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{{for|the series|Ju-On (franchise)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = Ju-on: The Curse
| image          = Ju-on VHS cover.jpg
| alt            =
| caption        = VHS cover
| director       = [[Takashi Shimizu]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
*Takashige Ichise
*Kazuo Katō
*Masaaki Takashima
}}
| writer         = Takashi Shimizu
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
*[[Yûrei Yanagi|Yūrei Yanagi]]
*[[Chiaki Kuriyama]]
*Hitomi Miwa
*[[Takako Fuji]]
*[[Takashi Matsuyama (actor)|Takashi Matsuyama]]
}}
| music          = Gary Ashiya
| cinematography = Nobuhito Kisuki
| distributor    = [[Toei Company|Toei Video Company]]
| released       = {{Film date|2000|02|11|df=yes}}
| runtime        = 70 minutes
| country        = Japan
| language       = Japanese
}}

{{nihongo|'''''Ju-on: The Curse'''''|呪怨|Juon}}, also known as simply '''''Ju-on''''', is a 2000 Japanese [[V-Cinema]] [[supernatural horror]] film and the first installment in the [[Ju-on (franchise)|''Ju-on'' franchise]], following two short films. The film was written and directed by [[Takashi Shimizu]] and is divided into six parts, chronicling the experiences of tenants of a cursed house where a man, [[Takeo Saeki]] ([[Takashi Matsuyama (actor)|Takashi Matsuyama]]) killed his wife, [[Kayako Saeki|Kayako]] ([[Takako Fuji]]), in a jealous rage. It was followed by ''[[Ju-on: The Curse 2]]'' in the same year.

==Plot==
After discovering his wife [[Kayako Saeki|Kayako]] has an affair with her college friend Shunsuke Kobayashi, Illustrator [[Takeo Saeki]] murdered her, their son [[Toshio Saeki|Toshio]], and the family cat Mar, then deserted his house. The anger and sorrow surrounding the murder created a curse that turned its inhabitants into [[Onryō]]. Whoever enters the house in [[Nerima]], [[Tokyo]], or even those associating themselves with someone who has entered the house will be affected and claimed by the curse, spreading its influence at the place they die and claiming more victims.

Kobayashi, who happens to be Toshio's elementary school teacher, notices his repeated absence from school. He visits the Saeki house, leaving his pregnant wife Manami at home. He finds Toshio, who refuses to speak with him, forcing him to wait for the parents. Kobayashi grows weary of the strangeness surrounding the house. After accidentally stumbling upon Kayako's room, he learns of her unrequited love for him and finds her bloody corpse hidden in the attic. Panicked, Kobayashi tries to escape with Toshio until he receives a call from Takeo, who has gone to his apartment and kills Manami by forcefully aborting her unborn fetus. In shock, he is unable to respond properly as Kayako's corpse reanimates and kills him. Meanwhile, Takeo carries the dead fetus in the street and is killed by Kayako.

Sometime later, the Saeki house is occupied by the Murakami family. The daughter Kanna is with her tutor Yuki until she remembers that [[Katasumi and 4444444444|she has to go to school to feed the school rabbits]]. Yuki, who has a [[Ailurophobia|phobia of cats]], backs up towards Kanna's closet when a black cat suddenly appears in the house. Hearing strange sounds from the attic, she investigates and is killed by Kayako. 

Unaware of the incident, Kanna's brother Tsuyoshi leaves for school to meet his girlfriend Mizuho Tamura. [[Katasumi and 4444444444|Tsuyoshi never makes it to the school]] and Mizuho is forced to wait in the teacher's room while a teacher inspects the school once more. There, she is spooked by Toshio until she receives a call from "4444444444" (the Japanese word for 4: 四, ''shi'', is pronounced similarly to the word for "death": 死, ''shi''), at which point, Toshio appears directly beside her.

Detective Yoshikawa and his aide Kamio investigate the mutilated body of high schooler Hisayo Yoshida, one of the two students scheduled to feed the school rabbits, and a human jaw nearby. Back at the Murakami house, mother Noriko has just returned home when she notices a disheveled Kanna entering her house. Her daughter moves to face her, showing her without her jaw, causing Noriko to scream in horror.

Sometime later, the Nerima house is taken over by the Suzuki Real Estate, owned by Tatsuya Suzuki, for sale. Tatsuya contacts his spiritually aware sister, Kyoko, to visit the house. She immediately feels discomfort upon entering and becomes further disturbed after a brief meeting with Kayako. After gulping [[sake]], Kyoko tells Tatsuya that anyone who wants to purchase the house has to drink the sake; if they spit it out, they should not buy it. She makes a hasty escape from the house, leaving her brother behind. A while later, Kyoko is informed that the house has been sold to the Kitada couple. She decides to check on the house once more and is shocked when she discovers that the wife, Yoshimi Kitada, has been possessed by Kayako.

== Cast ==
{{main|List of The Grudge characters}}
* [[Yūrei Yanagi]] as {{nihongo|Shunsuke Kobayashi|小林 俊介|Kobayashi Shunsuke}}
* [[Chiaki Kuriyama]] as {{nihongo|Mizuho Tamura|田村 瑞穂|Tamura Mizuho}}
* Hitomi Miwa as {{nihongo|Yuki|由紀}}
* [[Asumi Miwa]] as {{nihongo|Kanna Murakami|村上 柑菜|Murakami Kanna}}
* Kazushi Andō as {{nihongo|Tsuyoshi Murakami|村上 強志|Murakami Tsuyoshi}}
* [[Yumi Yoshiyuki]] as {{nihongo|Noriko Murakami|村上 典子|Murakami Noriko}}
* Yue as {{nihongo|Manami Kobayashi|小林 真奈美|Kobayashi Manami}}
* Kaori Fujii as {{nihongo|Yoshimi Kitada|北田 良美|Kitada Yoshimi}}
* [[Yūko Daike]] as {{nihongo|Kyoko Suzuki|鈴木 響子|Suzuki Kyōko}}
* Makoto Ashikawa as {{nihongo|Tatsuya Suzuki|鈴木 達也|Suzuki Tatsuya}}
* [[Takako Fuji]] as [[Kayako Saeki]]
* Ryōta Koyama as [[Toshio Saeki]]
* [[Takashi Matsuyama (actor)|Takashi Matsuyama]] as [[Takeo Saeki]]

==Release and reception==
''Ju-On: The Curse'' was released on home video on February 11, 2000.{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=280}}{{sfn|Kalat|2007|p=281}} The film will be released in Japan in theaters in 4K resolution on August 8, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-20 |title=「呪怨」「呪怨2」〈4K：Vシネマ版〉公式サイト |url=https://www.toei-video.co.jp/juon4k/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=東映ビデオオフィシャルサイト |language=ja}}</ref>

[[AllRovi|AllMovie]] called it a "surprisingly effective low-budget horror video from Japan", writing, "while the plot never quite comes together—it's haphazard and confusing—the movie succeeds because of its unnervingly creepy atmosphere and consistently mournful and unsettling tone".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/ju-on-v292156/review |title=Ju-on (2000) - Review - AllMovie |last=Ralske |first=Josh |work=[[AllRovi|AllMovie]] |access-date=10 August 2012}}</ref>

==Stage adaptation==
A stage play adaptation of ''Ju-On'' was developed in 2023. It adapts the plots from this film and [[Ju-On: The Curse 2|its sequel]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=呪怨 THE LIVE | url=https://juonthelive.com/ | access-date=2026-01-01 | website=juonthelive.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last=Kalat | first=David | title=J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond | publisher=Vertical Inc | date=2007 | isbn=978-1-932234-08-4}}

{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0330500|Ju-on}}
* [http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2000/dx000700.htm ''Ju-on''] at the [[Japanese Movie Database]]
* {{YouTube|yiDODe7B5Bg|Original Japanese trailer}}

{{Ju-on}}
{{Takashi Shimizu}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ju-On The Curse}}
[[Category:Films directed by Takashi Shimizu]]
[[Category:Japanese nonlinear narrative films]]
[[Category:Direct-to-video horror films]]
[[Category:Japanese ghost films]]
[[Category:2000 horror films]]
[[Category:Toei Company films]]
[[Category:2000 films]]
[[Category:Films about curses]]
[[Category:Ju-On films|The Curse]]
[[Category:2000 Japanese films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Ju-On: The Curse|access_date=2026-03-04}}