the grudge final top

Japanese horror films are their own special brand of awesome. Movies like The Ring and The Grudge will sometimes make you roll your eyes with their cheesy acting and special effects, but at the same time contain certain horrifying scenes that will stick with you in your nightmares for weeks to come.

The latest installment in The Grudge series, Grudge: The Final has just come out in Japan, advertised by commercials airing all over. However, one commercial received so many complaints about it being “way too scary” that it was taken down and replaced with something more tame.

Are you brave enough to watch the original commercial? Then read on to get your chance.

We won’t keep you waiting. Here’s the video for your viewing pleasure. The red text at the beginning says: “Warning! Those with weak hearts should not watch.”

With that in mind, once you click that play button, there’s no going back.

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Wait, is that it?

Is that what you’re thinking right now, because I know I was when I finished watching. I looked all over for the real original commercial. This had to be the more tame one that it was replaced with, right?

Wrong. The one you just saw is the original. The one that resulted in over 100 complaints that it was “too scary” over just a three-day period. The one that…actually had a censor bar over the only part that might be a little bit scary.

▼ “See what this is covering up in theaters!” the text reads. The only scary thing going on here is the desperate attempt at advertising.

the grudge final

Thankfully it doesn’t appear that all of Japan is full of such “weak-hearted” individuals. Japanese netizens were quick to point out how “not scary” the supposed terrifying preview was:

“Wow. I, uh, was expecting a bit more.”
“I can’t believe anyone scared by that was brave enough to make a complaint.”
“Is this supposed to be a comedy? I don’t get it.”
“The complaints were probably just a ploy for more publicity.”

So what do you think? Were you disappointed by the commercial’s lack of pants-wetting fear? If so, be sure to let us know in the comments, and give us a link to any actually scary videos that you know of to help us get that dose of terror we were craving!

Source: Livedoor NEWS via Hachima Kiko
Images: YouTube (oriconofficial)