Ju-on: The Grudge

"When a grudge from the dead passes to the living, who is safe?"

2002 1h 32m JA

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 1,008

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a social worker is sent to check on a traumatized elderly woman whose family have moved in at the site of a notorious murder case, she unwittingly unleashes a cycle of terror that transmits via its victims.

“When a grudge from the dead passes to the living, who is safe?”

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Cast

Megumi Okina
Rika Nishina
Misa Uehara
Izumi Toyama
Yoji Tanaka
Yuji Toyama
Misaki Itō
Hitomi Tokunaga
Kanji Tsuda
Katsuya Tokunaga
Shuri Matsuda
Kazumi Tokunaga
Kayoko Shibata
Mariko
Yui Ichikawa
Chiharu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Shimizu
Writers: Takashi Shimizu
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Ju-on Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Shimizu, shot by Tokushō Kikumura. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Shiro Sato. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nobuyuki Takahashi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Megumi Okina and Misa Uehara and Yoji Tanaka carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When a grudge from the dead passes to the living, who is safe?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Shimizu directs. Tokushō Kikumura behind the camera. Shiro Sato scores. Nobuyuki Takahashi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 24 years ago.
3Part of the "Ju-on Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Takashi Shimizu, shot by Tokushō Kikumura. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Shiro Sato. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nobuyuki Takahashi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Megumi Okina and Misa Uehara and Yoji Tanaka carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "When a grudge from the dead passes to the living, who is safe?".
9IMDB entry: tt0364385 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "dying and death", "japan", "primal fear", "panic".
11Released under 30 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tokushō Kikumura
Original score: Shiro Sato
Editing: Nobuyuki Takahashi
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $3,657,876
Return: 105% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

Part of

Ju-on Collection

Japanese horror franchise revolving around a curse born when one person dies with a deep and burning rage. Four films released in this original series from 2000 to 2003, before being rebooted twice and crossing over with the Ring series.