Saw this a few nights ago, and from one raised on horror flicks who does not creep out easily, I admit the Japanese horror flick, Ju-On 2 had me in goosebumps a few times…
Here is a Netflix link to get you going on it… Ju-On 2
Rmpl
Agreed … the Japanese horror films are definitely creepy.
I saw the original Ju-on a while back. I was half asleep, which made me react to certain scenes like a three year old girl. I highly recommend Ringu, which “The Ring” is based on on. The Ring is good, but is pretty much special effects oriented - Ringu is flat out creepy with a “less is more” approach.
I have noticed that the japanese make very good horror films that are then remade by brainless, mentally vacant hollywood - with big explosions and super SFX for us dumb Americans.
The “creepy little boy” thing definitely came from Japan.
Japanese horror flicks are definitely something else. The first flick I saw was The Audition. Geeez… That was a twisted flick.
I absolutley love horror movies and it looks like I’m in good company here! 
The creepy, all-white little boy in Ju-On 2 was good, but the sound the ghoulish mom made was eerie and added so much to the scenes, as well as her movements. Very well done ghoul… Simple but very effective…
Rmpl
I couldn’t finish “The Audition…” It was too extreme visualizations for me… I like horror, but very realistic, sadistic torture of the most extreme kind is too much…
Rmpl
I haven’t seen any of the japanese horrors, but one that gave me the willies was The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Very scary movie…
I grew up having fun with horror movies. I have to say the whole Japanese genre messes me up. And yet I still keep watching them when I find them.
I’ve read about Audition but haven’t had a chance to see it. I do know that if you search deep enough with the asian films you can find some seriously sick stuff. Let me pause here to emphasize the word “seriously” one more time.
I also have noticed the last couple years that if you’re a late night tv surfer you can stumble on a lot of the Japanese films on higher end cable channels. And they are much better than the American re makes.
I think a lot of folks would be surprised at just how many of the recent horror films actually are remakes of Jap stuff.
Wiki even has a page on it. And it lists a number of titles to look for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_horror
Short version: Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires, Hillary. None of it compares to a dead Japanese girl with a chip on her shoulder.
That about sums it up.
After 30-odd years of watching tons of supposed-to-be-scary movies, Takashi Miike’s “Audition” is the first film I’ve ever found to be a bit disturbing. It’s because it is genuinely realistic and not the ridiculous, almost cartoonishly over-the-top representations of violence in Hollywood stuff. Things like “Saw” or “Hostel” just bore me, and I can’t understand the appeal. Miike did the one truly horrifying episode of Showtime’s otherwise pretty lame “Masters of Horror” series and the network refused to air it. :rolleyes: It is, thankfully, available on DVD for true fans.
J-horror in general bores me, which sucks because I’m a big fan of Japanese cinema - even stuff other than Godzilla and samurai movies. It’s tends to be a lot of creepy imagery and nothing every actually happening. I can only take so much of that before I lose interest. Also, they’re all a bit too “gimmicky” for me. I watched the original “Ju-On” only because it had a certain actress/model in it that I’m fond of. 
I have no problem with people enjoying it, but I guess it’s just not for me.
Still, I love the idea of scary movies, and I keep watching stuff trying to find something that’s actually a little bit scary. I don’t think any movie has actually scared me since I saw John Carpenter’s “The Thing” on opening weekend in 1982. I was eleven, and that movie really freaked me out!
Derek
:eek:
+1 when his head sprouted legs I hid under my jacket.I was even freaked to go around my dogs for a while :eek: I love scary movies
The Thing. As far as remakes go that one is right there at the top.
The Masters of Horror ep was “Impulse” I found it on DVD and it’s certainly a memorable work. It kind of dances on that fence of being really good or really ridiculous.
The best horror movie I have seen in a while was the Australian film “Wolf Creek”, loosely based on Ivan Milat the “Bacpacker Killer”. Not terrifying, but very entertaining and surprising - which is quite an accomplishment in horror movies which are the most recycled tired type of movie there is.
I agree The Thing is way up there. One movie that REALLY surprised me was the remake of The Hills Have Eyes. It had two major strikes against it - it was a remake and it was directed by a frenchman. But, holy crap, it was a good movie. A liberal democrat is forced to confront the real world and becomes a stone killer! Who wouldn’t love that? The mutants whip his butt again and again and you can see him grit his teeth and keep fighting - I loved it.
Tiger, if you like japanese films, I highly recommend anything by Takeshi Kitano (Sonatine, Fireworks, Zaitochi, and the American produced Brother) he is the master of the the thinking man’s gangster movie. And of course Akira Kurosawa.
I agree. I really like Beat Takeshi, although I thought his interpretation of “Zatoichi” strayed a bit at the end with the musical number. My favorite yakuza movies are the Kinji Fukusaku ones from the 60’s and early 70’s: “Graveyard of Honor”, “Street Mobster”, “Sympathy for the Underdog” and the “Yakuza Papers” series. Those are amazing - clever, gritty and bleak as hell.
Kurosawa is the master of masters. Lately I’ve been watching a lot of samurai movies from the 60’s, including some great stuff from Hideo Gosha and Kihachi Okamoto. “Kill!” is my favorite samurai film of all time. The “Lone Wolf and Cub” movies from the 70’s are awesome.
Sorry for the thread hijack. I could geek out and talk about this stuff all day. I really do like a lot of Japanese films, but for some reason J-horror just doesn’t do much for me…
Derek