To say that ‘Ju-on’ was a success is a bit of an understatement having spawned five sequels and a US adaptation that we all know as ‘The Grudge’ which turned into a trilogy. Well as the 15th anniversary of ‘Ju-on’ is coming, we have news both on a seventh film in that franchise and a reboot of ‘The Grudge’ itself! With ‘The Grudge’ having helped pave the way for micro-budget horror films turning a $10 million budget into a worldwide gross of $187 million, so it shouldn’t be surprising to see it returning to the big screen.

While the next film most likely won’t be starring Sarah Michelle Gellar (‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’), it does have some big names sitting behind it on the production team. Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Taka Ichise are all producing with Roy Lee (who we knew was interested in doing this three years ago), Doug Davison, Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane exec producing. There is no word yet on who will be filling Gellar’s shoes of playing a nurse in Japan who has been cursed and whose life falls apart around her. No director has been announced as of yet either but we do know that Jeff Buhler (‘The Midnight Meat Train’) is on board for writing duties.

For ‘Ju-on: Owari no Hajimari’ (translated to: ‘Ju-on: Beginning of the End’) we’ve learned that Ochiai Masayuki (‘Infection’,’Hypnosis’) will be both writing and directing the next film. Not only that but we now have a description of the film as well as an early teaser! So what is the next installment set to be about you may wonder? Here’s the synopsis:

“An elementary school teacher named Yui visits the home of a boy named Toshio Saeki who’s been absent from school for a long period of time. When she arrives, she re-lives the horrific tragedy which occurred in the Saeki household 10 years earlier. A cardboard box left in a closet holds the key to revealing a long-hidden truth.”

Fitting for the series, though I personally question how Masayuki will do after seeing his 2008 remake of ‘Shutter’ which I can only hope was as bad as it was due to faulty translations. You can check out the teaser for  ‘The Grudge: Beginning of the End below!

I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the original film, but the US version of the follow ups left much to be desired. What do you think about the news of a reboot or the seventh entree in the Japanese series? Share your thoughts below!

Sources: Bloody-Disgusting, Deadline