Think you know about The Grudge? Think again. Read this and discover what a lot of American film critics don't seem to know about the original Japanese film: there's actually four of them.

Please note: This article is spoiler-free, and should only enhance your viewing of these films.

One of the more successful horror films of late is the recent American film The Grudge. While most people are aware that this is a remake of a Japanese film, what you may not know is that, not only do they share the same director (Takashi Shimizu), but it is the fifth time he has made a movie based on the same material. Now you know why it’s so damn good: lots and lots of practice.

If you're only interested in the American release, then you're already set: Have fun; it's a great film. However, if the new version has only whetted your appetite for the original films, then you'll want a bit more background so you know where to start; many people and websites have gotten these movies confused (including IMDb which, at the time of this writing, incorrectly lists two different "Ju-On" films as being the same movie).

First, the phrase Ju-On refers to a curse that occurs in a place where a death of particularly strong rage and violence has occurred. That death must then replay itself out over and over in that place. What a lot of people don’t understand (and the films only focus on sporadically) is that, as new victims are claimed, they spawn their own Ju-On, resulting in curses that spread like a virus. This is a popular and common theme running throughout many Japanese horror films, including the “Ringu” series (see our reviews here) and newer films such as “One Missed Call,” in which a similar curse propagates itself through cell phones.

“Ju-on” is actually the first film in the series (Purists, please note that I’m discounting the 2 related shorts Takashi made for an anthology). It and a sequel were both made for video in 2000 (you may also see these referred to as "TV Movies"). They proved so successful that they were both remade for theatrical release in 2003. When I say remade, that's for lack of a better word. Actually, the new films were extensions of the same themes. Basically, if you think of the house in which the original deaths occurred as being the focal point of the series, then each film has different stories and people relating to the house. Kind of like all the "Amityville Horror" films, only these ones don't suck.

To make things even more confusing, the new theatrical releases were given the same names as the original video films: "Ju-On" and "Ju-On 2." You can see the problem. Luckily, they were retitled: the video releases were subtitled “Ju-On: The Curse" (which is redundant) and the theatrical releases were subtitled “Ju-On: The Grudge.”

Which one was remade for the American version? All of them. There are some appallingly lazy critics on staff at some major American magazines and newspapers who have written that the remake is a carbon-copy of the original (one even says it's "shot-for-shot") and, as such, the remake is unnecessary (I won’t mention any names; you can find them easily enough by doing a bit of searching).

It’s obvious to me that those people have yet to see an original “Ju-On” film, because they all have parts that are in “The Grudge,” just as they all have parts that aren’t. In other words, the American remake is a “greatest hits” package of some of the best moments from all of the films that came before it. The film that has the most material reused, “Ju-0n: The Grudge,” still has a full 50 minutes of material that American audiences didn’t see (and the whole subplot involving Bill Pullman’s character isn’t even in this film; it comes from “Ju-On: The Curse”).

So there you have it: the confusing history of what is fast becoming one of the most popular Japanese horror series ever made. Now go ask your friends what they know about the original and, as they stammer, bask in your own knowledge that you're so much better than they are, ‘cause you've been properly schooled - HorrorWatch style.