Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Ju-on: The Curse 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.

Both of the "films" bearing The Curse as part of their titles were straight to video releases, but their unexpected success led directly to the actual feature films in this set, as is gotten into in some detail in some of the supplements included on various discs in this overall release. These are obviously very low budget offerings that were shot quickly, but each offers a rather bracing amount of spookiness, and perhaps this first Curse is especially melancholic, what with its tragic assortment of starcrossed lovers, dead children and the occasional murdered pet.

This opening salvo of hauntings and curses is somewhat deconstructed as with the first feature film, with a nonlinear presentation that deliberately dissects the timeline and leaves the viewer to pick up the pieces. But the underlying foundation of horrifying deaths engendering curses which afflict certain locations that become almost "viral" in a way is evocatively presented, if not quite as well developed as in the first real feature, and without, as Takashi Shimizu himself mentions in a supplement, a real focal character to anchor the story.

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

Ju-On: The Curse 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.

Both this film and its immediate successor can't overcome the inherent limitations of their source material, and so these presentations may be of more historical value than reference quality material, so to speak. The palette is still relatively well suffused, and in close-ups detail levels can be at least acceptable (see screenshot 2), but on the whole this is a soft and even fuzzy at times looking presentation. There are also noticeable if admittedly minor issues like aliasing and moire that can crop up at times.

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

Ju-On: The Curse features an LPCM 2.0 track in the original Japanese. There's frankly not a ton to the sound design here, though there are a couple of early examples of the kind of almost subliminal spookiness that is introduced in a fuller form in the feature films. Fidelity is fine throughout, even if dynamic range isn't especially wide. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

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

It's understandable why Ju-On: The Curse became such a phenomenon, even if now in hindsight it's also easy to see how it never quite coheres in the same way the feature films manage to. Technical merits are in the "they are what they are" category for video, but audio is perfectly fine. Supplements are pretty minimal on this particular disc, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.