Ju-On: The Beginning of the End

Ju-on: The Beginning of the End (呪怨: 終わりの始まり, Ju-on: Owari no Hajimari) is a 2014 Japanese supernatural horror film and the tenth installment of the Ju-on franchise. The film was directed and co-written by Masayuki Ochiai with Takashige Ichise producing and co-writing.[1] The Beginning of the End is a reboot of the series, retelling the events of the cursed Saeki family that centers on a house in Nerima, Japan.

Ju-on: The Beginning of the End
Directed byMasayuki Ochiai
Produced byTakashige Ichise
Written byMasayuki Ochiai
Takashige Ichise
StarringNozomi Sasaki
Sho Aoyagi
Reina Triendl
Miho Kanazawa
Haori Takahashi
Yuina Kuroshima
Misaki Saisho
Kai Kobayashi
Yasuhito Hida
Yoshihiko Hakamada
Music byKôji Ueno
CinematographyHirofumi Okada
Edited byYoshifumi Fukazawa
Production
company
Altemate

Fujishoji

Gambit

NBCUniversal Entertainment

Showgate

W Field
Distributed byShowgate
Release date
  • 28 June 2014 (2014-06-28)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥226 million (Japan) (US$1.90 million)

Plot

Continuing the trademark of the series, Beginning of the End is divided into eight segments presented in an anachronistic order, each titled after a character central to that segment. They are, in the following order: Yui (結衣), Nanami (七海), Kayako (伽椰子), Yayoi (弥生), Rina (莉奈), Aoi (葵), Naoto (直人), and Toshio (俊雄). The synopsis presents a rough chronology of the film's plot.

In 1995 Tokyo, after a report of a possible child abuse happening in the Yamaga household, authorities and the schoolteacher of the family's son, Toshio, search the household and find Toshio dead in the bedroom closet.

Nine years later, a group of high school students: Nanami, Yayoi, Aoi, and Rina, visit the former Yamaga house, now taken for sale by Aoi's older sister. Nanami is shoved to enter due to rumors of the house being haunted. While the others find drawings depicting horrific deaths upon them and laugh, Nanami hears a noise and sees black liquid. She tries to escape but Toshio grabs her. Unaware, her friends leave. Yayoi is later dragged away by Toshio in the infirmary. Nanami and Aoi find Rina having gone insane since the house visit. Rina is then also taken by Toshio in the refrigerator. Aoi's brother-in-law, Kyosuke, is concerned that Aoi visited the house. In the bathroom, Toshio kills Aoi by ripping off her jaw and leaving it for her sister to find. Nanami is terrorized by her dead friends on a train before being dragged away and killed offscreen. Meanwhile, Aoi's sister sells the house to a couple named Takeo and Kayako Saeki.

Ten years later, an elementary schoolteacher, Yui Shono, is assigned to replace Mr. Konishi as homeroom teacher. She is concerned when she finds that a student, Toshio Saeki, has been absent for a week and decides to visit the Saeki household. She meets Toshio's mother, Kayako, who acts strangely, and finds the bedroom closet sealed with tape. Yui is disturbed by Kayako's behavior and hastily leaves. She is informed the next day that Mr. Konishi has died. She has hallucinations of Toshio, and finds Kayako's diary. Her boyfriend, Naoto Miyakoshi, reads the diary, which reveals that Kayako, who could not have a child with Takeo, became pregnant when a boy in white "touched" her in a dream. He meets with the widowed Kyosuke, who inquires about the curse that claimed the lives of his wife and her sister, and finds out that Toshio Yamaga and Toshio Saeki are the same. Naoto is later killed by Kayako when Kayako snaps his neck clockwise.

Yui, having recovered, visits the Saeki household to seek vengeance and opens the closet, discovering a box of tapes that show the Saeki family's lives. One tape reveals that Kayako did indeed get pregnant not by Takeo, but by the spirit of Toshio Yamaga. Yui experiences flashbacks of Takeo murdering Kayako after he found out he was not Toshio's father. She finds Kayako's body, who crawls towards her, and is then cornered by both Kayako and Toshio. Suddenly, she wakes up at her apartment. She goes to the living room, only to find Naoto, with his head snapped, walking towards her and Toshio sitting on the kitchen table. Yui's fate is left unknown.

Cast
  • Nozomi Sasaki as Yui Shono (生野結衣, Shōno Yui)
  • Sho Aoyagi as Naoto Miyakoshi (宮越直人, Miyakoshi Naoto)
  • Reina Triendl as Nanami (七海)
  • Miho Kanazawa as Rina (莉奈)
  • Haori Takahashi as Aoi (葵)
  • Yuina Kuroshima as Yayoi (弥生)
  • Maki Ishikawa as Vice-Principal Inui (乾教頭, Inui-kyōtō)
  • Yuka Eta as Miwa Takeda (竹田美和, Takeda Miwa)
  • Masako Ikeda as Shuko Terada (寺田修子, Terada Shūko)
  • Misaki Saisho as Kayako Saeki
  • Kai Kobayashi as Toshio Saeki/Toshio Yamaga (山賀俊雄, Yamaga Toshio)
  • Yasuhito Hida as Takeo Saeki
  • Yoshihiko Hakamada as Kyosuke Takeda (竹田京介, Takeda Kyōsuke)

Production

The film was first announced at a press conference held at Akagi Shrine in Tokyo on February 26, 2014, following a spirit cleansing ceremony at the shrine. Filming began soon thereafter on March 4, 2014. The teaser trailer was released on March 14, 2014, with the official trailer following on May 9, 2014. Beginning of the End was released on June 28, 2014 in Japan. The film will be screened in the west as part of Fantasia Festival 2014.[2]

Reception

The film has grossed ¥226 million (US$1.90 million) at the Japanese box office.[3]

Sequel
Main article: Ju-on: The Final Curse

A sequel, Ju-On: The Final Curse was announced at a press conference in Tokyo's Akagi Shrine on February 17, 2015. As the title suggests, the film was promoted as the final installment in the Ju-on franchise. The film is again helmed by Masayuki Ochiai and stars Airi Taira as Mai Shono, the older sister of The Beginning of the End protagonist, Yui, who disappeared while visiting her pupil, Toshio Saeki. Kai Kobayashi and Misaki Saisho additionally return as Toshio and Kayako Saeki, respectively. The Final Curse was released on June 20, 2015.[4]

References
  1. Seventh Ju-on film announced
  2. Moore, Debi (2014-06-26). "Fantasia 2014: Second Wave Titles Include New Ju-On Film, Open Windows, Life After Beth, The Drownsman, Let Us Prey, At the Devil's Door, Creep; Tribute to Tobe Hooper". Dread Central. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
  3. Kevin Ma (2014-07-08). "Maleficent dethrones Frozen in Japan". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  4. "Ju-On Horror Film Series' Final Film Announced". Anime News Network. 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
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