1. The Grudges Unpredictability Rather Than Its Hair/Nails/Knee Tapping
I first seen Ju-on: The Grudge as a 15 year old who happened across it on late night tv. It was most definitely not what I was looking for that night, and stayed with me for wholly different reasons. Firstly, I feel I should clarify that I am talking about the Japanese film here and not the American remake, which I have not seen but feel ok about missing. Secondly, this is a bloody terrifying movie. It is, in short, the scariest film I had ever seen and caused two nights sleeplessness waiting for the duvet at the bottom of the bed to rise up and take me away. Everything in the film that is meant to scare does scare and scares well (even the stupid cat) but thats not the reason that it will stay with you well into the wee hours of the morning. The reason for that is the well known fact that our imagination provides 99% of our terror. If ghosts or night vision dont scare you then the likelihood is that Paranormal Activity wont either because your imagination (traitorous thing that it is) isnt working in collusion with the film. The Grudge will follow you into the night because your imagination cannot resist working with the film. The reason for this is that the ghosts in The Grudge are, by all accounts, omnipotent. They arent bound to the house, or time, or form or anything else that I can think of. If they decide to get you, then they will do so using whatever means they need to, they will impersonate your brother, they will show you your child grown up to distract you. And then they make their awful sound and drag you away screaming. There is no escape and there is no hiding. So no, its not the wifes hair or nails, or the childs rapping its knees to pass the time before you get killed that scares the crap out of you, its the fact that if the ghosts make the decision to get you, you will be gotten and there is not a single thing you can do to stop it.