Several current American horror films inspired by Japanese movies
 
by Janjeera Hail
October 28, 2004

Almost everyone loves a good scary movie, but sometimes the same old storylines get tired, and nobody wants to see the same drawn out plot. Maybe that's why many American moviemakers are turning toward Asia for inspiration for horror movies. 

The Grudge, released last week, is the latest in the wave of Japanese remakes to hit the American scene. But how do these U.S. remakes compare to the originals from the Land of the Rising Sun? I spoke to two high school students to see what they had to say about The Grudge and its counterpart Ju-On, and The Ring and its counterpart, Ringu.

Stephanie Timblin, a junior at St. John's, says, "Well I think that Ju-on was a lot scarier than The Grudge and I think that's because the actors and actresses were a little more into it and they were really creepy, actually. And the ring was better than Ringu because of the graphics and stuff, computers. And the story was a lot better and it was suspenseful."

But what is it exactly that appeals to audiences about Japanese films? "I think Japanese movies are a lot scarier than American movies because they just have this other level of scariness to me that surpasses the American horror movies," says St. John's senior Melissa Zhao.

Japanese filmmakers seem to have been able to harness the power to create an even deeper sense of fear in their audiences. They use eerie atmosphere and creepy supernatural visuals to scare the viewers psychologically. For those of you wondering what's up next for these popular remakes, Korean-American producer Roy Lee has already made plans to produce American versions of "The Ring 2", "Dark Water", and "The Eye."

So, for those of you looking for new thrills this Halloween, check out your local video store's foreign film section for these Asian horror flicks.