Arrow UK has announced a Blu-ray and UHD box set of the Japanese horror classic film series, The Grudge.
The films introduce the anonymous family house in the suburbs of Tokyo where an unspeakable evil lingers alongside its residents, the ghastly mother-son pairing of Kayoko and Toshio Saeki. Shimizu’s disconcerting approach to plotting, unnerving eye for the uncanny details in the dark corners of the frame and an innate talent for effective jump scares so impressed Evil Dead director Sam Raimi that he invited the director to helm two Hollywood remakes.
The quintessential J-horror series makes its Blu-ray debut with a brand new 4K restoration of Ju-On: The Grudge and a wealth of new and archival extras, including Shimizu’s two The Curse straight-to-video precursors (previously unreleased outside Japan) and the White Ghost/Black Ghost diptych of tales unfolding within the same terrifying universe.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS –
• Brand new 4K restoration of Ju-On: The Grudge from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Ju-On: The Grudge in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all films
• Home video premiere outside Japan of Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-On: The Curse 2
• Original 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (except The Curse and The Curse 2) and 2.0 stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles
• Exclusive 60-page collector’s booklet featuring writing by Grady Hendrix, James Marsh, Tom Mes, William Carroll and Lindsay Nelson [Limited Edition Exclusive]
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative
• Twenty-four double-sided, postcard-sized cards [Limited Edition Exclusive]
• Reversible poster featuring original artwork [Limited Edition Exclusive]
DISC 1 – JU-ON: THE CURSE AND JU-ON: THE CURSE 2 (BLU-RAY)
• Introduction to both films by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
• Introduction to Ju-On: The Curse by actor Takako Fuji
DISC 2 & 3 – JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY / BLU-RAY)
• Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
• Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
• New audio commentary by film historian David Kalat
• Audio commentary by Sam Raimi and Scott Spiegel
• Alternate English dub track in 5.1 Surround
• Haunting in Monochrome, a new interview with Takashi Shimizu on the Ju-On films
• Being Kayako, a new interview with Takako Fuji on her role as Kayako
• The Evolution of Ju-On, a brand new featurette with authors and Japan specialists Tom Mes and Zack Davisson discussing the cultural forces that shaped the series
• Through a Glass Darkly, an archive interview with Takashi Shimizu
• Whispers in the Dark, an archive interview with actor Megumi Okina on her role as Rika
• Fade to Black, an archive interview with actress Kayoko Shibata, who plays Mariko
• On-set interviews with Takashi Shimizu, Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara and Yui Ichikawa
• Deleted scenes with commentary by Takashi Shimizu
• Almost an hour of behind-the-scenes footage
• Ju-On True Stories, two ghostly true-life tales that inspired the films, narrated by Hiroyoshi Kihara
• Original trailers
• Image gallery
DISC 4 – JU-ON: THE GRUDGE 2 (BLU-RAY)
• Introduction by writer-director Takashi Shimizu
• New audio commentary with scholar Raechel Dumas and critic Jasper Sharp
• Alternate English dub track in 5.1 Surround
• Interview with Takashi Shimizu from the time of making Ju-On: The Grudge 2
• On-set interviews with Noriko Sakai, Chiharu Niiyama, Kei Horie, Yui Ichikawa, Emi Yamamoto and Shingo Katsurayama
• Deleted scenes
• 55 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage
• On-set reports by cast members Noriko Sakai, Yui Ichikawa and Erika Kuroishi
• Premieres and stage greetings footage from Japan, Taiwan and Korea
• Trailers and TV spots
• Image gallery
DISC 5 – JU-ON: WHITE GHOST AND JU-ON: BLACK GHOST (BLU-RAY)
• Introduction to Ju-On: Black Ghost by writer-director Mari Asato
• New interview with Mari Asato
• Original trailer
• Image galleries
A fantastic new set of these classic Japanese horror movies.
