Ju-On

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Year:	2002
Country of origin:	Japan
Director:	Takashi Shimizu
Genre:	J-horror eerieness
Starring:	Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364385/
Tagline:	No tagline
Favourite line:	N/A - Subtitled

Sometimes you watch a movie and, afterwards, feel thick as a post.
This confusing, though devilishly creepy J-horror offering had me scratching me bonce bare once it had finished.

The plot:
Ju-on is a vengeful spirit that stays around after a troubling death. It's a restless spirit of sorts, a little like a poltergeist only, unlike the poltergeist, it doesn't settle itself for hurling a few items of crockery around a room. No, a Ju-on is only satisfied when it takes the life of anyone who enteres the property where it died.

That's about all I can tell you, seriously, as beyond that I could not work out what the hell was going on.
We follow a multitude of characters as they encounter the Ju-on, though I found it difficult to piece together how the different characters were connected. Perhaps they weren't, and the movie was showing the influence on disparate folk. I honestly don't know.
All that being said, despite the frustration at finding it tough to follow, this was still enjoyably spooky, with the usual J-horror tricks of terrifying young children, scary sound effects and contorting bodies and limbs.
Having a similar tone to the Japanese original Ringu, this is not quite as accomplished as that frightfest, but it's not far off.
If you are tired of the slick and polish of Hollywood horror and yearn for something genuinely frightening, rather than gory - here, there is not one moment of violence actually shown - check this out.
It's spawned two sequels to my knowledge, which I'll review as soon as I can, as well as the obligatory American remake.
A genuine chiller.