The Grudge Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
It never forgives. It never forgets.
Once you see it, you can never forget. Once it sees you, you can never escape.
The whole time I was in that house, I knew something was wrong.
They say that when someone dies in a powerful rage. A curse is made.
Do you have a grudge?
The curse is about to claim another victim.
Even if you die, you can never escape. (Japan)
Karen Davis is a woman residing in Japan with her boyfriend, who is studying there. Temporarily assigned to be caretaker for a woman with severe sleeping disorder, Karen goes to the patient's house. What she finds is something she would never expect. The house is plagued by the presence of murderous ghosts, the result of a curse. The curse is born from someone dying in a powerful rage. Now, Karen finds herself being tormented by that curse, as it eventually starts claiming it's victims.
| Sarah Michelle Gellar | Karen Davis |
| Jason Behr | Doug |
| William Mapother | Matthew Williams |
| Clea DuVall | Jennifer Williams |
| KaDee Strickland | Susan Williams |
| Grace Zabriskie | Emma Williams |
| Bill Pullman | Peter Kirk |
| Rosa Blasi | Maria Kirk |
| Ted Raimi | Alex |
| Ryo Ishibashi | Det. Nakagawa |
| Yoko Maki | Yoko |
| Yuya Ozeki | Toshio Saeki |
| Takako Fuji | Kayako Saeki |
| Takashi Matsuyama | Takeo Saeki |
| Hiroshi Matsunaga | Det. Igarashi |
| Takashi Shimizu |
5.70 out of 10 (27693 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Scary, but poorly plotted.
posted on 30 Aug 2009The Grudge will make you jump out of your skin, to say the least. It IS scary in the extreme - oppression and death curses every scene in this absolute pant-wetter of a movie. But in favour of letting the audience wet themselves, they have just thrown away any cares about plot, real interest or character - and that is why The Ring was far better. The ending made little sense, serving just one purpose - to make a film that was 100% horror and 0% plot. None of it comes together, and from what people have said, I don't think the sequel will explain a great deal more. It's not a great movie, but there are enough genuine scares and interesting elements of Japanese culture to warrant a purpose. Lots of effort went into making this film as the special features on the DVD point out - the actors and director had to communicate even though the cast were all Americans and the director was Japanese - which made for a lot of complications and everything had to be translated. Which may explain why the acting wasn't hot. But the scares certainly were, and though this film won't make you shiver in bed all night long like The Ring (which was helped by the fact it was plain WEIRD), it will at least make you jump out of your skin every five minutes. The plot doesn't make sense, but the film, on the whole, grips. Recommended. 7/10
The court's in session now, here come de Grudge, here come de Grudge...
posted on 28 Aug 2009My mind's going' a hundred miles a minute. I've got an idea for a double sequel that'll knock the socks off of all them big shots in Hollywood (or is it Tokyo? I just can't tell any more). A guy, we'll call him Sam Michael Gillman, hears from his friend in Japan that he needs a house sitter to watch his place for a week. Well, Sam has never been to Japan so he figures this will be a good opportunity to go there on the cheap. Before he boards the plane he figures he should pick up some English language videos to watch while he's there. He gets to Japan and he has a taxi take him to his friend's house, only he mispronounces the name of the street and the taxi driver takes him to The Grudge death house by mistake. Oh my!!! Sam goes in the house. Fortunately for him, even though there was actually no one LIVING in the house at the time, the electricity and phone still work. So, Sam makes himself comfortable and puts one of his videos into the VCR. It's a strange video with a girl in a well and a spooky glowing ring. When it's over the phone rings and he's told he would normally have 7 days to live but in this case death happens to be on holiday in Japan, so she's coming right over. In the meantime, there is a noise that seems to be coming from the attic. Sam thinks all this is very odd. He looks up on the stairs and there is a black cat, a little Asian boy, a young somber Asian lady, and this really angry fellow. He's trying to make out what they want. He is strangely compelled to pick up the cat, help the little boy, and then go up and join them in the attic. Whatever it is they want, they are alternating from looking like just regular folks to appearing as horribly scary ghost people! Sam is intrigued and is thinking this must all be quite normal in Japan, when there is a knock at the television. Suddenly, and without warning, on this dark and stormy night, the girl that was in the video crawls through the television and walks slowly toward Sam. "Are these friends of yours?", Sam asks the TV ghoul, pointing to the stairs. All the odd dead people look at each other and try in vain to communicate with froggy croaking sounds. What will happen?! Will they duel to the death? (Er, probably not to the death). Whatever happens, it's bound to be really scary! And bound to have an ending that is nonsensical and goes nowhere!
In my opinion, The Grudge was a waste of money.
posted on 28 Aug 2009I saw The Grudge in theaters and I was surprised at how much I did not like it. One would think that it would be extremely scary due to the commercials. Honestly, the commercials made me nervous. I thought it would be a good movie but about 10 minutes into it I noticed it was basically the same kind of movie that The Ring was. It didn't have anything to do with The Ring. It was just the same general idea of the new age horror movies that poltergeists, ghosts, or other types of supernatural forces could effect some people. I can't honestly say the movie was a total waste of time (some of the scenes did bother me). If you liked The Ring, you would probably enjoy The Grudge. In my opinion, The Grudge was a total waste of money.
Most scary movie ever...or dullest?
posted on 28 Aug 2009To start of, this will be my favorite horror-movie and will probably will stay that way forever. The "problem" with this movie however, is that you need to be able to live into the movie. Either you get scared senseless or you simply won't care at all and be bored. And that's the only two reactions I've seen. I've shown this movie to a load of my friends. The mental horror in these movies scared 75% more than they ever have been by a movie. The rest was bored. But for you who are able to live into the horror of the movie... It's a winner. It's a 10 out of 10. It is a tad slow too start with, but that works well to let you ease into the movie before the real horror begins. Just watch it. Don't hate me if you're bored, it just means you have no fantasy and ability to focus ;)
Good Thriller
posted on 28 Aug 2009This movie was really scary. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It also had some good surprises in it. This house is more than haunted, its infested with demons.It was a bit hard to follow especially in the beginning, but once I figured out which were the flashbacks and which were the present it got easier.The part of the Japanese Police Detective could have been stronger, but all in all this movie was a spine-tingler. You'll find yourself throwing your popcorn over this one.The ending is pretty good to, a bit cliché but I don't want to spoil it for you. Go rent it!
This is not a yell, clap and scream horror flick. This is about feeling the fear.
posted on 26 Aug 2009It's simple. If you want to see pretty people being killed off one by one in new and inventive ways, rent Scream. If you want real suspense, a creepy atmosphere and the feeling of fear in the pit of your stomach, The Grudge is for you.Yanks living in Japan - not quite what the global audience might want to see. And Sarah Michelle Gellar is either wasted or unnecessary in her role, I'm not sure which. Seeing Bill Pullman always makes me wonder if a movie is really going to be any good, but in this case he is perfectly cast and not overused. There's one piece of expendable female eye candy, which American horror films are notorious for (Kadee Strickland), but at least she can act. For me, the various rooms of the house kind of represent the scenes within movie - you're not sure which room is which, and how they fit together , but you are sure the house is one really creepy place. Similarly, the scenes are placed out of sequence and feel disjointed, even blocky, but they all add up to a purpose - to continuously raise the level of fear and uncertainty within the viewer. This is not the kind of movie that tries to be too clever, twisted or trendy. It places fear first. It builds and builds in you, and makes you want to leave your seat, to give yourself a little relief. But if you stick it out, it might just be the horror film you've been waiting for. Well worth watching.
Original and Scary
posted on 26 Aug 2009'The Grudge' is about an ancient Japanese legend that says-If you enter a house of great horror (Meaning a murder or something horrid took place there) that you become infected with the curse. Phony bologna yes, but the film is creepy and scary.The characters are all likable so it is creepier to see people you like to die. Very suspenseful and spooky. Good score too.The acting is A++++ from Sarah Michelle Gellar but some of the other actors need some work. There are some cheesy lines like, "Yoko, are you OK?" when she is covered with blood. Yes its not the best but it is fun and scary.I recommend this film big time!
Interesting Remake, with a dark atmosphere
posted on 24 Aug 2009Most people would disagree with my rating of 8/10 because they say that 'The Grudge' is not a very scary horror film, but even though the movie itself is not very terrifying up-front, but it has much more stored inside...The movie starts with sort of a strange opening that leaves you confused and shocked, but all the more pleased. After the opening to the movie the plot only gets better with the blinding suspense & intertwined stories that keep you wandering until the every end where it all meets together.The acting for this film is not the greatest there could be, but i think Sarah Michelle pulls her role off quite well. Aside from the acting, the plot is very good because it never really just jumps out and says what's going on in the film, and that is why I like it, because it keeps you guessing and surprised but at the same time very entertained. I must admit the movie itself is not very horrifying the way it is presented but the very dark & strange atmosphere is what does it for me, making the story seem far more terrifying than ever.Overall, this film is no "Oscar Contender" but it delivers what is expected of a Hollywood horror film, with an even darker setting which emphasized the scare effect, and is very good for what it is.Final Grade:: 8/10 \ B+
Ju-on's Greatest Hits
posted on 22 Aug 2009I want desperately to like this film. I enjoyed most of its running time. I can forgive the execrable ending for the quality scares that preceded it.But this film has a problem, and it is exactly the same problem that plagues Ju-on: The Grudge. Essentially, if you haven't seen the original Ju-on and Ju-on 2, you'll be completely lost. The problem here is that if you haven't see Ju-on: The Grudge either, you'll be completely lost.If you can latch on to the scares, though, you're in for a treat. Mostly.The problem is that this is as much a remake of Ju-on as Ju-on: The Grudge, but when the screenwriter put his hands together, he wrecked the whole thing. I can say with certainty that the achilles' heel of the movie is the script and unfortunately, that was the weak point of the original films. That it's compounded here brings the film dangerously close to being outright bad.The direction saves it. The acting does not, but I'll give Takashi Shimizu leeway there too. The man does good work, and Japanese horror nuts will thrill to see Ryo Ishibashi (Audition, Suicide Circle) here.If you have any interest at all in the original films, do not watch this movie until you've seen them. This movie will spoil the best scenes of the original low budget films. You can buy them on eBay; I got all four original films for $50 there with quality English subtitles.Otherwise, it's a good, solidly scary film. But it will ruin the other films and is probably the first remake I've seen that actively damages the existing films. Approach with caution.
Scarrier than expected
posted on 22 Aug 2009The grudge was scarier than i expected it to be. (Japan)Mainly it's about a woman and her son who's murdered in their home by the husband.. The woman and the little boy haunts the house and kills everyone who comes in contact with it. The film acts out three years after the murder and an American man lives in the house with his wife and mother, there is also a woman named Yoko, who helps out with the mother. When Yoko goes missing, Karen(Sarah Michelle Gellar) get's to substitute for her, and she goes to the house to care for the mother (Emma). Karen finds a scarred boy in a closet, she doesn't know that the boy has been murdered three years earlier. She calls her boss and tells him about it. She goes in to check on Emma who is lying down staring. Karen looks in the direction Emma is and she sees something really creepy. When her boss comes to the house Karen is sitting shaking in a corner, Emma is dead and they also find Emmas son and his wife in the attic - DEAD. It goes from there.. with a lot of death and other scary things. Karen discovers why they were murdered, and finds out that since she's been in contact with the house she is in a real danger zone. Sarah Michelle does a great job acting scarred and I give a lot of credit to the Japanese film makers. They really know how to give you nightmares (remember the ring?) Haven't seen this film? then i suggest you do..
Seems Like a Ring to Me
posted on 20 Aug 2009First please allow me to preface this whole commentary with a bit of information: The Grudge = the Japanese "Ju-on" = The Ring = the Japanese "Ringu". Now what that equation excellently illustrates is how some good Japanese horror can always be remade to make millions on the American market. Not that I'm complaining though. I thought "The Ring" was one of the best horrors in the last few years. But unfortunately for "The Grudge", it couldn't leave well enough alone and decided instead to "borrow" elements from "The Ring" and introduce it as its own. Specifically, the film has the whole Samara-from-the- Ring-bit down to a fine science, complete with the hair over the face, super-white flesh, and that strange jerky fast-forward walk (scares the hell out of me!). It then uses some good gore, a scary cat, and your classic demonic child for accompaniment. So you see, The Grudge is far from original. Even the story, about a possessed home where its owners died a horrible death isn't original. Despite this, "The Grudge" does manage to deliver some pretty powerful scares. Classic mounting suspense is delivered well and creepiness overall is excellent. Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy) does good on the big screen as a victim of the supernatural. She still seems just a little too cupcake to me though. You know what I mean? I couldn't rate this movie poorly despite its robberies simply because it does have some good jump-out-of-your-seat material. I wouldn't want to watch this film alone. 6/10
Stupid, disappointing and pointless
posted on 20 Aug 2009Wow, what a total let down! The fact people think this film is scary is ridiculous. The special effects were a direct rip-off of "The ring." The story? Was there one? Not in my opinion..Just a bunch of flashy imaging. The entire film was a boring, stupid, mess. I guess there is always a market for bad films with good marketing campaigns. However, this is the worst horror film I have seen in years. And that Buffy chick? Well, she's a bad actress! As plastic as Barbie and just as talented..No, wait, that would be an insult to the talents of Barbie! I suppose many kiddies helped this film at the box office as it was PG-13, and had it been rated R, it would have bombed IMO! Stupid movie!
Effectively scary
posted on 18 Aug 2009*Possible Spoilers*A lot of people are going to argue with me on this one, but I thought 'The Grudge' was pretty damn scary. Granted, I'm kind of a fraidy cat, but I'm generally a wuss when it comes to scary imagery and general creepiness; and 'The Grudge' was full of that. Directed by Takashi Shimizu (who also directed the original Japanese version 'Ju-On: The Grudge'), 'The Grudge' is about a bunch of Americans living in Japan who all come across a house that is cursed, thereby cursing themselves. It starts with an American couple who move in with the husband's mother. After the caregiver for the invalid mother goes missing one day, Kare, (the horribly vapid Sarah Michelle Gellar) a nursing student, takes over for the day and the fun begins.'The Grudge' is told in a non-linear style, which is somewhat confusing. It is hard to tell how much time has passed between events. Also, there are a couple of things that are either left unexplained or inconclusive (the fate of the meowing child three years ago comes to mind). However, when you take 'The Grudge' for what it was meant to be, a spooky/scary film, it is certainly effective. Combining surprise scares with creepy imagery, Shimizu not only threatens to scare the pants off of the viewer, but threatens to have you wet them first. Unfortunately there were a couple of shots that were ruined by being featured in the trailer, such as the meowing kid and the now famous 'shower scene', but there were some things that surprised the hell out of me and caused me to take issue with going to sleep that night, especially in my bed. And that is probably the best thing about the film; as Hitchcock did forty years ago with 'Psycho' (and no, I am not remotely comparing 'Psycho' or Hitchcock to 'The Grudge' or Shimizu), ordinary or 'safe' places were no longer safe in 'The Grudge'. If the house is cursed, why should anything happen outside of the house? Right? Wrong.No, 'The Grudge' is not a bastion of superb film-making or even a great horror film, but it is effective and did what it set out to do – either scared some people (like me) or made a lot of people have a hell of a lot of fun at the movies (everyone else who saw the film with me). I feel that the mission was adequately accomplished, and therefore, I give it a 5/10.Shelly
Phew, its only a cat, wait, whats that? Oh no.
posted on 16 Aug 2009Reviews of this film which involve some element of comparison with The Ring are inevitable, and this is no different (Comparisons with The Grinch are less usual, and again, this is no different). There are certainly stylistic similarities to The Ring and its Japanese predecessor (The appearance of the films primary béte noire, for one). Whereas that film is concise however, wrapping a simple idea fairly neatly, The Grudge, like any unwelcome guest, leaves a bit of a mess. Criticism of this film may also revolve around its undeniable usage of horror genre clichés (See title). On the other hand, I think the fascinatingly mind-jolting ever-so-slightly-alien style of this movie more than compensates for this. The haunting images, (Don't even pardon that pun, shoot, shoot me now) combined with the plethora of strangely teasing loose ends leave parts of the film replaying through the mind over and over again. And ultimately, it is tense, and it is scary, which is why you're going. If you're after character development, or uniformly high-quality acting, (Back to acting school with you, Ms Gellar) see Finding Neverland, perhaps. If you wish to be heebeed and then roundly jeebeed, I do urge you to have a go at The Grudge, if you think you're hard enough..
Good Horror Films Are For HORROR--NOT "Touching Story lines"
posted on 16 Aug 2009Seriously, people. Read that title again, and get a grip. Or, better yet, go out and see a DRAMA if you want "pristine storytelling".I will make an incredibly long story short--THIS MOVIE CREEPED THE UTTER HELL OUT OF ME. And no, I am NOT one who "scares" easily by horror films. Usually, I find them intriguing and humorous (hence, I decided to go check this one out for some Halloween fun)--and boy, was THAT a mistake (in a good way, mind you ;)).I was not only shaken, I was downright DISTURBED by the images the director presented to us. Freaky and bizarre, it seemed he never, EVER gave you "a rest" where shocking moments are concerned. Once the spooky stuff in the film strikes, there is NO turning back.And these are images that literally haunt you LONG after you leave the theater. Plaguing your mind with paranoia and uneasy thoughts as you lie in bed at night. I am in my mid twenties, and let me tell you, the "night-light" made it's first appearance again, in years.'Lo and behold, THAT, my friends, is why this is SUCH an effective horror film. Genuine eerieness and threats of turning your "places of safety and sanctuary" into your worst nightmares--the stuff bad dreams are made of.I will end by once again saying that GOOD *horror* films are ones that SCARE you--not impress you by their intricate story lines. Because we all know, if those "stupid people" never "went back into the house"....there would be no story at all, would there?
A Sentiment You May Hold After Seeing It
posted on 14 Aug 2009Perhaps the most remarkable thing about "The Grudge" is that this kind of film is still being made at all. In what amounts to a knockoff of a remake of any already too rehashed idea, "The Grudge" offers nothing that's new or refreshing in a genre that for all practical purposes has seen better days--at least in this structure.Karen (Sarah Michelle Geller) is a student living in Tokyo with her boyfriend Doug (Jason Behr), and both give equally limited performances in their roles, though it should be said that there isn't much to work with for either character, and both roles amount to little more than catalysts designed to set the stage for the supernatural events in which they become entangled.In a nutshell (which is more than large enough to contain this overly simplistic plot), Karen, in need of some credits in social service, is sent to the home of Emma, an invalid who suffers from some form of dementia, after the regularly assigned worker fails to show up (we know why, since we're privy to her dispatch during the opening credits.) Karen soon discovers an evil presence in the house, all related to a double murder/suicide which occurred several years earlier. And, as we are also to learn, in Japan, once such evil befalls a house, it never leaves--which I believe also holds true in Transylvania and several other places, too. Anyway, everyone who would ever live in this place would be subjected to the wrath--or more precisely, 'the grudge', held by those who were killed there. Episodically, and through some flashbacks that contribute more to a level of confusion than clarity, details of the murders unfold, and we are increasingly given more visual information of the not-very-dead-but-very-evil-spirits. Suggestions, allusions and intimations abound, but nothing of any real consequence ever actually happens to these characters, nor to any of the other myriad of characters."The Grudge", directed by Takashi Shimizu, a reworking of his original Japanese "Ju On" concept designed to include American actors and English for obvious box office appeal, isn't really a bad film, but it's extremely mediocre and predictable. But if you can look beyond the obvious and clichéd devices, you'll see that it has some notable cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto, and an effective, muted lighting design that are both worthy of a much better and more serious effort. Mostly though, it relies on an overworked, and too often, unimaginative plot, and it fails to incorporate any traits of humanism in the mostly unseen, evil beings. What made characters like Dracula, Quasimodo, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man--even King Kong--so frightful, was their embodiment of human traits and the inner conflict between their humanity and their monstrosity. More than just making viewers afraid of its horror character, a film should also impart to the viewer the fear, however unlikely one may deem it, that becoming such a fearsome monster--whether by accident of nature, science, or psychology--is, perhaps, just a misstep away. That's what's scary. Cutting quickly to close ups of fleeting, ephemeral images, reinforced by loud audio crescendos for punctuation, may provide shocks of involuntary startle responses, but it doesn't really create--or worse--doesn't sustain any real suspense or tension. There is a decided lack of any cumulative effect to all of these sounds and images in "The Grudge", and no subsequent lingering doubts as to whether such evils could really exist in the world. A good horror film should at least raise that remote possibility, even to the most ardent doubters of such phenomena. And if you don't think that can happen, watch "The Exorcist".© 2004
Much better than I thought it would be.
posted on 14 Aug 2009This was great. When I saw the Japanese version first, it was probably the scariest movie I had ever seen. It was not blood and guts, it was eerie, atmospheric and terrifying. When the mother ghost lent over the bed in the Japanese version, I nearly had a heart attack... I was concerned that the American version would be watered down, and that Buffy would take away from the dark creepy nuances of the original version. I needn't have been concerned. The makers of this movie wisely kept the same Japanese people who were involved with the original movie on hand, and gave the direction of the movie to the same man. They also set it in Japan in the same location, in the same house. In fact, the Japanese director took pains to remake the same movie as it was in the original, the only difference was the casting of American actors. That actually turned into a benefit as it added the element of "Strangers in a Strange Land" to the overall horror. Not only were they being haunted by an absolutely terrifying and relentless ghost, but they were also stuck in a completely foreign land, having difficulty integrating into society. It just added to the overall anxiety built into the movie and I thought it was an excellent touch.Buffy actually does a very good job. She looks vulnerable and is able to convey her fear well. There are none of the smart aleck remarks that are so common to American horror movies, or one liners that detract from the overall darkness and horror of the characters' situation. In fact, it was easily as good as The Ring which I also thoroughly enjoyed. I hope the future of American horror follows more closely the Japanese New Wave of horror started with the incredible success of Ringu. We are finally getting movies that actually can be categorized as "Horror"!! 8/10
I have a Grudge...
posted on 12 Aug 2009...Against this derivative, frivolous, formulaic, tedious drek in the disguise of "modern horror". There are virtually no edge-of-your seat desirable thrills here, yet there is an irksome pattern of fallacious climaxes delivering to absolutely no avail, rather than a "shocking spook". You'll find cringing in horror, not at the terrifying events on the big screen of course, but rather, at the sheer temerity of a film such as this to appear so promising, and to fail so horribly and cluelessly wrong to thrill or even to entertain. I frequently found myself completely dissociated with the conventions of one naive visitor meandering around the "cursed" estate, devoid of any attention or consideration as to what was to proceed with the characters' hapless fates, as every fate was lamentably predictable, ridiculously formulaic, and instinctively (hilarious). One could not imagine a human being screaming at the top of their lungs at the horrible sight of a stalking spirit possessing an eerie message (errrrrrr) could be laughable, yet the frivolous, derivative (plot stolen from countless recent "horrors" e.g. "The Ring", "Signs", etc.) convention of this scenario is so inextricably lame and gaspingly familiar, that it becomes custom to merely "sigh" or laugh at every doomed character's grisly fate. The film almost saves itself from entirely collapsing towards the very end, with a curious, eerie acquaintance between Sarah Michelle Gellar (Curiosity has certainly killed this cat) and Bill Pullman (whom we have learned has been dead for years by suicide (possibly due to afflictions from "the grudge"), where both of them realize the other's presence, yet proceed silently in their business, Pullman detesting his unfaithful wife, Gellar merely following his hopeless stride. This and the scene where it is revealed that the woman and the boy plaguing the house were gruesomely murdered by the husband and father, are some really ingratiating sequences, and capture some much wanted attention. Yet even these scenes follow the formulaic conventions prevalent throughout the film of being assembled to great promise and interest, yet resulting in some very weak, effort less "climaxes" wherein nothing is resolved, and we can only wait for the cycle to hopelessly repeat itself. What a sorry and inexcusable excuse for a horror built upon chills (which can only be achieved through surprise, which this film completely lacks) and the element of fear (which can only be achieved through careful, unwavering attention to detail and deceiving style, and this film traffics in deviation and guileless transparency). In the end, I really have developed a "grudge" towards this completely wasted execution devoid of any veritable thrill, surprise, shock, or even entertainment; a frighteningly failed attempt at conjuring any horror, that actually evokes guilty gags instead of shocking shrieks... * out of ****
Taking the original and remaking it for a western audience.
posted on 12 Aug 2009This is my first comment on a film on IMDb as I saw this last night and thought it was that dreadful that I had to comment.***POSSIBLE SPOILERS*** This film was directed by the same director as all the original Ju-on films, Takashi Shimizu also wrote the first Ju-ons as well as the remake, so why could he not come up with an original idea? This film takes every single 'shes behind you' scare tactic of the original films and adds some SFX which makes the film lose the atmosphere, the slow build up to the jumpy bits and also the make up and movement of the characters which is what makes that genre of Japanese films, it seems to just rush through the film in order to squeeze all the scares in. There was nothing that belonged to this film alone, it even used the same house, same plot, same scares, it was shot in Japan, the only difference to the Ju-ons was this film had westerners in it and no subs all the way through and a bit of CG. If they had completely changed it and Americanised it as they did with The Ring, remake of Ringu, they could have made a great film, maybe by just taking some elements relocating the country, the style and changing the story a bit. I have heard that producer Sam Raimi has confessed that the only reason for making the film was to lose the subtitles and take it to a wider audience. This film was definitely made for a western audience. So to sum this up then, if you have seen the original Ju-ons and liked them you will be terribly disappointed in this sold out effort, but if you like horror and couldn't care less about the originals then its a fairly decent horror film. I would definitely recommend seeing the originals though but if you have not seen much or any Japanese horror then you may find this quite scary.
Spooky,spooky
posted on 30 Aug 2009Spooky,spooky,spooky,spooky.........Spooky without excessive violence. Spooky without nudity. Spooky without a large budgets. Spooky the way Hitchcock was, on the edge of the seat not wanting to watch, but watching anyway.If you want to be scared but not grossed out or repulsed then check this flick out. Gellar is right on as usual when does this type of genre. Karen is much different than Buffy but Gellar excels in a dark dealing with unknown genre.The rest of the cast were equally strong in their performances. Each part played by these actors were integral to the tie of the movie. Interesting how Jason Behr (her boyfriend in the Grudge)was on an early episod of BTVS.