Case Study: Ju-on:The Grudge / The Grudge (US Version)

Film Analysis

"Ju-on: The Grudge"

Ju-on: The Grudge is a 2002, Japanese horror, directed and written by Takashi Shimizu. It was distributed by Lionsgate Films and has a running time of 92 minutes. The film had a budget of $3.5 million and made $3,004,709 at Box Office. There are 6 films that tie in to the Ju-on series: The Curse, The Curse 2, The Grudge, The Grudge 2, White Ghost and Black Ghost. There are also novels and comics of this story. There is even a video and PC game based on Ju-on: The Grudge.

Ju-on (Franchise)

Ju-on is a series of Japanese horror films by Takashi Shimizu. Takeo is a man that believes his wife; Kayako was having an affair with another man and in a jealous rage, murders her and their son Toshio. His son had a pet cat that the father also killed.

(“Ju-on” means ‘curse’ or ‘grudge’) When a person dies with a deep sorrow or rage, a curse is born and gathers in the place where the person died or in some cases where the person was frequently found during their time alive.

The house in Nerima is haunted by the spirits of the Saeki family and kills anyone who enters the house, encountering the curse, or is contacted by somebody who was already cursed. The following deaths spread the curse further to other locations.

Genre
Ju-on: The Grudge features the stereotypical conventions of  a Japanese horror film which focuses more on tension building, ghosts and hauntings which are often themed around old folk tales. Some of these folk tales can be traced to the Tokugawa period and the Meiji period in Japan. However, the history of Japanese ghost stories hold an older history in literature from the Heian period.

Lighting
The prologue opens showing an alleyway  de-saturated colours which help to accent the shadows in the small space, making it seem more intimidating and uninviting. The scene continues in de-saturated colours and dark lighting which help to enforce the dark nature and psychological disturbance of the film's plot.

During particular scenes of possession or when the ghost is present, the lighting becomes less bright and the shadows in the room stretch to saturate the room in darkness, signifying the presence of the ghost or a possession.

Location
"The Grudge" is both set and filmed in Japan where the plot revolves around a curse embedded within a house located in Nerima, Tokyo.

Music
The music for The Grudge was by Shiro Sato. Stereotypically of a horror film, the music was dark and eerie to help create tension and foreshadow an unfortunate event.

         

The Grudge (US version)

The Grudge is a 2004, American horror film, directed by Takashi Shimizu (who was director of the original Ju-on: The Grudge). The film was scripted by Stephen Susco and was produced by Sam Rainu and Robert Tapert. It was distributed by Colombia Pictures and also has a running time of 92 minutes. The film had a budget of $10 million and made $187,281,115 at the Box Office.

It is the first instalment in The Grudge film series and is a remake of the original Japanese horror, Ju-on: The Grudge. It is followed by two sequels: The Grudge2 and The Grudge 3.

A curse is boring as someone has died in a powerful rage and sorrow, in a house set in Tokyo. Everyone that encounters this curse dies and the curse repeats itself, passing on from victim to victim. The Saeki family lived in the house beforehand and the curse starts at their hands. Kayako Saeki, the wife, falls in love with her son’s teacher, Peter Kirk- and American. She writes about him in her diary constantly which her husband, Takeo discovers. He assumes she is having an affair with him and becomes mentally disturbed and murders his wife in a jealous fit. He also drowns his son Toshio and pet cat, Mar in the bathtub. He then goes on to commit suicide by hanging himself in one of the rooms.Years later, an American family moves into the same house and the curse begins to repeat itself while one character, Karen tries to prevent the horrible outcome.

Case Study: Night of the Living Dead

Film Analysis

“Night of the Living Dead”

The ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is a black-and-white American independent horror film directed by George A. Romero in 1968. The film story is about a group of people trapped in a rural farmhouse in Pennsylvania which is then attacked by the ‘living dead’ monsters, which they are now popular known as zombies. The film was premiered in October 1968 with the budget of $114,000 with a successful gross profit of $12 million domestically and $18 million internationally.

Genre

Night of the Living Dead carries the stereotypical conventions of a horror film in the terms of the Mise-en-scene, in which it includes the usual dark and gory scenes. The plot involves the plight of a group of friends, both male and female, attempting to survive the newly-buried rise from their graves with a hunger for human flesh.

Lighting

Although the film is in black and white, it is very clear to see that certain scenes are darker and grainy to represent the scary mood that horror films can carry.

Location

The Location of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is set in Pennsylvania in which the characters are staying near a grave in a closed off area. Graves and closed off areas are general genre conventions of horror films, in which the region of the film can also be identified by the characters accents and dialogue.

Props

The main props used in ‘Night of the Living Dead’ are used a weapons such as guns and axes, which a quite stereotypical for horror films as the living fights to survive. The choice of weapon can also reveal the social class of the characters, in which the more wealthy characters would use guns and the less wealthy would use axes and whatever household weapon they can find.

Music

A lot of the eerie and disturbing music for of ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was in fact not composed for the film; a lot of the music used in the film was purchased from the library of Capitol Record. The music was used to stereo-typically create the tense and shocking mood for the audience in the lead up of all the jump scares.

Horror Questionnaire

Horror Questionnaire; :)

Feel free to fill it out yourself.
have fun.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7CRQWBD


Preview of Questionnaire

Horror mind map

Horror Timeline

(Zoom in a few times to see the list of films)

Horror Mood Board: Possession

This mood board focuses on the our sub-genre of possession, it's important that we take inspiration from other possession horror films as it would broaden our ideas. Most of the images used are from existing possession horror films, in which they portrayed possession in ways that would be ideal for us to do also. A lot of the images used focuses on the eyes of the character, they are made to look dark and sadistic this would be effective in scaring audiences. Most possession films involves 'deformed' bodies and breaking of bones, these scenes causes the audience to 'cringe' and almost be forced to look away in which this means this convention has had effect on them. We could use this convention in our film trailer to entice audiences to continue on to watch the entire film.

Horror Mood Board

         This mood board is designed to fit the genre of horror. I have selected a range of images that typically hold connotations of the genre. - Some are from scenes of existing horror films or are from posters that were used to advertise them.
        
Horror is a genre that plays on the primal fears of audiences and seeks to startle and scare viewers. These films sometimes overlap with thriller, supernatural and fantasy genres.

These images are of supernatural creatures that are often used in supernatural horror films. The Vampire and the Werewolf are popular in the use of creating fright among audiences and are typically used in scenes of darkness/dark lighting or at night and out, lurking in the forests. Vampires and Werewolves are seen as supernatural creatures that do not hesitate before harming victims - drawing blood from them. Horror commonly deals with the supernatural drawn into the everyday world. Other supernatural creatures that are popular are ghosts, zombies and aliens.

These images are of relation to religion. Christianity in particular is the religion most directors use in horror films. Religion is the most popular theme within horror films. I have included the picture from The Last Exorcist, as possession is a theme that is closely tied in with religion with references to Satan and other Christian demons. I believe that religion is a popular theme within horror because of the real existence of it. There are shared stories about the Church and 'real' possessions and Christians most likely believe in the existence of angels and demons. As the UK and US are populated by members of Christianity by majority, these films are able to hit closer to home, in striking fear and thrill into audiences.

What is a Teaser Trailer?

Like trailers, teaser trailers are forms of advertisement which promote new and upcoming films. However, they are shorter in length. While standard trailers have a length of 2 minutes and 30 seconds, teaser trailers have a length of 30 seconds to minute and 30 seconds.

Here are some examples of teaser trailers:

The Wicked

-1 minute and 13 seconds in length.

-Opens with explanation of storyline.

-Scene selections follow the diegetic monologue.

-The dynamics of the music becomes louder and faster in simulation to the fast paced editing of the shots shown.

-Dark lighting is used to show and represent the scary scenes. Brighter lighting is used to show and represent normality.

The Grey

-1 minute and 26 seconds in length.

-Has a non diegetic monologue.

-Uses subsonic sounds to set a tense atmosphere.

- Uses star marketing - Liam Neeson - to attract viewers.

Skyfall

-1 minute and 23 seconds in length.

Uses star marketing - Daniel Craig - to attract views. Also enforces the theory of the 'female gaze'.

-Scenes changes in coordination to the rhythm of the music.

-Most scenes include footage with the main character in view.

-Uses one/the same music throughout the teaser trailer, stretching the tense atmosphere it sets out to create.

What is a Trailer?

Trailers are forms of advertisement and are created in the purpose of promoting a new feature film that would soon be viewed in cinemas. They are a merge of selected shots from a production that will later be shown. Trailers are mostly distributed over the internet and between television adverts. However, many can be found on DVD's and Blu-ray Discs. They are used to attract audiences, spiking interest and excitement which encourages them to go and see the film.

Originally, trailers were shown at the end of a film screening hence the term "trailer". However, due to the public's tendency to leave immediately after the film's end, the practice did not last long. This led to the decision of trailers being shown at the beginning of a film screening. Trailers have a maximum length of 2 minutes and 30 seconds to provoke interest whilst preserving much of the film footage.

Here are a few examples of some.

The Devil Inside

-Exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds in length.
-Uses a transcript from a 911 call with white text on black to introduce the trailer. It is a bold statement and stimulates panic in an audience.

-Catchline: "No soul is safe"
-Alternates between shots from a handheld camera and a broadcasting camera. The handheld camera shots partially presents the film as a documentary, which may effect audiences in a more intimate manner.
-Uses direct mode of address in some shots, drawing attention to the eyes

The Hangover

-2 minutes and 29 seconds in length

-Intro music is a song that most people know and can sing along to
-Outlines the synopsis of the film completely without using all the film footage
-Makes references to other films that the director has done: "From the director of Old School"
-Flash cuts that are in time to the music

The Hunger Games

-2 minutes and 39 seconds in length which is technically over the limit. However, a studio or distributor is allowed to go over the limit once a year.
-The light is very de-saturated in the 'Districts' to portray poverty and the harsh lifestyles they are forced to live. This is contrast to the capital which is saturated to present luxury.
-Handled camera work gives it a sense of realism.