''Katasumi'' (; ''In a Corner'') and ''4444444444'' (''Ten Fours'') are two 1998 short
Japanese horror films both directed by
Takashi Shimizu
Takashi Shimizu (清水 崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Japan and the U.S. Accor ...
, forerunners to the
''Ju-on'' series.
Plots
''Scratch 1: Katasumi''
The story of two school girls Hisayo Yoshida and Kanna Murikami who have the task of caring for and feeding their school's pet rabbits. They are sweeping out the cages and feeding the rabbits when Kanna suddenly 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 Saeki
is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise.
History and characteristics Japanese timeline
In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...
) begin 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
A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel.
A power trowel is a much larger gas ...
up defensively in front of herself while Kayako closes in upon her. Kanna then moves her bloody, jawless head, and looks on as the frightened Hisayo cowers in the corner and waits. The screen fades to black and Hisayo's fate is left ambiguous.
''4444444444''
''4444444444'' opens with a young man (revealed to be named Tsuyoshi Murakami in the first ''Ju-on'' film) riding his bicycle home. As he rounds a corner in front of an apparently abandoned house, he begins to hear a cell 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 number "4" is symbolic of bad luck in many Asian cultures, a phenomenon that is known as
tetraphobia
Tetraphobia () is the practice of avoiding instances of the digit . It is a superstition most common in East Asian nations.
__TOC__
Rationale
The Chinese word for "four" (, pinyin: sì, jyutping: sei3), sounds quite similar to the word for " ...
). Tsuyoshi answers the phone only 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 house, he continues to try to identify the caller. Looking around nervously, he asks, "Are you... 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 tar-like substance drips from it.
Cast
''Katasumi''
* Ayako Omura as Hisayo Yoshida (as Ayako Oomura)
* Kanna Kashima as Kanna Murakami
*
Takako Fuji
is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and dancer from Tokyo, Japan. She is best known for her performances as Kayako Saeki in the '' Ju-On'' and '' Grudge'' franchises.
Biography
A native of Tokyo, Fuji studied acting at the Aoyama Gakuin Unive ...
as
Kayako Saeki
is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise.
History and characteristics Japanese timeline
In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...
''4444444444''
* Kazushi Ando as Tsuyoshi Murakami
* Daiki Sawada as
Toshio Saeki
is a fictional character from the ''Ju-on'' franchise, created by Takashi Shimizu. He was played by several child actors, including Daiki Sawada in the short movie '' 4444444444'', Ryōta Koyama in the original two V-Cinema movies, Yuya Ozeki i ...
Production
Takashi Shimizu first became involved with the ''Ju-on'' saga when writer and director
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic and a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Although he has worked in a variety of genres, Kurosawa is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre, his honorific ...
, 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
JODX-DTV, virtual channel 8 (UHF digital channel 17), branded as or , is the Kansai region key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and Fuji Network System (FNS), operated by the . Kansai TV is a company affiliated in Hankyu Hanshin Holdings ...
, 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
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
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 70 minutes, meaning that Shimizu contributed to just under 10 percent of the finished product.
While it is often claimed that the subsequent feature-length video films ''
Ju-on: The Curse''
and ''
Ju-on: The Curse 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". ''Katasumi'', in particular, is notable for marking the first appearance of actress
Takako Fuji
is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and dancer from Tokyo, Japan. She is best known for her performances as Kayako Saeki in the '' Ju-On'' and '' Grudge'' franchises.
Biography
A native of Tokyo, Fuji studied acting at the Aoyama Gakuin Unive ...
(at this point anonymous) as
Kayako Saeki
is the main antagonist of the '' Ju-On'' horror franchise.
History and characteristics Japanese timeline
In the ''Ju-on'' timeline, as revealed in the official novel written by Kei Ohishi, both of her parents were present albeit highly negle ...
, a role that she would reprise for every ''Ju-on'' production thereafter, up to ''
The Grudge 2
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''.
Release
US release
On May 17, 2005, ''Katasumi'' and ''4444444444'' were both released in the US for the first time, appearing as additional features on the
unrated director's cut DVD of ''
The Grudge
''The Grudge'' is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film '' Ju-On: The Grudge'', i ...
''. On this DVD, the short film ''Katasumi'' is retitled ''In a Corner''.
Germany release
On September 1, 2005, ''Katasumi'' was released in Germany for the first time.
References
External links
*
{{Takashi Shimizu
1998 films
Films directed by Takashi Shimizu
Japanese horror anthology films
Japanese short films
Japanese ghost films
1998 horror films
1998 short films
Ju-On
1990s Japanese films