Get scared twice with a double shot of "Ju-on: Kuroi Shoujo" and "Ju-on: Shiroi Roujo"

by Chris MaGee

Back in we told you about how there we going to be not one but two new films in Takashi Shimizu's "Ju-on" series. These films are being released on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the release of the first "Ju-on" film, but sadly Shimizu isn't directing either of these as he's got his hands full helming the 3D feature "The Shock Labyrinth". Therefore the directing duties on "Ju-on: Kuroi Shoujo" and "Ju-on: Shiroi Roujo" have fallen to newbies Mari Asato and Ryuta Miyake, and thanks to Nippon Cinema we can now get a good look at how both have handled this iconic series.

Asato's film "Kuroi Shoujo" tells the story of a nurse (played by Ai Kago) who discovers that the cyst that a young patient has in her body isn't a cyst at all, but a vestigial twin that carries the dreaded grudge of the title. Meanwhile Miyake's "Shiroi Roujo" revolves around a high school girl (played by Akina Minami) who is plagued by nightmarish visions of her friend who was killed in a grisly murder/ suicide.

Let's see... Dark shadowy rooms... Check. Quiet, quiet, loud pacing... Check. Pale-faced girls in white nightgowns with long black hair... Check. It seems like both these films have everything that a good "Ju-on" (or J-Horror film for that matter) should have. Now we just have to see if they'll do the job. One can only hope that with the redundancy of two film that if one fails to frighten that the other one will pick up the slack.

Head over to Nippon Cinema to see if "Ju-on: Kuroi Shoujo" and "Ju-on: Shiroi Roujo" stand up to the scare test. Both will be released in Japanese theatres on June 27th.