Noroi: The Curse is a film that’s best experienced when stumbled upon. It might appear on a list about Japanese horror films or it might come recommended in a review like this one but, intentional or not, Noroi is most enjoyed when it’s completely unexpected. Released in 2005 to a Japanese market, the film unquestionably bears a striking similarity to The Blair Witch Project with its found footage aesthetic and investigative narrative but was released online globally (whether legally or not) on YouTube around the mid-2010s. I’d encourage anyone interested to view the film on there rather than purchase a legal copy because I guarantee that Noroi’s cult status has been abetted by the way most have seen the film in the west. It bears the atmosphere of a creepypasta in many respects, with the film emphasizing the reality of what you’re viewing. The haphazard way it cuts between different forms of footage – television, documentary, personal home videos – gives off the effect that it was very roughly spliced together by an obsessive onlooker. The editing becomes a character in itself and very effectively establishes the tone of the film.
One particular highlight comes early on when a group are out in the woods for a ghost hunt (again, that Blair Witch influence seeps in) and spot an unusual apparition in their way. The sound design in that scene is brilliant in how uncomfortable to the ears it is. The special effects themselves have aged in the best worst way possible. They capture an uncanniness that eludes so many other failed attempts at found footage. At once it both looks fake and realistic. The low resolution of the upload onto YouTube helps this alot and I think really helps sink in that sensation of dread all the more.
It’s difficult to disclose what makes Noroi: The Curse so good to watch without giving away a lot of the film’s secrets but it is best to know very little going in than to have it broken down scene by scene. There are times where it can get outrageous and silly but that only goes to make the scary sequences that much more terrifying. Personally speaking, I watched this with friends and several of those friends were shaking when it was all said and done. They hated every moment of it because the film made them feel a lot less brave than they thought they were. If that doesn’t speak volumes about why you should watch Noroi: The Curse, then nothing will.
Chronicler of the Dark 