If you don’t already know about the relationship between The Grudge and the Ju-On series, this is the fourth film in the series, and the second (Japanese) theatrical release.

Fans should by now be already familiar with writer / director Takashi Shimizu's style of storytelling within this series. If you have never seen a “Ju-on” film before, you will not want to start with this one, and the following review may contain spoilers for those who have not seen The Grudge.

Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (called simply Ju-on 2 on the American DVD release cover) opens with pregnant horror actress Kyoko and her boyfriend as they drive down a deserted street at night. When their car suddenly hits a cat, we know little Toshio isn't far away and, indeed, he winds up actually beneath the steering wheel only moments later, causing them to crash. Kyoko begins bleeding heavily from beneath her dress, and we share her grief over the loss of her unborn child.

But wait a moment - it becomes quickly apparent that our little blue wraith seems to have done something to Kyoko. Suddenly, she's with child again, and the little bugger has a helluva a kick, one you can see from across the room. What is growing inside her, and why does it cause seemingly random schoolgirls to scream?

As in the other Japanese films in the series, several vignettes make up Ju-on 2 as we follow different characters throughout a disjointed timeline. Eventually, all of the stories will makes sense together as we begin to make the connections between characters, and several of them are creepy as hell in their own right. “Tomoka” (the second story) and “Megumi” (the third) are strong standouts and, although the next couple of stories begin to jump time and space far too often to make sense, the epilogue presents a pretty cool take on Kayako (the woman who bears the grudge throughout all of the “Ju-on” and “Grudge” films). In fact, the final scene did something the other films haven't managed to do: It actually made me long for another installment.

The picture is sharp and clear, although this sequel seems to suffer from the same problem as the second Grudge film: it shows Kayako out of the shadows, making her far less scary (especially when her blue pancake makeup is so brightly lit). Nevertheless, she's still one pretty badass vengeful chick, and Ju-on 2 makes this misstep far less often than its American counterpart (which shares no major plot points with this film).

Overall, Ju-on 2 is a terrific end to the Japanese series, and one that completists (or those who are just into the mythology behind the films) will want to check out.

Pros: Offers a fresh new spin on Kayako. Some very cool story elements...
Cons: ...become a bit forced together by the film's end.
Review Rating: 7 out of 10 “safe birth amulets” that don't really do their jobs.