An Unsuccessful Remake of a Japanese Horror Film

The greatest strength of the original lies in how viewers can understand for themselves how the setting and its minute details added much more dimension to the storyline and horror aspect of the film. Unfortunately, in the remake, the cast was changed to an American one while still using the same setting—it inevitably leads viewers who have watched the original to continuously reflect on it and compare. As film critic Roger Ebert stated in his review of ‘The Grudge’, “It loses intriguing opportunities to contrast American and Japanese cultures, alas, by allowing everyone to speak English; I was hoping it would exploit its locations, and become ‘Lost, Eviscerated and Devoured in Translation’” (Ebert).

This was a very disappointing part of the movie for me, especially since the original director of Ju-on, Takashi Shimizu, was directing this remake. I couldn’t understand why they set the movie in the same place, utilizing the same house if they weren’t going to stick with the original cast. If Shimizu wanted to distinguish the remake rather than making it seem like a failed copy, it would have been more appropriate to explore a different setting. For example, the interior of the house in the original depicted a more minimalist, traditional home in Tokyo, but in the American remake, the same home had too much modernization. The remake made the story seem that much more inauthentic because it appeared that the setting and characters were not cohesive and were functioning separately. Also, in the remake, the house didn’t seem as creepy as it did in the original, despite it being the primary location for the majority of the action.

‘The Grudge’ was released worldwide, and as a result, the remake became extremely Americanized, presumably in an effort to attract a wider audience. For a story immersed in Japanese culture and beliefs, the Americanized home and cast detracted from the beauty of the original. In ‘Ju-on’, Shimizu does not present the story in the typical chronological order most people are accustomed to. Consequently, viewers of the original film can’t really anticipate when the scares will happen, keeping them more on edge. Additionally, the characters don’t exhibit disbelief towards all the frightening and supernatural events occurring. Instead, there’s an acceptance towards the ominous. This acceptance fuels their sense of hopelessness, amplifying the intensity of the evil. Viewers can see this as an advantage as “it does not follow a traditional western story arc, which would typically consist of three stages: 1. Gneral disbelief that the events happening in the story have a supernatural explanation; 2. Acceptance coupled with an attempt to ‘figure out’ the ghosts and what they want, and finally; 3. Action that leads to the elimination or at least appeasement of the spirits” (Dishman).

In the remake, Takashi Shimizu made the movie in chronological order, following the Western story arc. This approach allows viewers to anticipate the scares due to the buildup and time it takes. That’s why fans and critics seem to prefer the direction of the original. Though Takashi Shimizu was the director for both the original Ju-on and the remake, using a similar storyline and scenes from the original, viewers still seem to believe that Ju-on: The Grudge is superior to The Grudge. Ju-on captured the hearts of horror-loving individuals like myself due to its originality. Compared to The Grudge, the original was scarier and more spine-chilling because of the way the plot was presented. The movie did not follow a typical Western story arc like The Grudge; instead, its direction was unique. Ju-on immersed itself fully in the setting where it took place, leveraging traditional Japanese culture and beliefs, adding an authentic element to the storyline.

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