In the tradition of "Ringu" (which shares producer Taka Ichise), Japanese horror has emerged as popular fodder for American remakes. Here Takashi Shimizu re-imagines the third film from his own "Ju-On" franchise, which started out as a straight-to-video series but quickly ended up in Japanese theatrical release thanks to word-of-mouth. Although the two movies are at times strikingly similar--some of Shimizu's sets and even shots are constructed exactly the same--the American version had the budget …showed first 75 words of 347 total…

…showed last 75 words of 347 total…the alienation of living abroad. What worked about the original remains intact--that freaky-deaky signature sound effect and specters who aren't apparitions but rather corporeal, including the same ghoulish little boy who's starred in all the films. In the interest of narrative clarity, however, the filmmakers here have added an explanatory scene with a gimmick, albeit supernatural, that, while serving to solve the mystery, simply doesn't jibe stylistically with the rest of the film. 87/100 points B+