Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

Ju-on: The Grudge (呪怨) is a Japanese horror film and the third installment of a franchise that has yielded several sequels as well as several American remakes. It was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu and produced by the Oz Company. It premiered at the Screamfest Film Festival in October of 2002, but was released in Japan on January 25th, 2003. It first premiered in the United States in New York City on July 23rd, 2004. Takashi Shimizu remade his own film for release in the United States where it was titled The Grudge in 2004 and starred Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Ju-on: The Grudge follows the events of 2000's Ju-on 2. Two direct-to-video spin-off films, Ju-on: White Ghost and Ju-on: Black Ghost were produced in 2009 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Ju-on franchise. The film stars Megumi Okina as Rika Nishina, a social worker who is assigned the daunting task of working as a live-in assistant to an infirm elderly woman. She soon learns that the house is haunted by the ghost of a young boy named Toshio (played by Yuya Ozeki), who terrorizes anyone who comes into contact with the place where he died.