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Ju-On:
White Ghost/Black Ghost
To
coincide with 10th anniversary of the series, Madman
has released two cult classic Japanese horrors on one DVD that includes
Ju-On: White Ghost and Black Ghost. The original Grudge movie from Japan
became a relative hit in Western countries and not only did this spawn a
variety of sequels, it also included some interesting remakes from
Hollywood and inspired a whole wealth of Japanese horror films to be
remade in the US.
And this is
where this release comes into play as
once again writer and director Takashi Shimizu
continues the scares as he highlights two interesting ghosts, one of an
old lady dressed in white and the other, a girl dressed in black.
Needless to say, two extremely scary premises and this is what makes
Japanese ghost films so entertaining due to its rich spiritual and
supernatural history that generally puts Western ghost stories to shame.
These two short films not only pay homage to the films before it but
give the viewer a unique twist into how the story will play out and
without spoiling these movies, I’ll give you a short run down. The first
movie “White Ghost” is directed by Miyake Ryuta which revolves around a
high school girl called Akane (Minami Akina) who begins to experience
strange visions. Like the original, White Ghost is a collection of
interweaving stories of betrayal, murder and ultimately revenge in
classic Grudge or Ju-On style.
The second movie, Black Ghost was my
favourite and stars Kago Ai as a nurse who has been given the task of
attending a young girl (Matsumoto Hana) who has a strange
tumour like growth in her stomach. As the plot unravels, we soon learn
that this growth is actually her unborn twin and has a huge grudge
against her living sister. Let’s just say that the !@#$ hits the fan in
true supernatural style.
At times,
both movies almost forces you to empty your bladder because you don’t know
what’s going to happen and when the ghosts appear, they can be there for
frights or for more violent apparitions. The ghosts are
also quite different in both stories and hearing those weird
clicking/gurgling sounds and the way they ignore physics is classic
stuff.
Video/Audio & Special Features
Boasting
16:9 widescreen, the transfer to DVD supports deep levels of black,
vivid colours and only some artifacting and grain. The stars of the
films are of course the special effects that are well contrasted between
two worlds, that of the natural and the supernatural. Audio supports
Dolby Digital 5.1 and dialogue is clear, sound is crisp and the
soundtracks work quite well on both movies. Unfortunately only trailers
are included in this release for special features, however this is a
definite must for those who like to be scared @#$less. |
