Title
Categories: Supernatural, JU-ON Series
BLANKET SPOILER WARNING: This entry may contain plot spoilers. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Ju-On (2002) | |
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Theatrical Poster
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About | |
| Release: | October 18, 2002 |
| Runtime: | 92 mins |
| Genre: | Supernatural |
| Other Themes: | Haunting |
Production | |
| Director: | Takashi Shimizu |
| Distributor: | Tokyo Theatres, Medusa Comms. & Marketing Ltd, Xanadeux Co. Ltd. |
| Budget: | - |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
Ju-On: The Grudge is a 2002 Japanese supernatural film. It is the first film in the Ju-On series to be released in theaters, introducing horror icon Saeki Kayako and spawning a franchise including several movies, novelizations, a television series and a video game.
The film, told out-of-order chronlogically, is made up of vignettes following several different characters. Kayako- one of the antagonists- is murdered by her husband, Takeo, and left in the attic to rot. In the present day, Rika is a social worker who comes to care for Sachie, an elderly woman living alone after the disappearance of her son Katsuya and his wife Kazumi, whom she lived with. After experiencing paranormal events leading to her witnessing Kayako killing Sachie, the lingering curse attached to her begins to disrupt her normal life- and spread to those who visit the same house.
Table of Contents
Warnings
Ableism
Nobody experiences ableism in this movie.
Animal Cruelty
A cat (Mar, the family cat) is heard meowing in the opening scene. It is grabbed quiet forcefully, yowls, and is taken offscreen before it is implied to be killed. [0:49]
Child Harm
Toshio, Kayako and Takeo's son, is 6 years old around the time of his death. Though it is not shown explicitly on screen, it is implied his father left him to die after killing Kayako and Mar. Officially is "cause of death" is said to be that his mother spirited him away.
Domestic Violence
Takeo kills his wife Kayako after discovering she is in love with another man.
- The curse, while causing extreme psychological torment to its holders, drives married men to reenact the murder committed by Takeo upon their own spouses.
- Toyama Yuji seems to be the exception, as he passes away without murdering his wife.
LGBTphobia
Nobody experiences LGBT-related discrimination in this movie.
Racism
Nobody experiences racial discrimination in this movie.
Sexual Violence
Nobody is sexually assaulted in this movie.
Other
Nudity
- There is a brief shower scene involving Rika; she is only seen from the shoulders-up. [1:13:50-1:14:19]
Where to Watch
Links provided are legal or publicly available, and are up to date as of May 5th, 2025. We are not sponsored by any services or distributors listed below.Free
- Tubi (leaving soon)
- The Roku Channel
- Plex
Paid
- Amazon Prime Video ($3.79+)
- Youtube ($3.99+)
- Google Play Store ($3.99+)
- Apple TV ($3.99+)
- Fandango at Home ($3.99+)
Sources
Page Content
- Ju-On: The Grudge on Wikipedia
- Ju-On (franchise) on Wikipedia
- Ju-On: The Grudge on Tubi
- Ju-On: The Grudge on British Board of Film Classification
- Ju-On: The Grudge on Box Office Mojo
- Ju-On: The Grudge Title Card on The Unaffiliated Critic