I'm not easily scared. I've seen enough horror films in my life that not much affects me. Not violence, gore, or attempted fright. However, the first time I watched Ju-on, I was scared. More scared than I can ever remember being from seeing any other film. My stomach swelled with dread, my heart was racing. When the film was done, I quickly switched the lights on, turned on my computer, and sent my then-girlfriend an email telling her what I'd watched, and that I was going to sit her down to experience the same thing. I wrote as humorously as possible in order to break the feeling of dread that was still built up in my stomach. I slept with the lights on that night. No horror film has ever freaked me out like that before.

The reason why Ju-on is so successful is not in its construction – the film is very poorly plotted, with gaping plot holes, and little or no explanation of the events that occur. The film is successful beyond that. Takashi Shimizu is incredibly adept at developing a sense of atmosphere. Shots are very well framed, revealing to the viewer what needs to be revealed, and then with a quick cut, it's gone. It creates a very creepy atmosphere, which, when combined with some generally unsettling visuals, creates the most unnerving, and terrifying horror film I may have ever seen.

Ju-on is “The curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage. It gathers and takes effect in the places that person was alive. Those who encounter it die and a new curse is born.” The film is basically a series of stories, told out of sequence, which are all interconnected in some way or another. The curse began in a house in which a man murdered his wife in a fit of jealousy, before committing suicide. Their son disappeared without a trace. Anyone who enters the house is soon affected by the curse, and are certain to die a terrifying death.

That's the idea behind Ju-on, yet so much is left unanswered. The film plays more like a series of independent stories, because the connection between segments is generally quite vague. Ju-on: The Grudge is the third in a series of films, which consists of the two original DTV Japanese productions, the original theatrical release under review, it's Japanese sequel, the American remake entitled The Grudge, and now it's sequel. All were directed by Takashi Shimizu, and all show a slight decline in originality, and overall quality, culminating with the terrible American remake, which was nothing more than a cluster of sequences taken directly from the original Japanese films, bastardized by the Hollywood system.

The film under review is, if seen before any of the other Ju-on productions, very frightening. It is certainly more polished than the DTV releases, thanks to a much higher budget. However anyone who's seen the original releases or even the American remake are bound to have some of the surprises ruined due to the lack of originality of the entire series, from the second film on. Those who are new to the series, I encourage to sit down late one evening, with the lights off, all by your lonesome. The ability to be frightened is directly related to the person's mentality, and I am aware not everyone will take this film the same way. I am, however, certain that the majority will be scared shitless.

I've seen the film enough times that it does little for me anymore. On my initial viewing, however, not knowing much about the series, and never seeing any of the films (This was long before the American remake), I was more frightened than I can ever recall being by a movie. And I hope you can experience the same. Forget that the film doesn't make a whole lot of sense. A good horror movie will scare you, a great horror film will scare you enough that you won't be able to shake the effects for a while. Ju-on succeeds in that respect, and receives my recommendation.