In Hollywood, the chances are that at least two of the most marketable stars in the movie will make it to the end purely because we, the audience, will kick up a stink if they don't.

But that's not a reaction that one tends to find with Japanese horror.

But with Japanese cinema, we hope and expect to be scared stiff - and are unlikely to be able to pick out the characters destined to make it to the end of the final reel.

Yet it appears that the increasing popularity of Japanese horrors may lead to a fall in standards.

While Ju-On: The Grudge is largely a very creepy movie, it's so far from the land of originality that one suspects it dropped off a conveyor belt of Japanese exports.

The story concerns a suburban house that's being haunted by the ghost of a small boy (who has a tendency to appear under tables in restaurants and cupboards sealed with sticky tape) and the ghost of a vertically-challenged dead woman (whose fate did not include losing her legs, but the explanation as to why she crawls everywhere was never forthcoming), and follows a series of individuals as they come across the disturbing abode and meet bizarre demises.

Just as The Ring introduced each day in the build-up to the big finish, The Grudge introduces each segment of the movie by way of a name card for the character about to meet a rather shocking end.

At first, it helps to add to the atmosphere, making you feel detached and aware of the inevitability of the characters' plight.

But, by the end, it's somewhat repetitive, making each scene predictable and thus removing a degree of tension.

Indeed, such is the way the movie has been divided up that some of the segments do not lead directly on from the one directly before it - much like Pulp Fiction.

But, perhaps because it is a foreign movie, it doesn't make it any easier to follow a logical storyline.

As a horror, however, it needs to be judged on how scary it is.

Fortunately, the answer is in the affirmative and, even though some of the imagery here may well be lifted directly from The Ring, that doesn't make it any less creepy to watch.

The crawling woman will send shivers down your spine, just as she does when appearing underneath one unfortunate soul's duvet cover (a remarkably ineffective hiding place, it would seem).

And, even if you are saying out loud "this is predictable/ stupid/ obvious", chances are you'll feel the hairs on your neck stand on end as that rascally kid appears in yet another weird place.

Should we accept the lack of originality, though, and just get on with being scared - or should we demand more from a horror movie?

According to the poster, Evil Dead and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi rates this as the "the most frightening film I've ever seen".

Well, he would say that, wouldn't he? After all, he is producing the US remake. Now there's an original thought...

Richard Phippen