Ju-on: White Ghost & Ju-on: Black Ghost

Ghosts are very important in Japanese culture with prayers being offered to departed souls and even a whole month given over to spirits. It is against this background that Takashi Shimizu's Ju-on series of films (amongst others) are set. Shimizu has made so many Ju-on films that one could almost lose count, starting in 2000 with Ju-on and following that up with Ju-on 2 the same year. There have been several other films, including American remakes, and this release brings two of them together on one disc: Ju-on White Ghost and Ju-on Black Ghost. Each of these begins with Japanese scripts that is translated into English and should be familiar to anyone who has seen one of these films:

"Ju-on: A curse born when a person dies in a powerful rage. It gathers where the dead person lived, and becomes a 'stain'."

This set up for the Ju-on films is the same for each so they are a little formulaic -- a person dies in a horrible way, or in a manner that leaves her spirit a little restless so the ghost remains behind either to seek vengeance on those that wronged the person before their death or to make others aware of what happened to them.

In Ju-on: White Ghost, a teenage girl, Akane, begins to have visions of a young schoolgirl in a yellow rain hat and satchel similar to the outfit that she wore as a young girl. As the story develops, we find out that a law student, having failed the bar exam, murdered his family before hanging himself from a tree in the garden, recording everything on a Dictaphone. As the cameras in, we hear the tape playing his final words promising that he'll be back. It seems that the man's spirit has manifested itself in his sister and it is her as Akane keeps seeing. It is up to her to pacify the spirit before her sanity well and truly goes.


Ju-on: Black Ghost has a similar story but this time involves Fukie, a woman who is suspected of having a cyst in her stomach but, on further investigation, the nurse looking after her discovers that Fukie terminated a previous pregnancy and the cyst is in fact the grudge of the unborn child. With Fukie's health deteriorating, Yuko must resort to desperate measures to save her patient's life.

Watching the Ju-on films brings about a sense of déjà vu as it's a case of you've seen one, you've seen them all with only minor differences separating each movie from the last. Watching these as a double bill highlights the similarities between each film but it is incredible how much variety you can have within such a limited storyline. Each one has the same beginning and end with a ghost being seen, and investigation reveals who it is and why they are visible and what they want and it ends when the malevolent spirit is finally confronted and appeased.


There is nothing particularly special about these two films and they don't really rise above the froth to become memorable or extraordinary Asian horror films. However, they are watchable -- very watchable -- and there is enough atmosphere and shocks to satisfy your average horror fan.

I was perfectly happy watching these without being bowled over in the same way that I was when I saw Ring, A Tale of Two Sisters or Dark Water but then again I didn't expect to be. If you like the Ju-on films and a happy to take them for what they are, formulaic ghost stories with a few jumps along the way, then you'll enjoy watching these.

The Disc

The Picture
Both films have nice clear, sharp image but sadly they look, to put it bluntly, cheap. The overall impression is of a student movie, something made as a dissertation project for film school. That being said, the ghost effects are pretty good and are effective at sending a chill up the spine though, after so many Ju-on films and movies featuring women with pale faces and lank, black hair, the effect apartment should be.

Location shooting adds to the atmosphere and are some pretty effects, especially in Black Ghost where the appearance of the ghost inside Fukie's stomach goes from an obvious prosthetic to something much more convincing in the space of two shots.

The Sound
All of the Ju-on films I've seen have benefited enormously from a surround soundtrack which ramps up the tension and does its best to freak you out with the spirit's croaky calling, something I know someone has imitated to scare her husband! This makes the stereo soundtrack all the more disappointing as, although the dialogue is nice and clear, the atmospherics and nuanced sounds are barely audible.


Final Thoughts
Takashi Shimizu is basically a one project kind of guy whose philosophy must be 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. Although he hasn't personally directed either of these, he wrote them both. With two films on one disc, you're certainly getting value for money but this is a test of how much you like the Ju-on movies to whether you really want to watch another two or whether if, like me you've practically had your fill with the first feature films and the American remakes.

Both of these are interesting films but they don't add much to what has so that is one of already been done in this long-running horror saga.