Katasumi and 4444444444

Infobox Film
name = Katasumi


caption =
director = Takashi Shimizu
producer = Yasuyuki Uemura
writer = Takashi Shimizu
starring = Ayako Omura,
Kanna Kashima,
Takako Fuji
music = Gary Ashiya,
Hitomi Shimizu
cinematography = Takahide Shibanushi
editing =
distributor = Kansai Telecasting Corporation (Japan, TV)
released = 1998 (as part as Gakkô no kaidan G)
runtime =
country = flagicon|Japan Japan
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id =

"Katasumi" and "4444444444" are two 1998 Japanese horror short films directed by Takashi Shimizu. They are two short movies to the Ju-on series.

Creation of the Ju-on series

Takashi Shimizu first became involved with the "Ju-on" saga when writer and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who was teaching a filmmaking class that Shimizu, then working as an assistant director, attended, was impressed by a three-minute short film Shimizu had written and directed.

When Kurosawa learned that a producer he knew had just commissioned a feature length horror film for Kansai Telecasting Corporation, he recommended Shimizu for the job of directing one or more sections of the film. To complete this task, Shimizu wrote several scripts, each roughly thirty minutes in length, only to be asked to make two brief three minute segments ("Katasumi" and "4444444444"), as the television movie was intended to be an anthology of short films. After being edited together, the collection of four shorts (one of which was helmed by Kurosawa) was titled "Gakkô no kaidan G", which roughly translates to "School Ghost Story G" ("G" supposedly standing for "Great"). It was first broadcast on Kansai TV on September 27, 1998, and ran for around seventy minutes, meaning that Shimizu contributed to just under ten per cent of the finished product.

While there is an oft-repeated claim that the subsequent feature length video films "Ju-on" and Ju-on 2 are remakes of "Katasumi" and "4444444444", the two segments "are actually the foundations of "Ju-on"," according to Shimizu, and act "almost like the true prequel of the story." [http://japattack.com/japattack/film/juon_itv.html] "Katasumi", in particular, is notable for marking the first appearance of actress Takako Fuji (at this point anonymous) as Kayako Saeki, a role that she would reprise for every "Ju-on"-related production thereafter.

Plot

Infobox Film
name = 4444444444


caption =
director = Takashi Shimizu
producer = Yasuyuki Uemura
writer = Takashi Shimizu
starring = Kazushi Andô,
Daiki Sawada
music = Gary Ashiya,
Hitomi Shimizu
cinematography = Takahide Shibanushi
editing =
distributor = Kansai Telecasting Corporation
released = 1998 (as part as Gakkô no kaidan G)
runtime =
country = flagicon|Japan Japan
language = Japanese
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id =

"In a Corner/Katasumi" begins with two Japanese schoolgirls (revealed to be Kanna and Hisayo in the first "Ju-On" film) who are caring for their school's rabbits. They are sweeping out the cages and feeding the animals when Kanna cuts her hand, and Hisayo leaves her to go into the school and fetch a bandage.

When she returns, Kanna is nowhere to be found. The rabbit cages are empty, and bits of blood and fur are strewn about. Hisayo then sees something that looks like a crawling woman (Kayako) begins to move towards her from the far side of the backyard. As she backs into a corner, she finds the body of Kanna amongst the debris from the damaged rabbit cages. She holds a trowel up defensively in front of herself while Kayako closes in upon her. Kanna then moves her bloody head, and looks on as the frightened Hisayo cowers in the corner and waits. The screen fades to black.

"4444444444" opens with a young man (revealed to be named Tsuyoshi in the first "Ju-On" film) riding his bicycle home. As he rounds a corner in front of an apparently abandoned building (most likely his school as evidenced again in "Ju-On: The Curse"), he begins to hear a cellular phone ringing, though he cannot see it. He hunts through a garbage pile next to the darkened entrance to the building, finding the phone after several rings. Upon closer examination, the phone is displaying an incoming call from the number 4444444444 (the numeral "4" is culturally symbolic of bad luck. See Tetraphobia.). Tsuyoshi answers the phone to hear rasping, cat-like sounds issue from the earpiece. After unsuccessfully attempting to communicate with the unknown caller, he hangs up.

Seconds later, the phone rings again, and again he answers. Tsuyoshi is getting frustrated at this point, and begins to look a little worried, as though someone might be playing a joke on him. As he sits on the steps in front of the deserted building, he continues to try and identify the caller. Looking around nervously, he asks, "Is there someone watching me?" Suddenly, a voice replies, "I am," though it does not come from the phone, Tsuyoshi turns slowly to see a pale boy (Toshio) beside him, drumming white fingers on his knees. Tsuyoshi looks startled, and the camera lingers on Toshio for a moment before zooming in quickly while he opens his mouth in a cat-like scream as a black substance drips from it. The screen fades to black.

US Release

"Katasumi" and "4444444444" did not become widely available in the US until Shimizu's unrated director's cut of "The Grudge" (2004) was released onto DVD on May 17, 2005. The shorts were included as special features on the disc, with "Katasumi" being retitled as "In a Corner".

External links

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