Ju-On: Black Ghost

JU-ON: BLACK GHOST is a short Japanese horror film, a follow-up to the earlier two GRUDGE movies and a film made back-to-back with JU-ON: WHITE GHOST. I watched WHITE GHOST previously and it was much the better film: the plot held together better, there were many reasons to watch, and it was pretty spooky. BLACK GHOST by comparison doesn't have much going for it.

The story once again revolves around the long-haired ghost from the original, and as in WHITE GHOST the narrative plays out as a series of vignettes involving different but linked characters. Sadly, the whole is a lot less than the sum of the parts here. The main haunted characters are a mother and daughter; a second child died in the womb and is now possessed by the original angry ghost spirit which is looking for revenge.

The performances are okay, but this film looks really cheap and the scares are too well telegraphed in advance. Saying that, there is one great effects scene at the climax involving a distended stomach, the one decent moment in the film in fact; a shame that more of it couldn't have been like that.