsuyoshi, is missing; and that the dead bodies of Kobayashi and Toshio were found at the Saeki house.
Kyōko visits her brother Tatsuya’s real estate office and asks the clerk (Mayuko Saitō) to give the documents to Tatsuya.
That night, Kyōko visits Tatsuya’s house. Kyōko finds a warding talisman inside a wooden box on the wall of the entrance.
Kyōko finds Nobuyuki unconscious in front of the TV.
A woman from the next room visits and asks if they are okay, as she just heard a baby’s crying and a woman’s scream. Kyōko turns the woman away, saying, “We don’t have a baby here.”
Tatsuya reads the documents Kyōko brought at the office. Among them is a document regarding the incident that occurred at “Room 205 of the housing complex.”
Kyōko and Nobuyuki see a phantom of the tragedy that once occurred in Room 205 (Takeo Saeki murdered Kobayashi’s wife and her fetus).
”Tatsuya”
A postal package with no sender’s name arrives at the Kitada house. When Yoshimi opens the package, it contains Toshio’s drawings and Kayako’s notebook.
While eating breakfast, Yoshimi hits her husband Hiroshi’s head with a frying pan.
Tatsuya takes Kyōko and Nobuyuki to his parents’ house. Kyōko, possessed by Kayako’s curse, is holding a doll.
Tatsuya visits the Kitada house and faces Yoshimi, who is possessed by Kayako’s curse.
At Tatsuya’s parents’ house, Toshio appears with a cat’s meow, and Tatsuya’s parents die mysteriously.
”Kamio”
Kamio and Iizuka, who are continuing their investigation into the incidents, visit the house of the retired Yoshikawa, but are turned away at the door by Yoshikawa’s wife.
Kamio and Iizuka find Yoshikawa on the veranda of his house, muttering and screaming, having lost his sanity.
Kamio and Iizuka talk about the series of events while monitoring Nobuyuki, who is walking on the street from inside their car. Iizuka says that Nobuyuki is being taken care of at a relative’s house because his mother and grandparents committed suicide a month ago. Kamio says that at the Murakami house, the mother and daughter died, the son and father are missing, and the Kitada couple is also missing.
Inside the police station, Kamio shows Iizuka a photo of Yoshimi by the window taken by Yoshikawa, saying she looks like Kayako. Kamio burns the photo and says he is stepping down from the investigation.
At the Yoshikawa house, Yoshikawa’s wife sees a giant face of Kayako emerging on the ceiling of Yoshikawa’s room.
At the police station, a female police officer tells Iizuka that Kayako has come to visit him. Kamio, seeing Kayako who entered the station, falls into a state of panic and screams.
”Nobuyuki”
On a rainy day at a junior high school, Nobuyuki is cleaning the classroom with his classmates.
When Nobuyuki looks outside from the window, a woman with long hair wearing white clothes (Kayako) is standing there. Kayako enters through the window and chases Nobuyuki on all fours. Nobuyuki runs through the deserted school.
Inside the school, Kayako multiplies into numerous entities.
”Saori”
The former Saeki house has become vacant and there is a sign that says “Tenants Wanted.” Voices of girls who trespassed without permission and a cat’s meow can be heard from inside the house.