Ju-on: The Grudge

A curse born of murders in a house in Tokyo. Anyone who enters, or who touches someone the curse has touched, joins the queue. When Rika, a social worker, goes into the house the chain reaches her. The film does not tell events in order; each section carries a different person's name and the time jumps back and forth. Takashi Shimizu wrote and directed. It is the third Ju-on film and the first released theatrically; the two before it went straight to video. Shimizu remade the same story for America in 2004, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr. It took 3.7 million dollars worldwide, including 325,680 dollars from a limited US run between July and December 2004. The first reviews compared it unfavourably to Ring. The verdict changed over time, and many critics and viewers now list it among the greatest Japanese horror films. Shimizu made a sequel in 2003, and the series grew through American adaptations and a Netflix prequel. Who it is for: viewers who like Japanese horror built slowly out of sound and empty space. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a plot they can follow. The fragmented structure confuses on purpose and will not let you attach to anyone.