The found footage sub-genre has had numerous iterations, from mockumentaries to home movies to literal found footage. Since the Blair Witch Project’s release, countless duplicates have spawned. Many are very good, while others are yawn-inducing, with nauseating shaky cam and irritating characters, and very little is as impactful as the original. However, one post-Blair Witch found footage film rises above the ranks as a J-Horror masterpiece.

Noroi: The Curse A J-Horror Masterpiece

Directed by the legendary Kōji Shiraishi, Noroi: The Curse follows paranormal researcher Masafumi Kobayashi. At the start, we learn he has disappeared after his house burned down, but his footage survived. The movie unfolds as the documentary Kobayashi was making. Horror fans know the drill, but even die-hards will be on edge, facing eerie rituals, surreal debauchery, and a conspiratorial nightmare.

Noroi may possibly achieve the status of both the most effective found footage horror film of all time and the most effectively terrifying J-horror film.

It is not an exaggeration when talking about how f’ing scary this movie is. Like this thing is really, really scary. Yes, countless films and literature have done the whole, “the filmmaker or writer died right after this” trope, dating all the way back to Lovecraft and Stoker. Few actually exceed it the way this one does.

Unrelenting Dread and a Haunting Tone

Tonally, the movie induces dread like none other, only somewhat akin to films like In the Mouth of Madness. Watching this filmmaker’s journey truly feels like watching someone descend into their hopeless end. We as the audience, know from the start that this is not going to have a happy ending, and there is not a second we aren’t reminded of it. Characters that are close to the rituals’ mysteries are killed left and right, and ghosts haunt every frame. There is not a second of comfort to be found.

The darkly analog, 2000s tone makes no shot safe, and even scenes simply in people’s homes feel unloving and cold, especially in those last few chilling moments. Notes of Silent Hill echo throughout, with similar visuals of small, vacant, country towns, strange cults, and uneasy surrealism. Folk horror, supernatural horror, psychological dread…plus, even some body horror is thrown in for good measure, with this movie featuring some of the most terrifying, uh…“children” ever seen in movie history.

Rich Lore and World-Building in Noroi

Let’s be real. As much as we all love the stylistic ambiguity of arthouse horror films, nothing beats a movie packed with a ton of lore. Noroi welcomes viewers into some brilliant world-building, letting them descend with the protagonist down a terrifying rabbit hole.

It would be somewhat of a disservice to spoil the intricacies of the film for those who haven’t seen it yet. That, plus any Noroi fan can tell you that trying to create a succinct timeline for the events of this movie would leave you looking like that picture of Charlie Day from It’s Always Sunny at the conspiracy corkboard.

That being said, the mystery concerns a small town in rural Japan, which was home to some terrifying rituals. The ritual involves summoning the demon Kagutaba, one of the most malevolent entities in movie history. This demon corrupts people who come close to his truth. Suicides, hangings, possessions, fire, and total madness seem to curse anyone who comes close to the beast’s power. And while this demon is at the center of the mystery, the lore and history of the supernatural in the film’s universe is endlessly more intricate…

A Lesson for Found Footage Filmmakers

Shaky cameras, endless profanity, and lame effects… There are countless reasons audiences have grown to despise found footage horror. All reasons that, despite the love of the subgenre found in this writer’s heart, are understandable. The fact is, no one will actually believe found footage anymore, with the internet at our sides, any trick or hoax will instantly be debunked in the modern era. Not only that, but found footage movies make one grave mistake: having their only personality trait be found footage.

Noroi is, first and foremost, a damn scary movie. It’s a layered puzzle box of supernatural dread in found footage form. This story could have been told traditionally. However, using found footage adds a surreal layer of immersion, rather than pitching itself as just a found footage horror.

This is the true mistake of found footage schlock, relying entirely on gimmick. Now, horror fans do love a good gimmick or immersive story, but there needs to be a reason for it. This movie has its gimmick, but it is so much more of a nightmare beyond that. Filmmakers can absolutely get by with cheaper budgets to tell these types of stories. That being said, though, the story must always come first.

Celebrate Noroi’s 20th Anniversary This Halloween

This Halloween season, check out one of the most forgotten, overlooked nightmares of the 2000s, and celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Noroi: The Curse is available for streaming on Shudder.

A little over a year ago, I had the opportunity to catch a new film that reminded me of one of the films that sparked my interest in analyzing films in the first place. Sweet Relief was a fun and well-crafted modern mumblegore film that brought Ti West’s The Innkeepers back into my mind. I first watched The Innkeepers shortly before leaving for college, and I was stunned by how incredibly effective it was. To celebrate Dark Sky Select’s 4K steelbook release of The Innkeepers, I decided to give the film a well-deserved rewatch.

The Innkeepers: A Haunting Ghost Story

The Innkeepers follows Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), the last two employees of The Yankee Pedlar Inn. Claire and Luke find themselves working during the hotel’s last week in operation. They also happen to be amateur ghost hunters. Due to the small number of guests, Claire and Luke have some time to put their ghost hunting tools to good use. As the hunting begins, the terror checks in. Is there more to this ghost story than meets the eye?

Before his flashy slasher trilogy, Ti West’s films had a darker, more personal feel to them. After wowing audiences with his satanic panic masterpiece The House of the Devil, Ti West tackled the true terrors of the supernatural. As much as I adore Ti West, this would be his last film that perfectly balances style and substance. Obviously, the goal of an artist is to grow and transform as a filmmaker, but this feels like West’s last intimate film.

Mumblegore Dialogue: Natural and Grounded

The Innkeepers keeps with the mumblegore-like dialogue West was so great at creating. There’s still that improvisational, but naturalistic, feel to their words. And while the situation becomes extraordinary, the dialogue still feels grounded in reality. Somehow, for a 2011 film, West finds a way to competently direct actors in saying the words “epic” and “failblog”. It’s the exposition of the film that truly sets it apart from others like it. While talking with a child in the lobby, Claire reveals the backstory of Madeline O’Malley and her untimely suicide in the hotel. It’s a small moment that could easily be a throwaway detail to provide the audience with the necessary backstory. But it’s Sara Paxton’s performance that sells the scene.

Speaking of, both Sara Paxton and indie darling Pat Healy absolutely tear it up on screen. Sara Paxton’s performance is reserved and lived in. She carries herself awkwardly, with little self-confidence, but still finds a way to be charming. Indie darling Pat Healy chews up the scenery with his Tintin-like faux hawk and a Red Bull-infused high energy. Not only do they steal their respective scenes alone, but they also play off each other like a fast-paced tennis volley.

Supernatural Horror Done Right

Ti West’s magnum opus handles the supernatural element in a much cleaner, fascinating way than most ghost films. The slow pace highlights the mundanity of working-class life that quickly becomes tense through the creeping terror of Madeline O’Malley and her growing cohorts of terror. There’s a certain unbalanced feel to the film’s three-act structure that lends an air of authenticity to it. Whereas most supernatural films feel the need to do more, The Innkeepers understands that it’s okay to do less. It’s how the scares are delivered that sets this film apart.

If you haven’t seen The Innkeepers, then you’re truly missing out on one of the subgenre’s greatest hits. That being said, I don’t think this film is for everyone. Ti West asks a lot from his audience, and I can understand that some people won’t want to go with him on this ride. It’s talky and demands full attention. But if you’re willing to sit with the film and let it work its magic, you won’t be disappointed.