Ju On: The Beginning of the End

Plot

Continuing the trademark of the series, Beginning of the End is divided into eight segments presented in an anachronistic order, each titled after a character central to that segment. They are, in the following order: Yui (結衣), Nanami (七海), Kayako (伽椰子), Yayoi (弥生), Rina (莉奈), Aoi (葵), Naoto (直人), and Toshio (俊雄). The synopsis presents a rough chronology of the film's plot.

In 1995 Tokyo, after a report of a possible child abuse happening in the Yamaga household, authorities and the schoolteacher of the family's son, Toshio, search the household and find Toshio dead in the bedroom closet.

Nine years later, a group of high school students: Nanami, Yayoi, Aoi, and Rina, visit the former Yamaga house, now taken for sale by Aoi's older sister. Nanami is shoved to enter due to rumors of the house being haunted. While the others find drawings depicting horrific deaths and laugh, Nanami hears a noise and sees black liquid. She tries to escape but Toshio grabs her. Unaware, her friends leave. Yayoi is later dragged away by Toshio. Nanami and Aoi find Rina having gone insane since the house visit. Rina is then also taken by Toshio. Aoi's brother-in-law, Kyosuke, is concerned that Aoi visited the house. In the bathroom, Toshio kills Aoi by ripping off her jaw and leaving it for her sister to find. Nanami is terrorized by her dead friends before also being killed. Meanwhile, Aoi's sister sells the house to a couple named Takeo and Kayako Saeki.

Ten years later, an elementary schoolteacher, Yui Shono, is assigned to replace Mr. Konishi as homeroom teacher. She is concerned when she finds that a student, Toshio Saeki, has been absent for a week and decides to visit the Saeki household. She meets Toshio's mother, Kayako, who acts strangely, and finds the bedroom closet sealed with tape. Yui is disturbed by Kayako's behavior and hastily leaves. She is informed the next day that Mr. Konishi has died. She has hallucinations of Toshio, and finds Kayako's diary. Her boyfriend, Naoto Miyakoshi, reads the diary, which reveals that Kayako, who could not have a child with Takeo, became pregnant when a boy in white "touched" her in a dream. He meets with the widowed Kyosuke, who inquires about the curse that claimed his wife and her sister's lives, and finds out that Toshio Yamaga and Toshio Saeki are the same. Naoto is later killed by Kayako.

Yui, having recovered, visits the Saeki household and opens the closet, discovering a box of tapes that show the Saeki family's lives. One tape reveals that Kayako did indeed get pregnant not by Takeo, but by the spirit of Toshio Yamaga. Yui experiences flashbacks of Takeo murdering Kayako and Toshio after he found out he was not Toshio's father. She finds Kayako's body, who crawls towards her, and is then cornered by both Kayako and Toshio. Suddenly, she wakes up at her apartment. Thinking everything was a dream, she goes outside, only to find Naoto, his head snapped, walking towards her.

Cast

Production

The film was first announced at a press conference held at Akagi Shrine in Tokyo on February 26, 2014, following a spirit cleansing ceremony at the shrine. Filming began soon thereafter on March 4, 2014. The teaser trailer was released on March 14, 2014, with the official trailer following on May 9, 2014. Beginning of the End was released on June 28, 2014 in Japan. The film will be screened in the west as part of Fantasia Festival 2014.

Reception

The film has grossed ¥226 million (US$1.90 million) at the Japanese box office.

Sequel

A sequel, Ju-on: The Final was announced at a press conference in Tokyo's Akagi Shrine on February 17, 2015. Like the title suggests, it is the final film in the Ju-on series. The film is again helmed by Masayuki Ochiai and stars Airi Taira as Mai Shono, the older sister of The Beginning of the End protagonist, Yui, who disappeared while visiting her pupil, Toshio Saeki. Kai Kobayashi and Misaki Saisho additionally return as Toshio and Kayako Saeki, respectively. The Final was released on June 20, 2015.