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| Movie: Tomie by Junji Ito |
1. The Grudge (Ju-On) Series
Ju-On (呪怨 Juon, lit. "Curse Grudge", also known as The Grudge) is a Japanese-American horror franchise created by Takashi Shimizu. The franchise began in 1998 with the release of the short films Katasumi and 4444444444. Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-On projects to fruition.
The Ju-On films generally revolve around a curse created in a house in Nerima, Tokyo when Takeo Saeki, convinced that his wife Kayako was having an affair with another man, murdered her, their son Toshio and Toshio's pet cat in a jealous rage. According to Ju-On, when a person dies with a deep and powerful rage, a curse is born. The curse gathers in the place where that person has died or where they were frequently at and repeats itself there. The spirits of the deceased haunt the location, potentially killing anyone who encounters the curse by any means, such as entering a cursed house or being in contact with somebody who was already cursed. The curse's manifestation is mainly death, where the victims' bodies may or may not disappear. The following deaths may create more curses and spread them to other locations.
The franchise consists, to date, of 13 films (9 Japanese and 3 American productions) alongside various additional media and merchandise products.
2. Suicide Club
Suicide Club, known in Japan as Suicide Circle (自殺サークル Jisatsu Sākuru), is a 2001 Japanese independent satirical horror film written and directed by Sion Sono. The film explores a wave of seemingly unconnected suicides that strikes Japan and the efforts of the police to determine the reasons behind the strange behavior.
Suicide Club gained a considerable amount of notoriety in film festivals around the world for it's controversial, transgressive subject matter and overall gruesome presentation. It developed a significant cult following over the years, and won the Jury Prize for "Most Ground-Breaking Film" at the 2003 Fantasia Film Festival.
3. Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (Kuchisake-onna)
Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (口裂け女 Kuchisake-onna) (also known as A Slit-Mouthed Woman) is a 2007 Japanese horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi and written by Shiraishi and Naoyuki Yokota. Based on the Japanese urban legend known as Kuchisake-onna, or "the Slit-Mouthed Woman", the film stars Eriko Sato as Kyōko Yamashita, a divorced mother and teacher who attempts to solve a series of child abduction cases with the help of her co-worker Noboru Matsuzaki, played by Haruhiko Kato.
The film was followed by a prequel, Carved 2: The Scissors Massacre, in 2008.
4. Noroi: The Curse
Noroi: The Curse (ノロイ Noroi) is a 2005 Japanese found footage horror film in the form of a documentary. The movie was directed by Kōji Shiraishi, and is unusually long and complex for the J-horror genre, being just under two hours in length, and having a main cast of well over twenty-five characters.
5. Pulse (Kairo)
Pulse (回路 Kairo) is a 2001 Japanese horror film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. The movie was well-received critically and has a cult following. An American remake, also titled Pulse, debuted in 2006 and spawned two sequels. The script was also adapted into a novel of the same name by Kurosawa himself.
6. Dark Water
Dark Water (Japanese: 仄暗い水の底から Honogurai Mizu no soko kara, "From the Depths of Dark Water") is a 2002 Japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata and written by Yoshihiro Nakamura and Kenichi Suzuki, based on the short story collection by Koji Suzuki. The plot follows a divorced mother who moves into a rundown apartment with her daughter, and experiences supernatural occurrences including a mysterious water leak from the floor above.
An American-produced remake of the film, directed by Walter Salles and starring Jennifer Connelly and Tim Roth, was released in 2005.
7. One Missed Call
One Missed Call (Japanese: 着信アリ Chakushin ari) is a Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Minako Daira. The film is based on the novel Chakushin Ari by Yasushi Akimoto. The plot revolves around Yumi Nakamura, a young psychology student whose friend Yoko gets a strange voice message on her cell phone. The message is dated two days in the future and Yoko can hear herself screaming in it. After Yoko mysteriously dies, her death sets off a chain of events which leads Yumi to discover that this phenomenon has been occurring throughout Japan long before Yoko received an alarming call from her future self. When Yumi receives a call with the date and time of her death, she struggles to save herself and learn the truth behind the calls.
The film received a TV series it aired on TV Asahi in 2005, and an American adaptation in 2008.
8. Ring (Rings)
Ring (リング Ringu) is a 1998 Japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata, based on the 1991 novel by Kôji Suzuki. The film stars Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada and Rikiya Ōtaka, and follows a reporter who is on the run to investigate the mystery behind a cursed videotape that kills the viewer seven days after watching it. Production took approximately nine months. Ring and its sequel Rasen were released in Japan at the same time. After its release, Ring was a huge box office success in Japan and was critically acclaimed by critics. It inspired numerous follow-ups within the Ring franchise and triggered a trend of Western remakes, starting with the 2002 American film The Ring and got sequel in 2005. Ring also got an other tittle Rings in 2005 & 2017.
9. Over Your Dead Body
Over Your Dead Body (喰女-クイメ- Kuime) is a 2014 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Miike. It was released on 23 August 2014.
10. Sadako
A group of people must find out how to stop the newborn deadly curse, which has born and gone viral after a Youtuber accidentally captured a vengeful ghost on camera.
11. The Tomie
Tomie (富江) is a Japanese horror film series based on Junji Ito's manga of the same name. The series consists of nine installments to date.
The series focuses on the titular Tomie Kawakami, a beautiful young girl identified by a mole under her left eye, who drives her stricken admirers to madness, often resulting in her own death. However, due to her ability of regeneration, she comes back to life to terrorize her killers.
Each cell of her body has the ability to generate into a full-grown independent body, causing several copies of her to be created after each of her deaths. It is unknown how many copies of Tomie exist in the films' universe although, in the most recent movie, Tomie Unlimited, Tomie is shown walking through the streets of Japan, with most of the women she passes by also being Tomie. The films share no direct storyline connections, all focusing on different Tomies and their stories, except for the first installment and 2005's Tomie: Beginning.
Junji Ito has expressed his support for the films, often attending premieres and even personally picking out the actress Miho Kanno for the role of Tomie in the first film and coaching her for the audition.