I finished the Shimizu-directed Village horror trilogy with Ox-Head Village as the last stop on the journey. So the formula is more or less the same. A found footage introduction somehow drags our MCs into a famous Japanese forest where they're cursed by a local legend. The curse starts haunting the MCs and taking out people around them, and they have to unravel the mystery behind the hauntings. It's similar to the Grudge in that trauma and revenge are never far, but different because not all ghosts are vengeful. Family bonds play a big role in the MC's getting answers and having a chance to survive.
This time, a girl comes across a video testing the urban legend of ox-head. The video shows someone either being crushed or vanishing in an elevator shaft and that person looks exactly like her. So, she goes to find out who this identical person was and what happened.
I had Howling Village as an aggressive horror, with a ton of scares filling the runtime. Suicide Forest Village was a slow burn with big payoff scares scattered in a way that kept you on guard. I'd categorize Ox-Head village as the best narrative but the least scary. Shimizu goes for it with effects and some wild kills, but I think the CGI failed him in a lot of the biggest moments.
Shimizu makes up for a relatively less scary movie with a really compelling story. The mystery gets answers around halfway in, but the explanation sets our MCs up to have a good reason for facing the ghosts. This had, by far, the best characters and development. I cared to see things through, even if I wasn't very scared. It still had enough creepy moments to be a really gripping ghost story. Though, I think they could have cut one or two flashbacks for the same impact.
Either way, this joint was a solid ending to the trilogy. I liked Howling Village most, but this one's about even with Suicide Forest. Suicide Forest Village was scarier, but the story didn't connect as smoothly for me. This one really made me care.
Also, there's a repeat character in all three films. Ryotaro is a little boy that connects with each MC and has Shimizu's version of the Shining. It's a cool way to link each story since they share a lot of running themes about family, tradition, and betrayal.