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Japanese filmmaker (born 1972) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, Shimizu is "one of a new breed of Japanese horror directors" who prefers to "suggest menace and violence rather than directly depict it".[1]
Takashi Shimizu 清水 崇 | |
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| Born | 27 July 1972 Maebashi, Gunma, Japan |
| Alma mater | Nihon University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000-present |
Shimizu was born on July 27, 1972, in Maebashi, Tokyo.[2] He attended Wakamiya Elementary School and Maebashi City Fourth Junior High School before graduating from Gunma Prefectural Chuo High School. He initially enrolled in Kindai University but dropped out. He then enrolled in Nihon University where he met future collaborator and film producer Takashige Ichise. Together they went on to develop Ju-On.[3]
After graduating, he was given the opportunity to direct a short film for Kansai TV's horror omnibus "Gakkou no Kaidan G" 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. The short films would end up being Katasumi and 4444444444, later serving as forerunners to the franchise.
Shortly afterwards, Shimizu made his directorial debut with the supernatural horror, Ju-On: The Curse (2000), starring Takashi Matsuyama, Takako Fuji, Yūrei Yanagi and Chiaki Kuriyama in lead roles, followed by its sequel, Ju-On: The Curse 2. Despite the films releasing in direct-to-video formats, they were met with critical acclaim. [4] The critical success of the films hence led to theatrical remakes, Ju-On: The Grudge (2002), and Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003). The two films were met with critical and commercial success, eventually popularizing J-Horror internationally which led to Western remakes, in the form of The Grudge (2004) and The Grudge 2 (2006), as Shimizu returned to direct and write them.
However, the English remakes were met with a widespread mixed reception, albeit their commercial success. The studio quickly greenlit a sequel, as Shimizu was offered to direct, but chose to produce instead, prompting a replacement in form of Toby Wilkins. The film was met with overwhelmingly negative reception, despite commercial success in both its direct-to-video and theatrical releases. Following the negative reception, Shimizu returned to Japanese cinema, and has continued focusing his work there.
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