If Ring’s Sadako is the face of J-Horror, then the creaking death rattle of Ju-On’s Kayako is its definitive sound. That chilling creak is at the heart of a curse born from a moment of intense, violent rage—a grudge that infects its place of origin and devours all who trespass.

Released under Toei’s V-Cinema label, a prominent incubator for genre masters like Takashi Miike and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the two Ju-On films were shot in only nine days with one prompt: as long as it’s scary. Director Takashi Shimizu got the opportunity to make feature length direct-to-video films after directing two successful TV horror shorts, and no one in the cast and crew anticipated the full-fledged franchise that followed, with theatrical adaptations, a Hollywood remake, a video game, and even a crossover with Sadako. Join us for an exclusive double feature of the brand-new 4K restorations of Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 and bask in the raw malevolence seething from the pixels of low-budget VHS horror, resurrected after 25 years.

Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2 will be presented in succession with a 15-minute intermission.

Takashi Shimizu (b. 1972, Japan) is a film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for creating the influential Ju-On horror franchise. In 2000, he made his directorial debut with the direct-to-video supernatural horror Ju-On: The Curse and its sequel, Ju-On: The Curse 2, setting the stage for theatrical remakes Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) and Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003). These two films were wildly successful and made J-Horror internationally popular. His 2004 film Marebito won the Golden Raven at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film. Most recently, Shimizu directed Ox-Head Village (2002), Immersion (2023), and Sana: Let Me Hear (2024).