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Noroi: The Curse
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (18th September 2025). |
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The Film
 "Noroi: The Curse" 「ノロイ」 (2005) For a two year period, Kobayashi Masafumi, a paranormal investigator had been researching and documenting an unusual and disturbing case. The most disturbing is that after completing his documentary, his house burned down, which killed his wife, though his remains were unfound. The master tape of the documentary was found, and would be clues to what had really happened. As it was too disturbing to air on television, the film was released theatrically, and features the contents complete documentary that he compiled before his mysterious disappearance... During an investigation about a case of mysterious cries being heard from a residential neighborhood, Kobayashi knocks on the door of a reclusive and confrontational woman named Ishii Junko. While the exchange did not seem to have any particular resonance with him, the footage and audio that was recorded found some unexplained sounds that were similar to babies crying. In addition, Kobayashi investigated a circumstance surrounding actress Matsumoto Marika, who during a visit to a shrine for a TV show with comedy duo Ungirls started to experience a possession, and the footage was never aired on TV. She had no recollection of what had transpired, but according to psychic Hori Mitsuo, an evil spirit continued to cling to Matsumoto even after what had transpired at the shrine. There is also the case of Yano Kana, a child prodigy that was showcased on a variety show, capable of reading minds. She would mysteriously vanish a few days later. While the cases seem to be completely unrelated, Kobayashi finds that they are indeed tied together, and the events trace to the curse of a demonic possessor named "Kagutaba". Cursed photos with supposed ghosts caught on film and video footage of unexplained happenings have been popular with urban myths in Japan since the advent of the technologies, stemmed from ghostly tales that have been a mainstay in the culture. Bookstores have always had a section for photo books and magazine with mysterious stills and video stores have always had a wide selection of footage featuring ghosts caught on camera. While there were skeptics and there was manipulation and fakery involved, there are still a lot of examples of unexplained ones that fill the audiences with intrigue. There are many examples of these broadcast on television in variety shows, especially in the summer season which coincides with Obon, the time when the spirits return to the Earth, as well as giving audiences chills to combat the brutal summer heat. "Noroi: The Curse" sold itself as a found footage documentary that was too shocking to air on television in Japan and would uncover a long forgotten tale of possession and through the documentary footage captured. The initial trailer for the film, as well as internet blogs and information added to the intrigue for a theatrical release in August of 2005. But did the too-shocking-for-TV found footage resonate with a curious audience? It was fairly quickly realized that "Noroi: The Curse" was not in fact a documentary, but a scripted feature to resemble one by shooting mock documentary interviews and interactions, combined with fake television specials intercut with real reactions from Japanese celebrities borrowed from footage of other television specials. Kobayashi Masafumi was not a real paranormal investigator but actor Jin Muraki, a stage and television actor who had mostly been seen in supporting roles. Kuga Tomono had only one film credit prior to her role as Junko, in the 2004 feature "The Blue Automobile" in a supporting role. Jitsunashi Satoru as the eccentric tin foil hat wearing psychic Hori was in a few independent works and internet shorts, but for the most part the cast were relative unknowns. The most known would come from the actors that played themselves. Matsumoto Mariko debuted in the entertainment world as a teen, with modeling, acting in dramas, lending her voice to the Pokemon anime series, and starring in television commercials including a popular series of ads for the convenience store Mini Stop. The comedy duo Ungirls - comprised of Tanaka Takushi and Yamane Yoshiaki were two rising young comedians who were known for being tall and lanky and their gags and skits making fun of their not-so-appealing looks. Matsumoto and Ungirls are still very popular across Japan, with Matsumoto being a regular on variety shows, films, and having a massive Instagram following, and Ungirls are more popular than ever, being hosts and supporters on multiple television shows on a daily basis, as well as having their own popular YouTube channel. In addition, the sock footage of TV shows used in the film had popular and recognizable celebrities on screen to give the story a bit more weight with the supposed reality. Writer and director Shiraishi Koji was heavily influenced by features that blurred the lines between documentary and fiction, such as "Man Bites Dog" and "Cannibal Holocaust", and his student films reflected that nature by creating his own mockumentaries. He started his work in the filmmaking industry in low budget direct to video V-Cinema features that were horror based, and his use of found footage could be seen in the "Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video" ("Really! Cursed Videos") series which eventually saw two theatrical releases with "Really! Cursed Video: The Movie" in 2002 and "Really! Cursed Video: The Movie 2" in 2003. Famed horror producer Ichisei Taka brought features such as "Ring" (1998) and "Ju-on" (2002) to the mainstream and helped kickstart the J-Horror genre, and he was key in getting "Noroi" produced for Shiraishi. While there was influence from works such as "The Blair Witch Project", they felt that the found footage genre seen in foreign productions did not have the chilling effect on Japanese audiences, who were more familiar with the creepy direct to video works that had been on the video store shelves for years. But with so many examples of cursed videos and fake documentaries on the subject, they had to raise the bar with the reality segments and not just showcase the scares. "Noroi" does an effective job with bringing the differing investigations together as well as having the camera be a character in the film as the eyes of the audience. The character of "Miyajima", who the audience never sees on camera is sometimes referred to and is the one capturing some of the more disturbing elements in the production. In addition to creepy footage, there are some disturbing intertitles such as the mysterious disappearances and the unexplained deaths of some of the subjects that were interviewed. Also the effects and music cues add to the atmosphere that shouldn't go unnoticed, though the music is used quite sparingly. The plot itself can be slightly complicated as the stories do seem completely separate from each other, but is still fairly easy to follow, even if there are some examples of things that seem much too out of the ordinary for the audience to fathom. As the supernatural cannot be easily contained or explained, there are a number of details that remain a mystery even after the film ends, though that is a norm for many Japanese horror features and television shows to give an external fright to the audience that there still may be more to come. It also proves to be a good use for making sequels, though "Noroi" is one that stands alone without a sequel being made. The film was released theatrically on August 20th, 2005 in a fair amount of theaters and was a fair hit on its first week. Unfortunately it did not have a strong word of mouth, and the following weekend "The Suspect: Shinji Muroi" was released and dominated the theaters. Being a spinoff of "Bayside Shakedown 2", which even in 2025 is still ranked as the highest grossing Japanese live action film, crushed the competition. "Noroi" may have had some good ideas and an interesting concept, but Japanese audiences saw through the "mock" quite easily and felt it was not as effective as the cheaper direct to video cursed videos, which were more fun to experience at home on a small TV with friends or family, rather than on a big screen with an audience. It also came at the tail end of the J-Horror craze, in which the market was oversaturated in Japan with both theatrical and direct to video features. Overseas the film had a much better reaction, with audiences that were not familiar with the Japanese direct to video cursed video craze seeing a creative and effective use of found footage that was much more unsettling than other features using the same techniques. Shiraishi continues to work mostly in the horror genre and has used the found footage technique further, and while he has directed dozens more films in both independent and studio productions, it always comes back to "Noroi" for many as his pioneering work. It may have its flaws with logic and some of its structure, but it is a creepy and unsettling found footage work nonetheless. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
Umbrella presents the film in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The production was mostly shot digitally on a Panasonic AG-DVX100B. There is also some 16mm film footage that was then transferred to VHS. In addition, there are numerous instances of standard definition TV broadcast footage. The standard definition materials were upscaled to HD and edited with the MiniDV footage for the HD master. The broadcast TV footage and the supposedly broadcast footage looks the worst, though it is intentional that the footage was taken not from studio masters, but the documentarian from his personal recordings, so they are blurry and lacking depth. The 16mm footage has grain and darker colors as it is supposed to look like amateur footage shot in the 1970s, and with the added VHS transfer look, it has both grain from the original source as well as flatness from the tape source. Obviously the directly shot digital footage from the "documentary" looks the best, though note it was shot on a consumer grade HD camera from 2002, so it should not be expected to have the clarity and depth of a modern digital feature. The camera was one of the earliest consumer grade digital video cameras to be able to shoot at 24fps in HD which was ideal for the production, and while the footage does look "good" with sharpness and colors, there are post production digital errors added for certain shots intentionally, and some examples of artifacts found in zooming in on images, though those should be expected. It looks much better than previous SD transfers of the production, with better color reproduction and sharpness, and still keeps the "found footage" feel of material that was shot and edited for a documentary without the shine. It may not look perfect, but it does look authentic. The runtime is 114:43.
Audio
Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese LPCM 2.0 Stereo There are lossless 5.1 and uncompressed stereo options for the feature. It may be odd that a found footage feature would have a fully mixed 5.1 surround track, but that is part of the suspension of disbelief that must be held and is also true for numerous other found footage works in the 2000s. The 5.1 is original, as the Japanese DVDs had DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. As it is mostly a documentary centered work, the dialogue comes from the center for the most part and the odd effects of ghostly voices, scary cues, and unsettling foley comes from the surrounding channels. The 5.1 track is well balanced with the dialogue and effects, and while there are distortions and dropouts, these are intentional to the production. The 2.0 stereo track is a downmix and while it is effective, the 5.1 track is the better option if capable. There are optional English subtitles for the main feature, in a white font which are easy to read and well timed without errors.
Extras
Audio commentary with writer and critic Tom Mes (2025) This new and exclusive commentary by the knowledgeable Mes has him giving an overview of the J-Horror boom of the late 90s and early 2000s up to the film's release, Ichisei's productions in the genre, background information on Japanese variety shows, the use of actors portraying a version of themselves on screen, the use of found footage, and much more. It does have a great deal of information on the film itself, but also about the genre as a whole and where the film stands compared to other popular works of the period, with Mes giving great context as well as background. in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Found Again" 2021 Interview with director Koji Shiraishi (18:26) This interview with the director has him discussing about his techniques of creating found footage, the pitfalls of the genre, about the popularity of fake horror documentaries on video in Japan, creativity with low budgets, and much more. This interview uses interview footage and deleted scenes with Shiraishi from the 2021 documentary "The Found Footage Phenomenon", and newly edited for this release. The trailer for the documentary has been embedded below. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Japanese LPCM 2.0 with burned-in English subtitles "Director's POV" 2024 Interview with director Koji Shiraishi (25:34) This interview with the director is focused more on the film itself, with his influence of mockumentaries such as "Man Bites Dog" on his early student films, the use of famous people playing themselves in the found footage, the editing process, his surprise of the film's success overseas and that a Blu-ray was being produced abroad before Japan, and much more. Note this interview was produced by Arrow Video for their release of the film in the "J-Horror Rising" boxset. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Japanese LPCM 2.0 with burned-in English subtitles "The Man in the Shadows" 2024 Interview with producer Taka Ichisei (17:44) This interview has Ichisei discussing his career, starting with "The Legendary Stardust Brothers", his work co-producing with foreign countries in the 1990s, the production and reception of "Ring" which caused a global stir with the J-Horror boom, his work on producing "Ju-on", the production of "Noroi", its reception, and more. Note this interview was produced by Arrow Video for their release of the film in the "J-Horror Rising" boxset. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Japanese LPCM 2.0 with burned-in English subtitles "Chaos and Evidence: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on Noroi and the Horror Mockumentary" 2025 video essay (23:50) This new and exclusive video essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas is an excellent look at the rise of the found footage horror genre and where "Noroi" sits as one of the best examples, the suspension of disbelief from audiences, the change in viewership through the rise of YouTube a year after the film's release, detailed plot points and structure of "Noroi", the use of varying source materials, and more. This essay is very well produced with clips to illustrate as well as showcasing the key points for the genre. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "The Aftermath: Tom Mes on Modern J-Horror" 2024 featurette (23:49) This interview with Mes has some overlap with the commentary itself, but is still a worthwhile listen as he goes into detail about J-Horror's rise from the direct to video market to mainstream theatrical success, with examples of some of the highlights for the genre and its quick and crowded rise as well as inevitable Hollywood remakes. Interview with Tom Mes. Toho having the majority for movie screens. Rise of the rental video market and establishment of J Horror. Note this interview was produced by Arrow Video for their release of the film in the "J-Horror Rising" boxset. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles Trailers (3:26) Presented here are two original Japanese theatrical trailers plus three Japanese teaser trailers. The first trailer sells it as a mysterious found footage documentary, but the other trailers sell it with names of the actors, making the found footage angle less believable. The first two trailers are in 1.78:1 while the other three are in 1.85:1. One of the trailers has been embedded below, courtesy of Umbrella. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1 / 1.85:1, in Japanese LPCM 2.0 with burned-in English subtitles The film was first released on DVD in Japan in 2006 as a 2 disc "Premium Edition" from Geneon Universal, which had 13 deleted scenes, and two mock TV specials "How to Protect Yourself Against Curses" and "Urgent Report! Pursuing the Truth about Kagutaba!!" to further the legend rather than having the usual making-of or interviews that would give away the reality. The film has surprisingly never had an official DVD release in an English speaking country, though there were releases in Hong Kong in Germany. For its Blu-ray debut worldwide, Arrow Video released it in their boxset "J-Horror Rising" in 2024. That release included all the Japanese DVD extras, plus a commentary by film critic Julian Singleton, two video essays - one by Lindsay Nelson and the other by Amber T, trailers, image galleries and the three interviews stated above. It's unfortunate that Umbrella could not license the vintage Japanese DVD extras, though the new exclusive extras are definitely strong ones and well worth the time.
Packaging
The disc is packaged in a clear keep case with a reversible cover. The opposite side of the inlay has identical artwork except the Australian MA 15+ logos are removed. The packaging states region B only, but the disc is in fact region ALL. It is also available with a slipcover exclusively at the Umbrella Webshop. There is also a Collector's Edition exclusively at the Umbrella Webshop, limited to 1000 copies which also includes: - A 48 page book with behind-the-scenes, experiences, art, and essays by Ard Vijn and Simon J. Ballard - 8 artcards - A3 reversible poster - Slipcover and rigid slipcase The booklet starts with the essay "Offerings of a Found Footage Master" by Ard Vijn on the director and his filmography. Next there is "I Guess It's Too Late for All of Us" by Simon J. Ballard on the film itself. There are also translated diary notes by Kobayashi detailing his "notes" on the production of his documentary within the film. There are also numerous stills from the film, poster designs, and stills from the "Fan House Experience" from 2005 in Shinjuku to promote the film's release. The eight artcards are printed on thick cards and the poster has two variants, one with the red slipcover artwork and the other with the inlay artwork. The poster is folded and held in the keep case. The keep case with the slipcover is housed in the rigid slipcase with unique artwork, along with the booklet and the artcards. 
Overall
"Noroi: The Curse" is an effective found footage horror disguised as a lost documentary, with a number of disturbing images that is thoroughly entertaining, even if there are some moments that the audience has to suspend their disbelief quite a bit. The Umbrella Blu-ray is a great one, with a good selection of extras, though note it does not port the existing DVD extras with the deleted scenes and TV specials. Still comes as recommended. Umbrella Webshop link - standard edition, with optional limited slipcover Umbrella Webshop link - Collector's Edition, limited to 1000 copies
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