Noroi: The Curse
The whole hysteria around the found - footage style of filmmaking in the horror genre began withThe Blair Witch Project . Since then , found - footage has been used and overuse for various horror films like theParanormal Activityseries andCloverfield . But one early , underrated horror gem in this trend isNoroi : The Curse , a Japanese horror-“documentary " released in 2005 .
The film deals with a paranormal expert and diarist name Kobayashi , who investigates creepy encounter with a series of cryptic dying apparently pull by a spirit called Kagutaba . The premise sounds like a generic supernatural repulsion film , but there ’s more to it than that . Despite not being released in the U.S. , the film has pull together a cult following over the years .
update on December 27th , 2021 , by Hannah Saab : Almost two decades after its initial release , Noroi : The Curse proceed to fascinate and terrify fans from around the world , with some thinking it ’s a true report . The genre - defining cultus classic has been impossible to imitate , in large part due to its truly horrifying premise , a convincing cast of role , and perfect pacing .
There ’s still much more to watch about the wildly popular horror moving picture , which will undoubtedly be a staple for fans of the repulsion genre for class to get , having most viewers intelligibly still asking " Is Noroi real ? "
Some Of The Actors Play As Themselves
Noroisets itself apart from other J - Horror picture because of its retentive duration and sizeable cast . Part of the ensemble constitute several fame cameos , some involving actor playing themselves . Marika Matsumoto ( actress and the spokesperson behind Rikku in theFinal Fantasyvideo games ) has a major role as herself ; she start sleepwalking and making nooses out of wires while sprout for a film at a shrine haunted by the Kagutaba .
In smaller roles , the film also features prominent Nipponese adult - pic actresses Ai Iijima ( who come along as a TV plan guest ) , and Maria Takagi ( as herself ) .
Takashige Ichise Also ProducedThe GrudgeandRing
Director Koji Shiraishi earn some bombination in 2003 when he directedHonto ni atta , a revulsion anthology starring well - bed Japanese player and soda pop wizard . Noroi : The Cursebecame a realism two years subsequently , only with the help of Takashige Ichise . Ichise himself was a well - known image in Nipponese horror as he had also producedJu - On : The Grudge , andRing .
Both flick have been lauded as some of the most iconic works in the pantheon of external horror film . The fact that they have received American remakes , sequel , and reboots , bears testimonial to this .
It Took A Long Time To Reach American Audiences
ab initio , Noroidid not receive a widespread international pursuit because of a limited domestic release . Takashige Ichise ’s product fellowship , Oz , suffered from failure , making it hard to push or distribute the film to other countries . Kadokawa Pictures USA attempted for an American re - release in 2009 but this company too hold up bankrupt .
last , in 2020,Noroifound its way to American homes through the TV - on - need service , Shudder . Horror devotee no longer have to trust on retellings and snippets of the set up - footage motion-picture show on YouTube , as they can pronto enter the cult classic through the service ( harmonise toBloody Disgusting ) .
The Pigeons Are Symbolic
If fans observed the film cautiously , they will line up that pigeons play a resort role all through the write up . In one of the initial supernatural display case ofdemonic possession inNoroi , looker see utter pigeon surrounding a peeress ’s menage . Even when actress Marika Matsumoto gets possessed by demons , pigeons start fly towards her house ’s windows and die on the point .
Some critics have compared the saltation scares with the pigeon to Alfred Hitchcock ’s classic , The Birds . They’re more potential emblematic , though , and are used as a substitution for the typical raven or crow as the Sultanate of Oman of death or bad luck .
Masafumi Kobayashi Never Puts His Camera Down
A common figure in found - footage repugnance that ’s added to make the footage look realistic is making the camera all precarious and blurry in scenes of terror , repulsion , and action . But queerly , protagonist Kobayashi ’s tv camera seems to be in a sodding handheld musical mode always .
There are scenes when hoi polloi are in danger mighty in front of Kobayashi ’s eye . In average actual - life situations , one would normally pelt along to protect the person in risk , or just carry out from the scene , caring about one ’s own dear life rather than shoot documentary footage . Kobayashi seems like a perfect parallel to Jake Gyllenhaal ’s character inNightcrawler .
The Film Reverses Stereotypes
Asiatic and African ( and sometimes European ) characters in mythical or supernatural films are often mark as " exotic " or " mystical , " and offered roles of sorcerers , Rommany , smuggled magic practician , and the comparable . To sum to the stereotypes , it is shew that people from these cultures are the reason behind spells and curses haunting everyone . From something likeIndiana Jones and the Temple of DoomtoDrag Me To Hell , this direct or indirect racialism has been prevailing .
Noroitakes an interesting archeological site at this as the sorcerer summoning the demon Kagutaba are show to be from the West rather than any so - call " exotic " country , once again underscore itscreative usage of the find footage genre .
A Fan Helped In Creating The Movie’s Facebook And IMDb Pages
The film ’s limited release meant a less - than - instant promotion scheme for the rest of the world , which would soon praiseNoroifor being one of thebest Japanese find - footage horror films . author Julian Singleton revealed in an essay onCinapsethat he tried to add to the pic ’s reputation in an interesting way .
He write : " In early year , I created the photographic film ’s IMDb and Facebook page in a naïve endeavor to rescue it from reconditeness , where it has accumulate a small yet enthusiastic following , " he add together how " there are subtitled copy uncommitted on third - company videodisk sites ; multiple benevolent soul have upload the full celluloid onto YouTube . "
Fans Can Stream Noroi: The Curse On Amazon Prime And Shudder
Some die - hard devotee have been uploadingNoroi : The Curseon YouTube time and again , and as expected , the movie gets blocked or taken down . In the 2010s , Noroi ’s subtitle copies were deal through third - party DVD websites , which is no longer common practice today . rooter who want to see the film for the first time or rewatch it should n’t feel disheartened , though .
As of now , Noroiis presently pour on Amazon Prime , Shudder , Shudder Amazon Channel , AMC Plus , AMC+ Roku Premium Channel , and Spectrum On - Demand . Viewers can also choose to purchase or charter a transcript from Apple iTunes .
Director Kôji Shiraishi Drew From Urban Legends For His Other Movies, Too
Director Kôji Shiraishi seems to have a penchant for take out from urban legends like he does inNoroi , The Grudge , andRing . 2009’sTeketeke , for case , heavily relies on narratives about the Japanese urban caption have a go at it as the Teke Teke , a schoolgirl that haunts others after her untimely dying .
The 2007 filmCarved : The Slit - Mouthed Woman , is ground on the malevolent demonicKuchisake - onna creature in Japanese folklore , who is known for luring her victims with her cozen beauty . None of them have attained the same point of notoriety thatNoroihas though , which currently sits at the top of the director ’s highest - rated feature film films onIMDb .
Director Kôji Shiraishi Went On To Make More Found-Footage Horror
Even thoughNoroi : The Curseis certainly Kôji Shiraishi ’s magnum opus , the film maker went on to direct other horror classic too . Among the most significant of these was 2009’sOccult , which again was shot like a horror mockumentary .
He has been experimenting and reinterpret the way time and again . In 2011 , he even directed a ' found footage erotica ' calledCho Akunin . That said , most devotee would agree that he never again touch the same level of success with his new film as he did withNoroi . In fact , his 2016 pic , Sadako vs. Kakayo , was mostly take a dud , receiving a disappointing 27 % onRotten Tomatoes .
NEXT : The 10 Best Found Footage Horror Movies , Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes
