It’s always Lupus.
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I just watched the Classroom, I had such high hopes after Hausu but aside from a few great scenes it was dreadful 
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The manga ending indeed was better but both are wonderful for the pure creeptastic atmosphere.
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You can’t talk about Japanese horror and not mention Kiyoshi Kurosawa:
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Its been over ten years since I saw it, but I liked it. Never read the manga though.
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The last time I checked, the English translation was out of print again (and I’m still kicking myself for not buying it back in the day.) It’s definitely worth reading if you can find it. Some of the chapters are a little… well, outrageous-- there’s something I can’t quite remember about babies who wanted to return to their wombs that I found more ridiculous than scary. But other parts are incredibly chilling. I will never, never, NEVER eat snails after reading a certain sequence in part 3. ::shivers::
–Oh crap. I just checked, and Amazon has the three-in-one edition for $15.74 right now. But I need to save my money for other things. Grrrr… 
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I forgot Pulse was another remake of a Japanese movie. Is that a case where the original is far superior?
(I still think the American version of The Ring was much nicer than Ringu, unless one particularly likes the low-budget feel.)
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I didn’t hate the Pulse remake, maybe because its practically a different story.
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I like the Japanese version just a tiny bit more. (That may ultimately be because I saw the Japanese version first.) I think the Japanese version is more subtly directed, but on the other hand the American version’s script seems a little better worked out.
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I think with the Japanese versions the difference is in pacing and camera work, too.
I remember noting in Ju-On, the camera work was done in such a way that I really felt like an observer. It’s not “found footage”, but it isn’t the Hollywood constant closeups and manipulation of perspective either. There’s just a slow feeling of waiting, watching, that makes it extra creepy.
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I knew she not only had a sense of humor, but a sick one. You can’t someone like that get away
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It was the second worse choice of date night films ever.
The first being Se7en. A former girlfriend wanted to see that in the theaters because she thought Brad Pitt was cute. Neither of us knew what the film was about when we walked in the theater. I enjoyed the film, but she was a bit on edge. There was no nookie that night!
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That is the best segue possible for “what’s in the box”!!!
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It’s probably because I grew up on low budget sci-fi/fantasy and horror films (Evil Dead, Phantasm, Reanimator, etc), but I prefer that low budget feel to horror movies. I liked the original better than the American remake, that’s just me, though. YMMV, obvs.[quote=“ChuckV, post:29, topic:88222”]
I think the Japanese version is more subtly directed
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Agreed. And the reveal at the end of the Japanese film was much scarier, I thought than the American version… or at least I thought so. I’m a big fan of doing as much as possible with practical effects.
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I think Uzumaki shares that kind of crazily-dumb-but-inherently-great quality that Hausu has. The acting is frequently terrible but the whole thing is indescribably charming in a way that only Japanese movies can be.
It’s one of my favourite ever J-movies. If you roll with it in the right frame of mind it will connect with you.
Scary? No. Deliriously wonderful? Yes
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Unfortunately this is my reaction to all Japanese horror movies
On the other hand, I had a friend who for a date night movie picked (at my recommendation, although I didn’t know it was for date night) The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, and this successfully led to nookie! So, it takes all kinds.
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Is saw Tetsuo in a double feature with the sequel on the big screen when I was at most 17 so and just developing a slight fever due to an upcoming cold. That was… an experience. Tons of walk-outs as well. Wusses.
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