I have a feeling all the little boys and girls who got the crap scared out of them won't shut up about it, and that the movie will stay in the top five for at least another two weeks.Quote:
Originally Posted by BioMechanic
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I have a feeling all the little boys and girls who got the crap scared out of them won't shut up about it, and that the movie will stay in the top five for at least another two weeks.Quote:
Originally Posted by BioMechanic
Ju-on was a huge letdown for me, considering all the hype... and so was The Grudge, but I feel like The Grudge worked better, at least, for an American audience. The ending felt sort of cheap, but the ending of the Japanese version wasn't any better, heh. It added a bit that was interesting, took out a lot that was unnecessary... eliminating that dragging feel that was a huge complaint for me with the Japanese version. I also felt that scares were built up far too much in the Japanese version, and the payoff didn't match. Though the scoring is over the top at times, I think the use of audio is a lot better in this version for the scares... they seem to hit harder, even when you know what's coming because the music beats you over the head with it. The inclusion of the jawless chick was fantastic. It made me smile. It was missing a few scenes I liked from the Japanese version, though... the last scene with the stairs was nowhere near as gratuitous and over the top as it should have been. I was hoping the original would get cranked up until it was ridiculous, but... it seems toned down.
I just got my hands on the first two Ju-on films, the Japanese direct to video/TV movies/whatever they were. Supposedly the first one sheds some light on the first crimes committed in the house, but... yeah, we'll see, I guess.
Not what I hoped, but I think Shimizu made a lot of good decisions when he considered his audience annd remade this. Could have done a whole lot more, too, but oh well.
edit: I'd also like to add that as disappointing as both of these films were, they were responsible for me now making loud, annoying creaking noises at inappropriate times and freaking out some of my more skittish friends. I approve of this.
Saw it last night, and I thought it was pretty damn good, despite being told by about 5 or 6 people beforehand that it was terrible. Very freaky and disturbing for a PG-13 movie. It was interesting how they skipped around in time to tell different parts of the story, but I have a feeling this was done (rather effectively) just to cover up how completely paper-thin the plot was. I mean, it could be summed up in one sentence:
"Japanese wife likey big-o American man, husband find out, kill wife and kid then commit hari-kari, house haunt everyone from then on."
Thin plot or not, it was still very well-done and not confusing in the least. I usually find Buffy annoying, but she was fine in this movie. Like The Ring (which sucked), the lead actress was more of a placeholder than anything else…she didn't really matter. It was all about the ghosts. The kid I could have done without (I'm so goddamn tired of "creepy kid" movies. Before The Grudge started they showed trailers for at least two other horror movies with creepy, emotionless kids saying creepy stuff), but man, was that ghost chick freaky. Seriously. It was a little slow in parts, but I hear the Japanese version was even worse in this regard.
Still, that part with the bed…looked like the ghost was about to perform oral on that woman when she lifted the covers. :)
Ending was retarded, though. Should have ended when the house burned down.
The fact that they kept it based in Japan added a slightly different feel than your usual horror movie. I think it was a good move bringing back the director of the original version, and it makes me interested in maybe tracking it down to see how it compares. Is it out on DVD here?
The original will be out on Nov. 2 if I'm not mistaken.
That's what I liked about the original, though. I've always considered the buildup to be the scary part in any horror movie, not the payoff, and Ju-On did a great job with the various buildups. The Grudge didn't really do that... there was never any tension with any of the scares, just a "BOO!" before you move on to the next scene.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grave
juon felt alot more like a normal hollywood movie. lots of jump scares, lots of scenes with people looking concerned, lots of boyfriend girlfriend interaction for no reason, etc.
i didnt jump once during this flick(nor did i jump during the japanese version), but it was funny as hell to see random "og nigga what WHAT" black guys in their doo-rags screamin like little bitches.
i looked around the theatre during a dry spot and these "hardcore gangsta homies" are sitting there all curled up with their hat tilted so they dont have to see the evil bad ghosties. lol. what a bunch of fake ass pussy bitches.
one chick was all scrunched up in the chair resting her chin on her knees, and when the ghost popped up she freaked out and fell out of the chair, busting her ass on the floor AND hitting her head on the arm rest. COMEDY GOLD.
regarding "omg the jap ringu was awesome" crap that's been floatin around lately:
that was THE most dry, boring, overly zealous, "lookitme im his ex wife and he's a psychic...but for no other reason than to push the plot forward", absolutely unscary piece of film ever. thank god that the american remake at least attempted to scare the crap out of the viewers.
ringu just force fed the audience way to god damn much information. that, and the scares weren't scary at all. just people freaking out with a film negative overlayed onto the image. fuck that.
Agreed, but I still think it's a good idea to watch both Ringu and The Ring because I feel The Ring didn't explain things as well as Ringu. Ringu 2 and Ringu 0 managed to scare the absolute shit out of me, though, so they're definently worth watching.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWhitefolks
Actually, I'll agree with Ringu being horribly overrated. The entire second act of the movie was mystery, not horror, which would be okay if it wasn't for the fact that one of the main characters was psychic whenever it served the plot so the "investigation" was quite possibly the most boring stretch of film ever. Scooby Doo had more believable detective work.
Basically, the ENTIRE film existed solely to support a single scare. Now, granted, it was an amazing scene, but I have a feeling that it's the only reason people love Ringu as much as they do. I also imagine that it worked far better as a novel than a movie. Either way, though, The Ring had better pacing and would have been a classic had that little kid not been a Sixth Sense reject.
Yeah, My girl's cell phone is broken , so I've been calling her recently on her home phone and doing the "Grudge-Zombie-Moan" to freak her out. ( No caller ID on that one :D )Quote:
Originally Posted by Grave
Ringu sucked in terms of explaining things. The psychic guy randomly pulls the whole reasoning for Sadako's video out of his ass with no basis for thinking that, they never explained the connection between her supposed revenge and the video, which also deals with them never explaining why the copying of the video was important. If I hadn't watched the Ring first I would've had no clue what the ending in Ringu meant. This one of the few times ever when I felt the added exposition helped.Quote:
Originally Posted by Interpol
What he said. I don't think Ringu is a bad movie (it's the best low-budget horror movie I've ever seen) but there's way too much cheese for me to take it completely seriously (quit the negative screens and get some better music for the scare portions). I remember liking the Ring a lot (more than I did Ringu), even though I haven't seen it in a while and need to watch it again to see how it compares.Quote:
Originally Posted by sethsez
Yay for OT!
Why does everyone call it Ringu, it`s katakana English for ring so why not call it Ring? They call the remake Za Ringu in Japan, why not call the original Ring in the US? I hate katakana English.
OT When did Ju on: the curse come out, and when did Ju on: The grudge come out? It`s interesting to me to see films remade so quickly. It`s like everyone`s suddenly getting George Lucas/Robert Rodrigus syndrome and just remaking their own stuff all of a sudden. It`s a topic we discussed back in my art class days, when does digital/photographic/video work become "finished" and does the artist(s) have a right to change it after the first time it`s "finished?"