HORROR BUSINESS Episode 149: RINGU & JU-ON: THE CURSE Horror Business

Greetings, and welcome back to Horror Business. We have one awesome episode in store for you guys because we’re talking about two absolute bangers from 1998’s Ringu and 2000’s Ju-On: The Curse.

First and as always thank you to our Patreon subscribers. Your support means the world to us and we are eternally thankful. If you would like to become a Patron, head to patreon.com/cinepunx. Thanks in advance! Also, a huge thank you to the fine folks over at Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations, the premiere screen-printing company of the Lehigh Valley. Chris Reject and his merry band of miscreants are ready to work with you to bring to life your vision of a t-shirt for your business, band, project, or whatever else it is you need represented by a shirt, sweater, pin, or coozy. Head on over to www.xlvacx.com to check them out. Thank you also to Essex Coffee Roasters, purveyors of freshly roasted coffee and doers away with of coffee elitism! Head to www.essexcoffeeroasters.com to check out their fine assortment of coffee and enter CINEPUNX in the promo code for ten percent off your order! Also thank you to Paul Sharkey for his MANY technical contributions to this show and others on the Cinepunx network. Head to www.mechanicalsharkmedia.com for all your miscellaneous production (and mechanized shark!) needs!

We start by talking about some of the things we’ve done involving horror recently. Liam talks about the graphic novel A Guest In The House by Emily Carroll, as well as the films Immaculate, Cuckoo,and Late Night With The Devil, as well as the Netflix limited series Baby Reindeer.



Up first is Ringu. Justin begins by telling an anecdote about the impact the film had on his life and American horror cinema as a whole. Liam talks about the similar impact the film had on him. We discuss the differences between this film and the American remake, in that the American version feels more “ethereal” instead of the “real world” of the original.



We talk about the film’s effective use of a “slow burn” pace to create a terrifying atmosphere. We talk about the directors other films, and Liam talks about how upon first seeing this film after seeing the American remake he wasn’t crazy about it but now prefers this version.



Justin talks about the concept of powerful emotions living on after those who experience them die, and how those emotions creating a kind of insentient haunting in a location.



Liam talks about how the attempt at solving a dangerous situation through compassion instead of violence is intriguing. We discuss the somewhat inherent dated nature of the film due to it’s use of a VHS tape at the tail end of the VHS era, and how the character of Sadako is someone of an icon in Japan.



Up next is Ju-On: The Curse. Justin briefly talks about how film is far more focused on the idea of lingering malevolent emotions, and also how the idea is made even more unsettling by how the titular curse seems to infect people through other people.



We discuss the history of vengeful ghosts in Japanese folklore. Liam talks about his early experience with the film, and how seeing it alone for the first time was harrowing.



Liam talks about the somewhat convoluted timeline of the Ju-On franchise, and how not all the movies seem to fit entirely and sensibly within that timeline, although the universe the films build is quite effective. Justin talks about how the film lacks a slickness the remake has that makes it even more effective.

As always thank you for listening and to everyone and anyone who donated on Patreon, checked this episode out, or shared a tweet/shared a post on FB/gave us love by recommending us to someone. We love you forever for listening and donating. Any questions, comments,