Ju-On: White Ghost Replaced Kayako As The Grudge’s Main Villain

Ju-On: White Ghost tried to replace horror icon Kayako as the face of The Grudge franchise, but it didn’t work. Alongside the original Japanese version of The Ring, the Ju-On movies – AKA The Grudge – helped make J-horror successful in the West. The movies typically take the form of short segments that jump around in time and follow the doomed characters who’ve been “infected” with a ghostly curse. The series is arguably best remembered for the 2004 American remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, which was a big success at the time.

The popularity of the series quickly waned thanks to the mediocre The Grudge 2 in 2006 – where Gellar returned for a brief cameo – with The Grudge 3 then going straight to video in 2009. The wider franchise never really went away as there have been consistent releases from the Japanese side of the series, including 2016’s tongue-in-cheek crossover Sadako Vs Kayako, where the latter faces off against the main villain of The Ring. There was even a video game for the Wii dubbed Ju-On: The Grudge Haunted House Simulator.

An American reboot was attempted with 2020’s The Grudge, starring Andrea Riseborough and Betty Gilpin. While the movie’s financial performance was respectable it received universally terrible reviews, making a direct sequel unlikely. Most of the Ju-On films revolve around the ghosts of Toshio and his mother Kayako. They were both murdered in a fit of blind rage by family patriarch Takeo. Kayako’s pale features, unnatural movements and haunting death rattles define the character, but countless sequels and remakes made it hard to be truly frightened by her with each passing entry.

To that end, when it came time to make a film to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the series, the franchise tried something a little different. Ju-On: White Ghost and Ju-On: Black Ghost are two short, hour-long entries that were paired together, with the latter featuring a girt being tormented by the vengeful spirit of her unborn twin, who goes on a killing spree. Ju-On: White Ghost is loosely tied to Black Ghost and sees a family destroyed by another angry spirit, who mostly takes the form of a pale grandmother named Haru holding a basketball and emitting the famous throaty rattle.

The Grudge franchise badly needed some fresh ideas, but while Ju-On: White Ghost and its co-production could have done something unique, they’re both very forgettable and cheap ghost stories. Kayako being replaced makes little difference since Haru’s spirit does the same basic thing – expect while holding a basketball – and is never nearly as frightening. Toshio makes an ill-fitting cameo to appease fans and Ju-On: White Ghost also features an unpleasant subplot involving molestation, that comes off as a very tacky inclusion for what amounts to b-movie ghost story. Needless to say, Kayako was back front and center for Ju-on: The Beginning Of The End, the next instalment of the Japanese franchise.

About The Author

Padraig Cotter
(3486 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

See also  World Of Warcraft: Shadowlands Player Hits Max Level By Picking Flowers

More From Padraig Cotter