Asian Horror 101: Ten Pre-Remake Originals You Need to See
by Brian Tallerico

4. Ju-On (Japan, Takashi Shimizu, '00 & '03)

Here's where it all kind of started to fall apart, but the Ju-On franchise is so influential that it really must be seen in any "Asian Horror 101" class. The first Ju-On was actually a direct-to-video film in Japan that became a huge hit, spawning another direct-to-video, two theatrical releases, two American films, and a planned third Japanese film. Both the original '00 d-t-v (which isn't available in the States) and the '03 theatrical focus on the story of Takeo Saeki, a man who killed his wife and son in a jealous rage. Playing off a concept essential to nearly every ghost story - that violence and rage leaves an impact on the place where it happens - Ju-On is largely a moody, atmospheric piece. The American versions - The Grudge and its sequel - misplaced the mood in a jumble of ridiculous plots. They forgot that it doesn't matter what's going on if there's a screaming pale Japanese kid at the end of the bed. Ju-On: The Grudge (which is what the '03 version was subtitled) became a huge international hit and turned it into an essential franchise in J-Horror. If the Ringu films are the "Superman" movies of J-Horror, the Ju-On films are the "Batman" movies. You need to see them just to get started on the genre.

5. Versus (Japan, Ryuhei Kitamura, '00)

Now that you've seen at least one Ringu and Ju-On film and experienced the insanity of Takashi Miike and Kinji Fukasaku, we can go a little bit off the radar with the totally weird and very fun Versus, a film that's kind of like "George A. Romero's The Matrix." In the movie, Japanese monsters head to a place called the "Forest of Resurrection" to pick up an escaped convict and discover that they're surrounded by a whole bunch of zombies. With a ridiculous story about multiple reincarnations of the same guy, don't watch Versus for the plot. The characters aren't even given names and are hilariously referred to as things like "Glasses," "Beard," and "Kick-Ass Girl" in the credits. Watch it for the over-the-top action style and view it as connective tissue between Evil Dead and the Metal Gear video game franchise, which it allegedly influenced (the producer-director of that series, Hideo Kojima, was an extra in the film). Don't you have to see the pop culture bridge that connects Ash and Snake? Of course you do. A sequel for Versus is in the works.

6. Dark Water (Japan, Hideo Nakata, '02)

Isn't it ironic that the last remarkable J-Horror movie was directed by the same man who started it all with Ringu? Hideo Nakata, working again with source material by Koji Suzuki (a short story this time), constructed another powerful ghost story using the everyday world as his main source of unspeakable horror. In both Ringu and Dark Water, Nakata turns our surroundings against us. Ringu focused on the sinister aspects of technology, and Dark Water made us look at water stains a little differently. A woman moves into an apartment with her daughter and notices that a water stain in her ceiling has some supernatural qualities. (No, she doesn’t see Jesus in it.) And that’s not even getting into the little red bag that just won’t go away. Nakata's use of color and sound (the ceaseless sound of rain will chill you) elevate Dark Water above its somewhat (at least, by this time in J-Horror) generic plot. Nakata still finds a way to make you jump, especially in the final scenes, and no one should subject themselves to the Jennifer Connelly remake unless they're devoted fans of the original.

7. The Eye (Hong Kong, Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang, '02)

We could easily continue with four more J-Horror movies and there are ones that are worth your time in the "Intermediate" class of Asian horror (Pulse, Premonition, Marebito), but the horror remake train has moved to Hong Kong with The Eye. So let's explore how J-Horror influenced a few other countries and some of the best films they've made in the last few years. One of the scariest movies of the decade has to be the original The Eye, a startling film about a woman who gets a cornea transplant and starts seeing things that she really shouldn't be able to see. Using mood over screaming children, the Pang Brothers made themselves known as a powerful force in the world of modern horror with The Eye and provided scream fans with some of the most memorable moments in recent genre memory. There's an elevator scene in The Eye (which doesn't look to pan out the same in the remake, based on the previews) that's one of the scariest moments on film in years. It's burned into our memory. And the final act twist can stand up to any of the recent ones that have made your jaw drop.

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