This is the big-budgeted Japanese remake of the original direct-to-video. Remakes now-a-days are a gamble. Some are good, while most are just a waste of time. Although some may disagree, this remake manages to actually be slightly better than the original. My main complaint in the original was the fact that it had a lot of potential, but the fact that it was so low-budget, it failed to give me any good scares. This remake takes care of that since it has a bigger budget and it made it to theatres. So what exactly is this "ju-on" thing that is talked about? Well, simply put, it's a vengeful spirit. The spirit within this one house kills all of those who come across it or the people in it. It curses them then hunts them down. There is no escape. That's one thing I really like about these Ju-On films; it's not all about the happy ending. Once you're cursed you're dead; excellent.

The story is pretty different from the original movie. It does follow certain characters like the first films did, the story and what happens in them is rather different. This movie is basically about a family who was murdered in the house many years ago and those who come in contact with the house now get cursed. The movie does borrow from Ringu a little and doesn't have a story as good as the first movie, but it does have a lot of creepy moments, which is why I enjoyed the film.

It has more blood and gore than the original and it has better atmosphere and lighting, which is a big plus, especially since the ghosts are an odd white-bluish color. There are a couple creepy sequences in this movie that I thought up in my head years ago, thinking it would be really scary if it were in a movie, and I was surprised to see them in this one. Although this is a fairly creepy flick, it also falls flat with all the hype about it being scary. I'm a pretty hard individual to scare, but there have been a couple movies out there that have done the job and this isn't one of them. I'm sure this movie will scare others, but I personally didn't find it very scary. In the end this movie is a little better than the original in terms of creepy moments and such, but the original is still superior in terms of story. If only they could combine the two together, it'd be an excellent flick. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the US remake does.

Slightly better than the original, but only in terms of scares. A little over hyped with all the claims that it's a really scary flick, but it does have a lot of creepy moments. Pretty much a different story than the original, so you don't necessarily need to see the first movies to understand this one. Worth a check, but I'd recommend viewing the first two movies before seeing this anyway to get a feel for the series.