This is what I love about Japanese horror, when it's done right, they've really nailed the seemingly dead, "Gothic Horror" genre. Meaning if you're expecting a lot of jump scares that plague the films later on in this series, then you'll be disappointed.
It's been a while since I've seen it, but I remember the story and atmosphere being great in this film. The ghosts were human once, and they hold on to their humanity in the afterlife too. Just want to tell their story, but get offended if you get scared by them and tend to kill you, trapping your spirit in the house too. Which is a now clichéd Japanese trope, and is based off of Japanese demonology, but back in 2000, it was still kind of novel to me. There was one "jump scare" that really bothered me for the next few days, but it didn't feel like a wasted jump scare. It made sense and was earned. Luckily this is one of those horror movies that stuff happens in the background as the story plays out in the foreground and this is before music stings gave everything away.
This is definitely the best one in the Ju-On quartet, but the Grudge 1 is also pretty good. Curse 2 and Grudge 2 not so much. These work best as haunted houses, and the 2s' in the series decided to take the demon outside the house. I think the Curse 2 had an interesting justification for it, if I remember correctly. Good movie, holds up, atmosphere first and foremost. Also, light on the mystery. The mystery is in the motive, not in the "who-done-it".
It's been a while since I've seen it, but I remember the story and atmosphere being great in this film. The ghosts were human once, and they hold on to their humanity in the afterlife too. Just want to tell their story, but get offended if you get scared by them and tend to kill you, trapping your spirit in the house too. Which is a now clichéd Japanese trope, and is based off of Japanese demonology, but back in 2000, it was still kind of novel to me. There was one "jump scare" that really bothered me for the next few days, but it didn't feel like a wasted jump scare. It made sense and was earned. Luckily this is one of those horror movies that stuff happens in the background as the story plays out in the foreground and this is before music stings gave everything away.
This is definitely the best one in the Ju-On quartet, but the Grudge 1 is also pretty good. Curse 2 and Grudge 2 not so much. These work best as haunted houses, and the 2s' in the series decided to take the demon outside the house. I think the Curse 2 had an interesting justification for it, if I remember correctly. Good movie, holds up, atmosphere first and foremost. Also, light on the mystery. The mystery is in the motive, not in the "who-done-it".