'Ju-On: The Curse (2000)' is a J-horror that focuses upon a house that seems to contain some sort of curse that causes everyone who visits to meet the same grisly fate. The film is split into six segments which are presented non-linearly, turning the affair into a bit of a puzzle that challenges its audience to mentally rearrange its sections to create a cohesive timeline. It's an interesting way to present the material, but the disjointed structure does lead to a sense that the flick is simply a series of short films stitched together. Still, its underlying plot prevents the piece from feeling totally incohesive. It's essentially a non-traditional take on a traditional tale. The stop/start structure causes some small issues when it comes to pacing, though, and this reduces audience engagement. As does the fact that most of the movie is just one step above fine. There is a decent sense of dread throughout the piece and each segment does a good job at building tension before it reaches its climax. Most of those climaxes occur off screen, so they often don't hit home as hard as they perhaps could. The film is generally a bloodless affair that focuses on atmosphere and creepy imagery over overt gore. Because of this, its more explicit moments are all the more effective. The most horrific sequence doesn't even involve anything supernatural and it isn't even as graphic as it initially seems. Despite that, though, it genuinely is upsetting. It acts as the penultimate scare in the penultimate segment, a segment which is easily the highlight of the entire affair. It's moments like these that make the movie worth watching. Thanks to its distinct structure, callously hopeless concept and one or two fantastic set-pieces, this is definitely worth a watch if you're into the genre. It isn't consistently compelling, but its highlights more than make up for that. 6/10.
Review of Ju-on: The Curse
