Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Ju-on: The Curse 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 6, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow Video's Ju-on: The Grudge Collection.

In a commentary included on Ju-On: The Grudge, film historian David Kalat, who kind of jokingly states that, yes, he did write the (or at least a) book on so-called J Horror, offers a fun and interesting overview of the entire Ju-On franchise, documenting how the "first" film is in actuality at least the third, and, if you include a couple of shorts that started the whole thing going, even further down an ordinal list. Kalat gets into the fact that at least some of the sobriquets assigned to various films in the series (like The Curse and, yes, maybe even The Grudge) are actually the creation of fans (not that there's anything wrong with that), but one way or the other, Arrow has aggregated six Ju-On films in this set, offering all of them on 1080 discs, with Ju-On: The Grudge also getting 4K UHD treatment. As is typically the case with Arrow releases, the supplements are bountiful, at least with regard to the two films bearing Grudge in their titles.

Like any good (?) sequel, The Curse 2 makes copious use of footage from Ju-on: The Curse, while once again offering a set of interlocked stories that involve the unfortunate inhabitants, both past and present, of a haunted locale. This second outing for the series as a whole came out just a few weeks after the first, and it probably can't help but seem like a bit of a rehash, some of which is undoubtedly due to the fact that is pretty much begins with its own version of "previously. . .on The Curse". The story does ultimately move on to supposedly more recent events, which then arguably hints at what's to come in the first feature film. While this has a genuine creepiness, it just may not have the same visceral impact of the first Curse simply by dint of the fact that it covers so much of the same general outlines as the first film.

Ju-on: The Curse 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ju-On: The Curse 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.33:1. Arrow's insert booklet for this set lumps all of the films together on one page of verbiage about the transfers:

Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with stereo sound.

The films were shot on standard definition video and have been sourced from the original tape masters supplied by Kadakowa Corporation.

Ju-On: The Grudge is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound and has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K 16 bit resolution at Tokyo Genzosho, Japan. The film was restored in 4K and graded in HDR10 & Dolby Vision at Silver Salt Restoration, London.

The audio mixes were remastered by Kadakowa Corporation. The restoration was supervised by James White and James Pearcey, Arrow Films.

Ju-On: The Grudge 2 is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound.

The film was produced in 35mm and the HD master was supplied by Kadakowa Corporation. Additional grading and picture restoration was completed at R3Store Studios, London.

Ju-On: Black Ghost and Ju-On: White Ghost are presented in their original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with 5.1 surround sound and stereo sound.

The films were produced in high definition video and have been sourced from the original tape masters from Kadakowa Corporation. Additional grading was completed at R3Store Studios, London.

It's completely understandable that Ju-On: The Curse 2 looks just about exactly the same as Ju-on: The Curse, not just because this second DTV outing uses so much footage from the first entry, but because the two were shot more or less simultaneously under the same circumstances and with the same built in technological deficiencies (to modern day sensibilities, anyway). Again as with the first film, the palette is still reasonably suffused and detail levels climb to near adequate levels in close-ups, but a lot of this presentation is still soft and even slightly smeary looking at times. There are also the same kind of minor issues with aliasing that can be spotted in The Curse as well.

Ju-on: The Curse 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again as with the first Curse, an LPCM 2.0 track in the original Japanese is offered for this outing. This track might have a tad more energy than the first film, if only in some of the outdoor material that doesn't repeat moments from the first film. Dialogue is always presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Ju-on: The Curse 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow has packaged The Curse and The Curse 2 on one disc. Perhaps just a little confusingly, after selecting Choose Film from the Main Menu, the Special Features Menu brings up shared supplements no matter which film has been selected, while the Play option for each film then offers optional introductions.

• The Curse Introduction by Takashi Shimizu (HD; 00:45)


• The Curse Introduction by Takako Fuji (HD; 00:59)


• The Curse 2 Introduction by Takashi Shimizu (HD; 1:12)


• Trailer (HD; 1:14)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Ju-on: The Curse 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ju-On: The Curse 2 is "more of the same", and that means both good and bad things for this sophomore effort, which in fact may experience a bit of that oft quoted "slump" for second helpings. Technical merits are once again improvable (video) to fine (audio). Supplements are on the meager side on this particular disc, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.