Ju-on: The Curse 2

06/29/2018 07:15

Film: Ju-on: The Curse 2

Year: 2000

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Writer: Takashi Shimizu

Starring: Yûrei Yanagi, Takako Fuji and Takashi Matsuyama

 

Review:

This is the sequel to the made for television/straight to video version that started this series of films. It picks up right where the last one left off and is also written and directed by Takahsi Shimizu. The official synopsis for the film is on his request; the sensitive sister of a real estate agent visits a house he intends to sell, only to cross paths with its resident curse.

Now I will upfront that I had issues with the first thirty minutes of this film. It is literally taking two of the POV/stories from the previous film and just putting them here. I don’t know if this film was pushed into production too quickly so instead of just filming new things or just doing a quick recap, they instead just used the footage. I will say that one of the scenes used was one of the scariest in the previous films, but it still annoyed me.

With that out of the way, I do like the continuity of this film. This one continues the story the previous one set up and then this one expands on it. There was a question I had from the pervious film that was answered in this one. I wasn’t a big fan that Tatsuya Suzuki (Makoto Ashikawa) and his son, Nobuyuki Suzuki (Tomohiro Kaku) moved into the apartment that used to belong to Shunsuke Kobayashi (Yûrei Yanagi). I felt that was a little bit too much of a coincidence. The film tries to play like the curse has a role in this, but it just didn’t feel like it fit.

Going from this, much like the previous film and others from the series, I like how this film is constructed as well. It again is told from different perspectives and is presented as shorts that are all connected. I do think they build a narrative that is coherent, but I did find this one to drag a bit. The film does pick up in the final act and the tension starts to build, but it does lose it a bit in the middle. Now I will say that the ending was good and I like where these two films were going. This film is also plagued that it cuts away from some of the scary parts a little too early. I think this a product of being made for television.

Now the acting was good though. I thought all of the actors were well cast in their roles. This film and the previous one are interesting, because I really have trouble figuring out who the star is and who we are really focusing on. This one seems to be pointing to Kyôko Suzuki (Yûko Daike) as she is the medium who is susceptible to the spirits, but she disappears from the film. Despite this issue, I do think that the acting is good across the board. Kayako Saeki is again portrayed by Takako Fuji and she has a great look for the character. She does a solid job. I also think that Ryôta Koyama was good as Toshio Saeki.

Much like the previous film, this doesn’t do a whole lot with effects. The blood that was used looked good. It was a shot that was pulled from the previous film, so it is hard to give this one too much credit for that. There was a solid scene where Kayako’s face appears and it was done with CGI. I thought it looked really good. I don’t really have much else to touch on this department.

Moving next to the score of the film, it didn’t really stand out to me for this one. It doesn’t hurt the film and the only places I really noticed it were the first scary scene of Kayako and the ending sequence. The music selection there was really good, but I can’t recall it throughout most of the film.

Now with that said, this is an above average sequel to a decent film. Both this and the original show what Shimizu wanted to do and then did much better with his remake. This film does do some good things. It took the good story from the previous one and continued it while expanding. I do think this one could have done a little bit more and not just used 30 minutes from the previous one. The editing did have some issues for me as I was somewhat bored during a stretch. The acting though was good and one of the bright spots for the film. There aren’t really a lot in the way of effects, but what was used was good. The score also didn’t really stand out, but it never took me out of the film. It did heighten two of the scary parts of the film. As I said, this is above average and I’d only recommend if you like the previous film and are a big fan of the series.

 

My Rating: 6 out of 10