THE GRUDGE Series to End With JU-ON -THE FINAL-

Source: Showgate Official Site: juon-movie.jp (Japan)

The "Cursed House" of the Saeki family, who met a gruesome end... All who set foot within are cursed and will die. The long-running JU-ON/THE GRUDGE J-Horror franchise will reportedly come to an end with JU-ON -THE FINAL- (??-???????-, Juon -Za Fainaru-). The 11th film in the series will open June 20th at the Shinjuku Wald 9 and other cinemas across Japan from distributor Showgate. Alongside THE RING (???, Ringu, 1998), JU-ON kicked off the Japanese Horror boom of the late 1990s. Created by Takashi Shimizu, the story was introduced in a pair of television shorts in 1998, then expanded in two direct-to-video films in 2000 before being launched as a theatrical series in 2002. In 2004, Shimizu directed the American adaptation THE GRUDGE for Sony Pictures, a box office hit that spawned both a theatrical and video sequel. After a five year hiatus, the series returned to Japanese cinemas last year with JU-ON: THE BEGINNING OF THE END (?? -???????-, Juon: Owari no Hajimari, 2014). Now BEGINNING OF THE END writer/director Masayuki Ochiai returns to conclude the story. No stranger to the J-Horror genre, Ochiai had previously directed -- in addition to 2014`s JU-ON film -- PARASITE EVE (????????, Parasaito Ivu, 1997), HYPNOSIS (??, Saimin, 1999), INFECTION (??, Kansen, 2004) and SHUTTER (?????, Shattaa, 2008). JU-ON -THE FINAL- stars Airi Taira. The actress played one of the lead roles in the 20TH CENTURY BOYS trilogy (??????, 20-Seiki Shonen, 2008-2009) and was recently seen in the romance SLIGHT FEVER OF 100? (??100????, Sesshi 100 do no Binetsu, 2015). Synopsis Mai Ikuno (Airi Taira) discovers that her younger sister Yui has disappeared. Yui is as an elementary school teacher, and she frequently visited the home Toshio Saeki (Kai Kobayashi), a truant student. Looking for clues to the whereabouts of her sister, Mai goes to the Saeki house. But weird and puzzling things begins to occur around Mai from the day she set foot in that house... CREDITS Japanese Theatrical Release: Saturday, June 20, 2015 (Roadshow) Cast Mai Ikuno: Airi Taira Kayako Saeki: Misaki Saisho Toshio Saeki: Kai Kobayashi Sota Kitamura: Renn Kiriyama Nonoka Ono Midori: Yurina Yanagi Madoka: Miyabi Matsuura Ena: Rimi Saikawa: Hikakin Takeo Saeki: Yasuhito Hida Yayoi: Yuina Kuroshima Kyosuke Takeda: Yoshihiko Hakamada Yui Shono: Nozomi Sasaki Maki: Kanan Nakahara Azuki: Yukari Taki Haruna Yabuki Staff Director: Masayuki Ochiai Screenplay: Masayuki Ochiai Producer: Takashige Ichinose Production: "Ju-On -The Final-" Production Committee Publicity: Presidio Publicity Cooperation: Electro 89, Takako Hoshi Distributor: Showgate © 2015 "Ju-On -The Final-" Production Committee