Takashi Shimizu

For the baseball catcher, see Takashi Shimizu (baseball).

Takashi Shimizu
清水 崇
Born (1972-07-27) 27 July 1972
Maebashi, Gunma, Japan
Alma materNihon University
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1994-present

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]

Early life

Shimizu was born on 27 July 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]

Career

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 sequels, 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.

Filmography

Accolades

References

  1. ^ Wheeler Winston Dixon, Rutgers University Press, 11 July 2007, Film Talk: Directors at Work, Retrieved 10 November 2014 (see page xi Introduction last paragraph), ISBN 978-0-8135-4077-1
  2. ^ "Takashi Shimizu | Director, Writer, Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Takashi Shimizu · UMSI580". umsi580.lsait.lsa.umich.edu. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Ju-on (2000)". www.moriareviews.com. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  5. ^ "学校の怪談G". allcinema (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  6. ^ "富江 re-birth". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  7. ^ "呪怨". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  8. ^ "呪怨2". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  9. ^ "7500(2014)". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  10. ^ "魔女の宅急便". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  11. ^ 'Clock Tower' Spiritual Successor Gets a Live-Action
  12. ^ "バイオハザード ヴェンデッタ". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  13. ^ "こどもつかい". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  14. ^ "犬鳴村". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  15. ^ "樹海村". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  16. ^ "ホムンクルス". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  17. ^ "牛首村". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  18. ^ "忌怪島 きかいじま". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  19. ^ "ミンナのウタ". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  20. ^ "あのコはだぁれ？". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  21. ^ "口に関するアンケート". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  22. ^ Michael Rosser (30 June 2022). "New York Asian Film Festival reveals Screen honourees and full line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Announcing the Second-Wave Lineup, Award Honorees, and Guests for the 20th Anniversary Edition of New York Asian Film Festival". NYAFF. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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