Further Viewings in J-Horror
Hi, I thought I would list some addition J-Horror films (mostly the ones that also have American remakes). If you are interested in a full list. There is a nice one on the Wikipedia page on J-Horror.
First Ringu had two Japanese sequels: Ringu 2 and Ringu 0: Bâsudei. Ringu 2 is available at SMIL. As for the remakes there is The Ring directed by Gore Verbinski and The Ring Two (unrelated to Ringu 2), which brought on original director Hideo Nakata. Only The Ring is available at SMIL.
Probably the second most popular J-Horror film is Ju-On by Takashi Shimizu, which was remade as The Grudge. Both are available in SMIL.
Other J-Horror films that had North American remakes include Dark Water, The Pulse, and One Missed Call. I couldn’t find any of them in my SMIL search.
Even though it’s not a J-Horror film, you could also check out the Hong Kong horror film The Eye, which was remade last year (the original is available in SMIL).
And that’s all.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:31 am
I think another remake worth watching is the movie Shutters (I’ve been told the asian version is better, but that could all be from viewer bias haha)
one japanese film i was suggested from a friend was Karaoke Terror / Showa Kayo Daizenshu by Tetsuo Shinohara, but i wasn’t told where I could watch it online sorry
March 17th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
I have to agree with Paul about Shutters.
Out of the J-Horror remakes, i’d say the most interesting comparison would have to be Ju-On and The Grudge. The style changes in the American from the Japanese are similar in execution to those in Ringu and The Ring, and, in my opinion, acts as a good second example.
March 18th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
I have seen “The Grudge” remake and most of Ju-On and agree with Ryan’s suggestion of it as a second example to The Ring and Ringu because of the similarities between the American and Japanese versions of the films. However, character involvement is different between the two films, where in The Grudge, the protagonist takes the initiative to solve the problem on her own, while in Ju-On, she is quick to involve the help of others. CG is used differently as well in both films.
I can’t say that I am a huge fan of the J-Horror films and remakes. The originals are somewhat appealing, but sometimes, there is no need for a sequel, or prequel (The Grudge 3 - come on!)
March 18th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
*Sorry, I meant The Ring 3 - but they’ll probably make another Grudge as well.
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I don’t watch much J-horror *I’ve only seen Ringu, Ju-On, and a couple other Asian horror films but not Japanese*.. but there are some good horror animes for anyone’s that’s interested:
Ghost Hunt: fairly new. Very similar in most stories to the horror films we’ve seen so far. Minimal sound, and makes you feel very anxious. I highly recommend it ^^
Ayakashi Classic Japanese Horror: an anime mostly about Japanese folklore and horror stories.
Mononoke: a spin-off from Ayakashi CJH … very good, amazing art ^^
as for movies, I haven’t seem this one yet, but try Higurashi no Naku Koro ni movie. I’ve watched the anime series for this. It’s very gory, but it also has Japanese folklore somewhat, and a similar feel to J-horror~
here’s the link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zdnJd0ZY3I
March 24th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Personally I’m not a fan of horror as I get scarred easily. However I did watch Shutters as Paul was saying and it really wasn’t as scary as I thought. What was interesting was how the camera “toured” Japan from an American perspective (as the main characters were) and promoted the culture. The ending was twisted, one that was unpredictable which made the movie even more intriguing, that however could’ve been a trait from the Japanese horror films.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I think the primary difference between the Japanese and American films of horror is the style.. The Japanese versions just have this very tight mise-en-scene, as if the victim can’t escape from the ghost or whatever. Just like in the ending of Ringu, all the scenes in the film felt so open spaced, but until that one guy being chased by the ghost coming out of the tv.. It’s as if everything became so cramped for him, he was just tripping all over the place, the camera shows a unique angle of how he can’t just simply run out the door.. The point being, your being chased by the ghost, and they want to make it feel as though there is NO escape, even though the Japanese ghosts move so slowly LOL. American versions of it, their main means to scare us is through something that just pops out quickly and makes you jump accompanied with a loud frightening noise.. In Japanese films, they just show these slow ghosts, they don’t mind using gore and gruesome effects like that mother ghost in Ju-on, crawling on the ground with all that blood all over her. The point in those films is to create lasting images in our heads.
I saw an interesting documentary, it was called “Sans Soleil”, meaning Sunless. It had a portion talking about Japanese horror, thought I’d mention it here. Anyways, we are afraid of these Japanese films, because it’s as though the ghosts or creepy figures are looking at “us”, the audience. The unnaturally huge eyes and black hair covering the face are common aspects in J-horror ghosts. But even if you look at the ghost boy in Ju-on, his eyes are REALLY huge and they stare at you. That’s their secret technique at scaring the audience, not only keeping the audience as a spectator watching these poor victims get caught by ghosts in the film, but including you as the audience, staring at you. So subconsciously, you’d feel like the victim.
Just thought I’d mention some of the techniques behind J-horror films that get to us. If you guys haven’t seen it, you should definitely check out Ju-on and especially Ju-on 2~!! Ju-on 2 was not only scaring, but freagin freaky~! Like really freaky ending. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but that’s really something messed up. I saw The Grudge with Sarah Michelle Gellar, that totally scared me, so I really don’t want to watch Grudge 2 LOL. But for those J-horror fans, Ju-on 2 is freagin amazing. Also check out a recent film, I didn’t want to watch it cause I take TTC, but if those interested, the film is called “Ghost Train” (2006) directed by Takeshi Furusawa. I heard the acting wasn’t the best, but the concept of it, ghosts haunting subway lines and stuff. That would pretty much stop me from using TTC, but if you guys want a scare, check that out lol. Sorry for the long post, guess I had a lot to say, I’m sure Sharon would appreciate it though lol.
March 25th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Sorry, just thought I’d mention this. Those who really like gruesome effects, gore and excessive imagery. There is a film I recently saw in another class, which was REALLY disturbing to me. It’s more on the lines of a Yakuza/Horror film, definitely demonstrates the horrific effects of Yakuza. Not to spoil the Yakuza week or anything, but we’re not going to watch this film for the Yakuza week, so thought I’d share it. The film is called “Ichi the Killer” (2001) directed by Takashi Miike. For those who really love gore and excessive imagery, you’re gonna love this film. I showed it to my cousin, and he LOVED it cause he loves gore and Japanese themes and such. It’s comparable to those excessive animes that show excessive gore violence, some examples I can think of right now is “Ninja Scroll”, “Ghost in the Shell” and “Basilisk”. But if you can’t stand gore, stay away from Ichi the Killer lol. It probably scar you for life hahaha.
Oh ya, just on a side note. Those who’ve seen the anime Basilisk and like it, there is a live action re-make of it which was pretty awesome. It’s not as excessive as the anime was, but it was so amazing, I love those anime remakes into live action. The remake of Basilisk is called “Shinobi: Heart Under Blade” (2005) directed by Ten Shimoyama. If you like ninjas and stuff, oh man this movie you GOTTA WATCH~! A MUST SEE if you love ninjas, especially if you love the globalized main stream anime “Naruto”. Can’t compare to that, cause Naruto is #1 in the world through fame, but Shinobi is freagin awesome.
Also for those Matrix fans in the class, there is another anime remake film that is very similar to The Matrix in cinematography and special effects. I was just, so breathless watching the cinematography, it was so unique and amazing. It has a similar plot to The Matrix too, like the whole idea of machines taking over the world and what not. Anyways, the film is called “Casshern” (2004) directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. Freagin amazing film with the special effects, cinematography and action. Has a deep core message too, just like Matrix. I don’t know, I just love Japanese remakes of animes into live action. If any of you know of anymore, let me know, cause I’d love to watch it. Other than Death Note and Lovely Complex, which I’ve seen. Looking forward to Dragonball as well, not sure if they did a good job on it though, funny how I mentioned that last week in class lol. But ya, definitely on the concept of transnational stardom, made in Hollywood and a Chinese director Steven Chow.
Anyways, I wrote way too much today, better stop now. See everyone in class~!! =D
March 26th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Just wanted to quicky mention about Jason’s recommendation of Ichi the killer. Not really a film about effects of Yakuza. It just borrows the thematics of a Yakuza film to show gore. The entire point of the film is to show excessive amount of gore until the point of absurdity as it is so fake and far from reality by any means. Personally hated the film as I hate gore. But when you see a guy being split open across the midline in perfect symmetry, it goes beyond the point of gory and just becomes ridiculous.
Anyway, I really hatehatehate horror films. The one film that I’ve seen other than Ringu in class would be Ju-on, but the TV version. I don’t know why I watched the TV version and I still regret watching it til this day, because it still haunts me whenever I open my closet and it’s been 4 years since my friends forced me to watch it. I think why I’m more terrified of J-horror films than say slasher films, is that the “i can’t escape from this” kind of feeling. With films where the source of evil is a human being, it is still possible to get away from it, but if the evil source is a ghost or some supernatural force, there is no escape from it. Also in Ju-on, you can see the same circulation or repetition of the terrors from Ringu and Cure that Sharon was talking about. These horrors and deaths are a never ending cycle and I think that’s what makes it so horrifying.
Another thing that really bothered me to the core with the TV version Ju-on was some of the really disturbing and grusome subject matters and the fact that it was aired on national television. There is a scene where a guy kills a pregnant woman and takes her baby of out her and carries the dead baby around in a bag. Well, thank god, the process of that wasn’ts shown and in fact the baby is never shown either. All is shown on screen is that he has a bag, and he calls the dad to tell him that he has his baby and then starts to beat up the bag, kicking it and smashing it. For me this was just unbearably appalling and I was in total shock that they would show such a thing on TV. Until this day, I still think “what kind of a person makes that kind of film!” and end up hatehatehating the director.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Oh, and not J-horror, but I there is this really scarry Korean Horror film titled “Janghwa Hongryeon” by director Kim Jiwoon. And I heard that it’s been remaked in Hollywood. I think the title is “The Uninvited” I haven’t seen either of them cause I’m too scared, but just thought I should throw that out for anybody who would be interested.