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Katasumi and 4444444444 are two short films from the television movie Gakkō no kaidan G, which vaguely translates to School Ghost Story G ("G" supposedly standing for "Great"). I can't find any information on the budget, but considering this was the director of the series, Takashi Shizumi's, big break as a film student, it's safe to presume that the budget was approximately enough to get some white face paint and torture some rabbits. (Not literally; they are just mishandled very badly, and you can tell the poor things are quite stressed.)

Katasumi

Short synopsis: two girls, Kanna and Hisayo, are working their summer job taking care of rabbits in the corner (hence the name, which translates to In A Corner) of a building- outside. The architecture is hard to explain; just follow me, here. Kanna cuts her finger, prompting Hisayo to go get a bandage from inside. When Hisayo is gone, Kanna is suddenly attacked by something from a nearby patch of bushes. Hisayo exits the building to find both the rabbits and Hisayo gone with nothing but evidence of the cages being violently torn open, blood splattered on some nearby bags, and one of Kanna's shoes. Hisayo then sees the living corpse of a another young girl (the comments inform me her name is Kayako) in some nearby bushes. While trying to back away, she sees that her friend, Kanna, is now similarly-white and similarly-undead.

I adore the usage of this shot, which is used throughout the short film. It frames the girls--in this exact shot, the girl--between branches to give the appearance of being hunted. The camera's movements imply to the viewer that it's a first-person shot, and the lowness to the ground when combined with the sound design of breathing imply it's an animal. It sets the viewer up perfectly to be surprised when it is instead another little girl.

The acting in Katasumi is far superior to that of 4444444444, in my opinion. Kayako's is the standout, giving the impression that she was perhaps beaten to death due to her jerky movements and emphasis on unusual placement of her arms and legs, as well as the usage of jutting out her elbows. However, I find Hisayo's low-key response refreshingly realistic, because some people do react to terror like that: backing away, staying still, and having no idea what to do. The final shot of her accepting she's going to die is also real as fuck for me. I often do that in nightmares, and in my single near-death experience, I did the exact same thing. Kanna is... also there, frankly. She's a kid and it's a straight-to-DVD three-minute short film, so whatever.

4444444444

Short synopsis: a boy, Tsuyoshi, who seems to be slightly older than Kanna and Hisayo were is riding a bike next to an apartment complex when he hears a phone sitting atop a pile of junk ringing, so he stops to get it. The caller is number 4444444444, and when he answers, all he hears is catlike noises on the other end- a sort of mix between meowing and growling. He hangs up in frustration, explaining it isn't his phone. It begins ringing again immediately, and in curiosity, he sits down to answer it. After more unhelpful questioning, he becomes increasingly paranoid, looking around and asking questions such as, "Are you nearby?" Finally, he asks, "Are you watching me?" A voice not within the phone responds, "I am." Tsuyoshi looks in surprise to find a little boy, Toshio, painted white seated next to him, scratching his knees. As Tsuyoshi boggles in shock, Toshio spits out a dark liquid and grins at the camera as a cat yowls and the camera zooms in on his face.

The bars of the window are used to frame Tsuyoshi in a way similar to that of the branches in the first short film. Additionally, they're what allow us to get an insight into the abandoned building, and more than that, emphasizes the idea that Tsuyoshi only thinks he's alone.

Ah, this infamous silly-ass shot. Oh, 90s and 00s, how you adored your harsh zoom-ins and violin shrieks. Honestly, I think this is charming- it's of its time and very much of a film student.

Conclusions

These two films form the prequel to Ju-On: The Curse, which is the film series that the Grudge is from. Overall, they're well executed considering their budget and having to use young adults/children as actors. The ideas are unique--fun fact: the ghosts are painted white because the director was scared of kabuki as a child--so I'm excited to see where the next movie takes me!

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