For this year’s Split Picks horror series, we look at some of Japanese horror’s best directors and most notorious films

Each year for October Horror, Split Picks takes a virtual field trip to a different country to find some of the best horror films and directors from around the world. In 2021 we started at home and looked at what we determined to be the Mt. Rushmore of American horror with Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and George A. Romero. Last year we put on our black gloves and fell in with the Italian greats — Dario Argento, Sergio Martino, Lucio Fulci — to talk all things giallo. 

This year we are talking about Japan and some of their famous ghosts, grudges, and gothic imagery. Obviously, Japan has a huge cultural history with horror films that dates back to the dawn of the medium. We are not covering the history of Japanese horror in this series, and will instead focus on a few signature works from select directors.

For this series we are going to be looking at a mix of classic and lesser-heralded films from some of Japan’s greatest horror filmmakers. This is only a quick survey of what Japan has to offer, and we picked three filmmakers for a combination of styles that complement each other, hint at the country’s vast film history, and also how their particular styles of horror compare to the rest of the world. With that in mind, we decided to kick off this series with Takashi Shimizu and his world-famous series The Grudge. In this first episode we will be looking at his first theatrical version of Ju-On: The Grudge. Then, in a second episode, we will discuss the 2004 American remake, which he also directed, and contrast it with the 2020 US sequel, also simply called The Grudge, directed by Nicolas Pesce. 

Featuring Split Picks regulars Bennett Glace, Jim Hickcox, and Frankie Vanaria, the series begins here and will run through most of the month! Listen to hear all about The Grudge and how it developed from two initial short films into an international sensation.

Listen to the episode below, or on Spotify, Apple, or Amazon:

Find all past episodes of Split Picks here:

Find the complete October Horror 2023 series here:

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