dbborroughs I'm going to tell you right now this review will have spoilers, such as they are, from the outset. If you don't want to know then stop reading now.You've been warned.Told in "reverse order" Ju-Rei tells the tale of a series of ghostly murders in reverse. Its a linear version of the classic tale "Le Ronde" where we see the story by following a different character from scene to scene until we end up back at the start. That doesn't quite happen, but the premise is the same, we follow the story backwards through the ghosts, who are alive in the "next" story. Its a clever idea but one that doesn't really work since by the third "chapter" you've figured out whats going on and all suspense is lost. It might have worked if there had been some variation, but there is none until the final prologue where the story is told in a slightly different way. Before that however its the same basic story of a lone person at night investigating weird noises that ultimately lead them into the hands of the ghosts told multiple times.Actually the movie isn't that bad, its creepy for the first two or three stories as we wait for something to happen, but nothing does, or nothing different does. Its the total lack of variation that makes this hard to sit through. Worse, not only does the movie repeat itself, it repeats other, better, movies. The ghosts are almost the exact same sort of ghosts as in Ju-on(The Grudge) down to the black eyes and weird croaking sounds. How can one not see them and moan out load "Rip off!" In the end I can't recommend this to anyone wanting a really good, really scary movie. Sure the film starts off strong but by the third variation, about 15 minutes in, it all collapses down on itself. No one should be asked to pay money for a movie thats effectively over in one fifth of its running time. Of course if you ever run across this on cable or some other way where you don't have to pay for it, I'd try it if you want to see a somewhat interesting misfire, otherwise avoid it.

bensonmum2 There is a curse affecting all who come into contact with it. It's spread like a horrible disease that only requires contact with an affected person. If you have the curse, you can expect to die a terrible, horrific death. The problem is that you may not know you've been cursed until it's too late and you see the black figure coming to get you.If you are a fan of horror and the very brief description sounds familiar, don't be surprised. Ju-rei exhibits very little in the way of originality. It's the best parts of Ju-on or The Grudge repeated over and over. The ghosts look the same, sound the same, move the same, and have the same motivations. Furthermore, within the movie there is also little originality. The movie is divided into ten chapters. Once you've seen two or three of the chapters, you can pretty well guess what's going to happen next. One chapter is almost the same as the next chapter. There nothing much to make one chapter distinguishable from the others. While I found the first couple of chapters fairly frightening, the repetitive nature of the movie really hurts any scares in the later chapters.The story is told backwards from chapter 10 to chapter 1. At first this seemed to be an interesting, unique way of telling a story. Trying to figure out who was who and how they came into contact with the curse was part of the fun of playing along. But, after a few chapters, it really didn't seem to matter much. Again, the lack of originality really hurt the movie.Another problem I had with the movie was the beginning and ending. Or, to put it in a better way, the lack of a beginning and the lack of an ending. The movie presents no resolution to the events in the movie. It just ends. Likewise, the movie does not present a clear starting point. It's as if the curse has always been there and we are just viewing part of it's progress. I felt very unsatisfied.

Aaron1375 This movie is different in that it plays out backwards. We start at chapter ten and work our way to a prologue. As you watch it, you begin to see how all the people are interconnected. However, I wasn't really impressed with chapter one or the prologue. This movie seems to be racing towards some sort of dark secret, I could not wait to find out what it was, but in the end it never really revealed anything. I am still not sure what the urban myth was, it was a bit vague, and I never understood why the wife at the end did what she did. I am also unclear where the wife and her daughter were killed. Still though it was creepy enough to overcome this flaws. If you watch this movie, however, keep in mind it is very low budget. The effects are not going to awe you and the film is not very high quality. Still worthy of a look see if you like Japanese horror.

SexyBeastMaster Just like a million ranch-house mommies think they can make food in their crock-pot that rivals that of real-life restaurants, Ju-Rie is an amateur, contrived thing that attempts to distill all the winning points of the films that obviously inspired it. Distill is a generous word, on second thought - this movie blatantly steals every device it uses from other successful J-Horror flicks, then proceeds to use those devices in shameful, uninspired ways. It's the movie equivalent of mugging someone and spending your stolen gains on cheap Mexican candy.Still, it's got a moment or two. They make use (I won't say EXCELLENT use) of the placement of creepy images in the periphery of a shot. so that you may or may not even notice them on any given viewing (a technique that's truly chilling used by skilled directors), which is nice at times. And really, if you want a non-scary breakdown of J-Horror formula points, this thing watches like an instruction manual.Three out of ten.