Ju-on: The Grudge

Vengeful ghosts and viral curses are at the heart of this uncanny and spine-chilling Japanese preoccupation with the afterburn of violence and the spirit world.

Unfolding in a non-linear timeline, Ju-On chronicles a vengeful curse that was created when a man murder’s his unfaithful wife, along with his child and family cat. Anyone who now enters the house is infected with the curse, which spreads in the location where they are killed.

When Rika, a volunteer home carer enters the house to tend to a bedridden patient, she inadvertently releases the evil curse and unleashes a wave of supernatural terror while potentially becoming the house’s next victim.

Initially starting life as a direct-to-video franchise, Ju-On: The Grudge, the third instalment in the franchise was the first to be released theatrically. Initially unfavourably compared to Ring (1998), the film went on to stand alongside that film to become a J-Horror classic, spawning a US remake, sequels, video games and a television prequel.

– Spiro Economopoulos, Guest Curator