Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Leofwine_draca
JU-ON: WHITE GHOST is an hour-long follow up to the original GRUDGE films that was made back-to-back with companion film JU-ON: BLACK GHOST. These films continue the same mythos as in the first two feature-length movies, adding in new characters and allowing them to get haunted by the ghost from the original.Let's be fair: these are straight-to-video short films so quality-wise they're not going to be on par with the first two features. But JU-ON: WHITE GHOST isn't too bad. The central female ghost is watered down and CGI-ed up since the original, so not as frightening, but is acceptable for a straight-to-video horror flick.At an hour long you can never get bored by this, and the story plays out as a bunch of five minute vignettes that only begin to make sense towards the climax. Indeed, trying to work out the film's mixed-up chronology keeps the interest level high. The acting is of a strong standard throughout and there's a mix of scary and gory moments to keep viewers watching.
thehomicidal
I'm a massive fan of the Ju-On series as well as the American Grudge series.I watched The Grudge: Old Lady in White in the dark, alone at about 2AM. What a brilliant idea that was. The film is only an hour long and thus grabs your attention early on and doesn't let go.The Good -Completely different universe to any of the other Grudge/Ju-On films which is a refreshing change as in my opinion, Kayako was beginning to get a bit overused.-A good mixture of subtle build-ups and in-your-face scares. I literally punched my laptop in one scene.-Doesn't try to be anything other than an intense and scary film.The Bad -Only an hour.
DICK STEEL
I suppose it makes logical sense for the distributors here to combine both Ju-on: White Ghost and Black Ghost stories in 1 screening. After all, each is only 1 hour long, and narratively are somehow intertwined together quite loosely, with their production marking 10 years since Ju-on's cinematic premiere. Helmed by two different directors, we're given two direct-to-video productions, each with its own flavour and separate storyline dealing with the Ju-On Grudge curse, and frankly, with its limited production budget and consistent elements, For those unfamiliar with the Ju-on mythos (like me), fret not, as the films are self- contained, so prior in-depth knowledge is not required to enjoy what's essentially one of the longer enduring J-horror franchises out there, which has been remade by Hollywood as always. For both tales, the story lines were done in non-linear fashion, which is supposed to make you work at piecing together its chronology, with an increased challenge in White Ghost being two separate timelines you have to make mental notes of.Then there's the episodic cliffhanger that trails off each segment. On its own, the episodes within White Ghost and Black Ghost can be extremely short stories of their own, since each contains its own dedicated shock-scare moments, though White Ghost seemed to enjoy making it look so cheesy with its atmospheric jump scares, sudden appearances and the likes, and I admit it did get to me, especially with that old ugly woman with a penchant for holding onto a basketball (yes, all will be explained in due course) seem to have a fetish for charging towards her victim / screen.Personally, between the two, I'd prefer White Ghost to Black Ghost, mainly because of the storyline which was more engaging and kept within its limits, save for a tangent in White Ghost for AV star Mihiro to appear in a needless scene that had most of her screen time being butchered for a screening here (no, my friend who has met her before, says there's nothing sexy about that segment, more of a violent treatment which was rather tame that the censors frowned upon). For Black Ghost, it went off into the hokeyness of a Japanese medium of sorts, probably to show off some snazzy looking CG-ed belly, and a tale that's less engaging.For what it's worth, these stories did enough to pique my interest in the original Ju-on mythos, and I just might pick them up on DVD just to see how those got executed. For starters though, I have to get used to how "The Grudge" can be used as a plot device for ghouls to get created / passed on, as I felt White Ghost had it quite nailed down, and Black Ghost didn't exactly do a great job on that concept.
i_love_horror_movie
All I can tell about this movie is poorly done. I didn't even get a little tense during the plays of this movie.The director seems like preferred to do bloody scene rather than the horror scene. I can tell you that his taste is definitely doesn't fit with the Ju-oN franchise. Also, what the heck with the old lady holding a basketball? Her appearance was just a gags. The only original ghost that appeared in this movie was Toshio, for a little 5 sec. Where is Kayako? Where is Takeo?No crawling, no scary croaking. A big disappointment for a super Ju-oN fans.
