Ju-On, Coming to a Theatre Near You

I have repeatedly said that the Japanese know horror best, and apparently I am not the only one! Ju-On, which is the most recent Japanese horror film that I have seen, is coming to the US. Sarah Michelle Geller is to play the main character, and I am eager to see how that goes. As you may recall, The Ring was the last Japanese horror film adapted for an US audience -- and it was a B movie at best. The original Japanese version, and even the Korean version, are quite chilling. Naomi Watts in the US version is comical, and there's nothing scary about the girl with the unbrushed hair. Why is it that US horror movies can no longer duplicate the same effects as the classic ones, while Japanese and Korean horror movies are getting artful by the year?If you have seen Japanese horror, you would understand. It isn't vulgar or messy as the Western films. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was good, as I have said, and I stand by it; but it is nowhere comparable to horror flicks of the East. In the Western films, there's gore -- blood is sprayed, and body parts are strewn about, and cacophonous chainsaws and whatnots. Something like Ju-On is just so clean cut -- I don't know if many Westerners agree. Perhaps it has something to do with the shared cultures between the Japanese and Koreans. There is just no need for excessive bloodshed to be horrific. One of the major differences that I see is the villain. The scary figure. The villains in Western films are psychopaths. Serial killers. People who are just mad. In the Japanese films, it is the dead who are causing all the uproar. And they're not zombies nor ghosts -- I suppose similar to ghosts, except they don't float around empty, dark hallways making ridiculous noises (boooo~).

I am sure each culture has their share of horror stories and legends. In Korea, they used to have wedding ceremonies for dead, unmarried people, so that they may find happiness with a partner in the afterlife. It was often feared that virgins who had died would go around seducing young men into death traps. Victims of drownings would crawl out of the water. And in those days, people didn't cut their hair -- so naturally, these un-dead figures are shown with long black hair, often unruly long black hair. Piercing eyes are a must. And they must come with their own stage lights, as they are almost always casted in blue shaded lights. (See boy on the above right.) The dead were buried in white, so that a character who has long, loose black hair and white clothing invokes fear in the audience.

This is not to say that Western films are all distasteful; I am a hardcore fan of many of them. The classic ones such as Halloween and Friday the 13th are excellent series. I love that there is a theme song that goes along with each series of film -- the sound track are so recognizable, and has the Pavlov's dog effect. I hear the music, and I am frightened in the same manner I would be when seeing Michael Myers on screen.

This is one of those situations where a collaboration of the East and West would make for wonderful, brilliant things. However, it seems to be easier said than done. I will have to see the US version of Ju-On. I hope their jobs are up to my expectations. I'm not ready for disappointments!