Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

  • Starring: Megumi Okina, Misa Uehara, Misaki Ito
  • Summary: Director/screenwriter Shimizu Takashi spins the tale of a family that is brutally killed in their own home, leaving behind an evil spirit burning with hatred. When an unknowing homecare worker enters the house, the spirit is awakened and a terrifying chain of events begins, passing through all those who set foot within its walls. (Lions Gate Films) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 22
  2. Negative: 4 out of 22
  1. 89
    Shimuzu sees darkened staircases and hears the rustle of dead autumn leaves and reacts as if from the devil’s own haiku. And his dread is catching.
  2. For all of its weakness, Ju-On: The Grudge is creepy and unnerving, qualities in short supply in gore-filled American horror films.
  3. Reviewed by: Richard James Havis
    60
    Director Takashi Shimizu chooses cruel psychological suspense over gore and succeeds in spinning a minimal plot into a panorama of malice.
  4. 30
    Occasionally scary, never coherent.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. AndieV.
    10
    this movie scared the shit out of me! for those people who said it was boring: "do you see dead corpses everyday and is use to it or something?" anyways, i had night mares for 2 weeks after seeing this. Expand
  2. JohnE.
    10
    Totally unlike any normal horror film, this will stay with you long after you have watched it. Some very creepy images along with creepy minimal music. A must for any genuine horror fan. Expand
  3. To a Japanese audience, Ju-on may very well be regarded as a generic horror film. But, show it to people that are unaccustomed to and uneducated on the vast cultural differences of its home country, and you will instantly be able to affect them in a way that you couldn't within your own borders. The movie's very 'foreignness' is one of its biggest assets, aiding Westerners in feeling as if they are witnessing horrifying events, rather than being the subject of them. The plot is probably unnecessarily convoluted for what the story is, but all of the cryptic symbolism and subtle spiritual questioning inject the film with a purpose beyond the initial aim of scaring. Sound effects, editing, camera placement and direction are all at a superb level, adding up to something that an English-language remake could never have translated fully. Expand

See all 14 User Reviews

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