When someone dies in a state of horrible rage a curse is left behind in that place forever, destroying anyone who comes across it. Upon the death of its victims, a new curse is born, passing from victim to victim in an endless, vicious and murderous cycle.
When an elderly, borderline psychotic woman’s nurse, Yoko, goes missing, Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), an exchange student studying in Tokyo, receives her first assignment. Little does she know that the reason for Yoko’s disappearance is the very house she was about to step into.
“The Grudge,” a remake of 2003’s Japanese “Ju-On,” has many goals, but falls somewhat short of achieving them all. Being a Japanese remake, (like “The Ring,” which sprung from 1998’s “Ringu”) “The Grudge” has much to live up to when it comes to audience expectations and cinematic horror bliss.
“The Ring” grossed more than 128 million dollars in the United States alone and is deemed one of the scariest movies of all time by many (which is both bogus and sad).
The big question concerning “The Grudge” is, “How does it match up to its standard setting predecessor?”
One key difference working in “The Grudge’s” favor is that the same writer/director is on board. Takashi Shimizu co-wrote and directed the Americanized version as well as the Japanese version. His work and eye for distinct visuals definitely sets the film aside from the other trite and eye-rollingly predictable U.S. slasher flicks.
What “The Grudge” succeeds in is very out-of-the-box for most modern scary movies. Told slightly out of order and with intense flashbacks, the fragmented storytelling was definitely a forte. Halfway through, I couldn’t think of even one way the movie could have ended because I wasn’t finished piecing together the puzzle that Shimizu carefully planned out for me.
I would not call the movie totally unpredictable, however. There are only so many times a character can creep up to the creaky attic to investigate that moving shadow they thought they just caught a glimpse of. Too many times does the audience know that something is up and someone is about to die.
On the flip side, “The Grudge” excels cinematically and surpasses the supposed wonders of that “Ring” movie. Shimizu’s camera angles were unlike anything I had seen before. Placed inside the dimly lit, ancient house in Japan, Shimizu perfectly mixes light and shadow to create an eerie and downright freaky setting for his characters to unfold in. The sound effects and music were astonishing and perhaps the best I have seen since John Carpenter’s Michael Myers classic “Halloween.”
Gellar, starting to steer away from her seven year Buffy persona, played a great role. Gellar succeeded wonderfully in displaying Karen’s petrified and horror-filled facial expressions. If I was confronted by a vengeful and rage-stricken curse, I can only imagine my face looking exactly like Karen’s did.
However, the depth of Karen can be debated. I found myself wanting more from the character itself. Gellar took the role to its limits, but by the end, the audience can’t really say they know her. The relationship between Karen and Doug, her boyfriend who is also studying abroad, is very one-dimensional and is breezed over quite quickly, probably a fault of the writing. (Where’s Angel when you need him?) Although Gellar’s performance added strength to the film, Karen just wasn’t one of Gellar’s stronger characters (“Buffy” and “Cruel Intentions” come to mind).
Perhaps the worst aspect of “The Grudge” is its climax or lack thereof. Without giving away spoilers, I will say this. Karen’s final entry into the angry house is possibly one of the most suspenseful scenes throughout the 97 minute film.
Yet right in the middle of the climax Shimizu fades to white and leaps the audience into the next scene while they’re still desperately holding onto the former for more. It seems as if Shimizu was hoping for a certain shock value, but in actuality, it comes off as rather choppy.
The movie also would have had an increased scare factor by including more gore. With a PG-13 rating, the Movie Picture Association of America doesn’t allow for much bloodshed and carnage candy. The lack of gore seemed to hold the movie back, as it did to the post-Columbine release of “Scream 3” in 2000.
However, it is questionable if the excess was needed at all. “The Grudge” is provocatively creepy in that it creates frightening images both mentally and psychologically, using the camera, music and sound effects to their full potential.
Overall, “The Grudge” is a good movie and perfect for the pre-Halloween weeks to get into the spirit of the season. Although I remained satisfied, some might leave theatres with a grudge of their own.
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