(2014)
Dir - Masayuki Ochiai
Overall: MEH
Just as unnecessary as a reboot as it is a sequel, Ju-on: The Beginning of the End, (Ju-on: Owari no Hajimari), retells the same series of events in the same manner as Takashi Shimizu's 2000 SOV original and its many other follow-ups. The seventh Japanese installment thus far, (not counting the three American versions), renowned J-horror writer/director Masayuki Ochiai takes the helm, staging a number of predictable vignettes inside of the cursed Saeki haunted house where the creepy underwear ghost with a bowl cut and the one that makes loud creaky noises while crawling around all spider-like take turns with their inevitable appearances. The redundant nature of the franchise is not helped by a low-end, flatly digital presentation which though comparatively more polished than the initial style that Shimizu utilized for budgetary constraints, does little to rejuvenate an already stale formula. With no new narrative avenues to explore, exclusively underwritten characters, and the particular set pieces being more arbitrary in nature than ever, Ochiai is left to merely kick more sand around in a limited sandbox. Even if some of them are awkwardly silly, at least there are a small handful of striking visual moments, particularly in the final sequence which finally kicks some much-needed yet still superfluous life into the proceedings.
(2015)
Dir - Masayuki Ochiai
Overall: MEH
A direct sequel to the previous year's Ju-on: The Beginning of the End from filmmaker Masayuki Ochiai, Ju-on: The Final Curse, (Ju-on -Za Fainaru), is comparatively more meandering than its immediate predecessor, which unfortunately also comes at the cost of memorable set pieces. We pick up with a fresh crop of characters, (some of whom are related to the one's that have previously been seen), yet this hardly matters as none of them are interesting and their only purpose seems to be as fodder for more interchangeable supernatural occurrences. Both of the Saeki spectre's get ample screen time for this round and they arrive in the most random of fashions. Per example, Kayako's creaking ghost lady can appear in front of any character that she wishes, only for her to have to creep outside of a barricaded door long enough for people to exchange potent dialog with each other. Such examples are many and the reasonable ninety-minute running time feels twice as long under the derivative strain of it all. Director Ochiai still has the good sense to keep the mood on the dread-fueled side, but he and producer/co-screenwriter Takashige Ichise's story is arguably the most humdrum in the series. Of course, no horror fan on the planet can be fooled by the "final" word in the title as this would hardly be the last Ju-on movie to get unleashed, with more on the way from both sides of the Pacific.
(2016)
Dir - Kōji Shiraishi
Overall: MEH
"My curse and your curse will fight. Its the only way to save our lives". Such a silly sentiment sits at the heart of the inevitable and gimmicky crossover Sadako vs. Kayako, (Sadako bāsasu Kayako), which brings both the Ringu and Ju-on franchises together in lackluster fashion. With someone like writer/ director Kōji Shiraishi at the helm, (who granted does his best work in the found footage avenue, which neither one of these properties have ever ventured into), one may think that he could concoct something that at least leaned into its doofiness more. Instead, the movie plays such an inescapably schlocky premise straight, creating zero menace or atmospheric tension in the process, though try as it does. While the pairing of each singular story line makes as much sense as could be expected once two expert ghost-hunting supernatural psychic occult experts have the logical idea to pit the title ghosts against each other in order to cancel themselves out, it takes until the last act for this to happen. Everything that comes before is simply a rehash of set pieces that we have seen in each enterprise dozens of times. Also, everybody makes sure to stand extra still in order for the vengeance spirits to get them, the girl from Ringu's well just happens to be in the backyard of the Saeki haunted house for convenience's sake, and then a big CGI tree monster happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment