Dueling Ju-ons

By Matt Hardstaff

Chris reported last week about the upcoming Ju-on film Ju-on: Shiroi Roujo. Well, it seems that we won't be getting one, but two Ju-on films come June 27th. Thanks to our wonderful friends at Nippon Cinema and their piece on the upcoming Ju-on game for the Wii, we got the news that there will be a uber-double bill of Ju-on goodness, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of the first direct to video Ju-on.

The second film, entitled Ju-on: Kuroi Shoujo will star J-pop sensation Ai Kago. Not much was given as to the plot of the film, and if Ryota Miyake, the director of Ju-on: Shiroi Roujo will be heading up both projects, but either way, it makes me a fairly excited boy as I'm a huge fan of ALL the Ju-on films, even the far lesser US remakes. Granted they aren't nearly as effective as horror films, and aren't anywhere near as inventive narratively as the originals, but anything that adds to the entire Ju-on mythology is a good thing in my books. With Takashi Shimizu involved in the projects, and with far less restrictions facing them as what they encountered making films for a North American audience, my hope is it will not only expand upon the mythology, but will explore it in new and original ways, as only Takashi Shimizu could imagine.

Hooray for Takashi Shimizu!