I've been watching a lot of Asian horror movies lately and I have to wonder why so many of them use hair as a tool in the films? Does hair have some special symbolism in Japanese culture that I am unaware of? And if so, how does it tie into horror films?
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What I want to know is why everything has to be flooded and soaking wet all the time.
Water DOES have more destructive power than anything else on the planet, but still...
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Aagh; you're a HEDGE!
Look up the word "yuurei".
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Great link!
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Aagh; you're a HEDGE!
"Great link!"
... ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABrei
It's all just traditional j–folklore.
I know. It was very informative, but it still doesn't explain all the SOGGINESS. LOLOLOL
Actually the girl in Odishun is quite a bit like one of those spirits as well.
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Aagh; you're a HEDGE!
The sogginess? Well their bodies usually lie in watery graves. :)
shareYou know what? You're dead right!
It's just that flooding is such an annoyance...it's the flooding bothers me more than the haunting.
The water bothers me way more than any of the other stuff.
Strange, huh?
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Aagh; you're a HEDGE!
I know I'm answering a 3 year old comment - but, the water really got to me, too. They really knew what they were doing in this movie because water does not belong in the house - great way to get us out of our comfort zones. Very clever I thought!
shareThe flooding bothered me more than the haunting too. I kept thinking how if it was my house all my stuff would get ruined.
shareYou know...and I'm sure this has been brought up before, but...
In The Ring, there couldn't possibly be a perfect ring of light on that well.
Without some crazy magic magnetic crane or something.
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Aagh; you're a HEDGE!
Good link but can anyone explain the obsession with creepy young children?
Libby: It's All Gushy!
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As the other person said, it is a common symbolism of Japanese 'yurei' or ghosts.
The long, straggly hair comes from the tradition that women (who always wore their hair pinned up in the old days) had their hair down for funeral and burial.
Rare Japanese Ghost Stories blog;
http://kaidancentral.blogspot.com
I know this thread is six years old, but I thought I would answer the question anyway in case any one comes back or any new people read the thread like I am doing today.
One of the things that the Japanese find scariest is covering the face. Basically it symbolizes the unknown. This is also why so much Japanese horror had ambiguous ending. Not knowing what caused the horror to happen, not being able to know exactly how it ended and not being able to see it for what it is. Watch a lot of Japanese horror films and you will notice that in addition to just a lot of hair, it is generally always covering the face of the ghost as well because it is scarier not to see the ghost's face and not really know anything about it.
My source for this was Dr. John Benteley, who is the professor of Japanese language and culture at Northern Illinois University.