The Grudge (DVD, 2005)

Leave that freaking house alone.

Rather than beat all of you reading this down with the whole "Hey, did you know they only made this movie because of the success of The Ring? And did you also know that this is also a remake of a Japanese horror movie directed by the same guy who directed the Japanese version? Huh? HUH?" - I'll move on and talk about the movie. Oh, and no Buffy references either. You don't need to be bludgeoned over the head with those bad jokes.

Some bad stuff happened in a house a few years back in Japan - and when the new owners move in, they find out about this curse thing where if someone dies in an intense way - they stick around to haunt. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the role of a house cleaner (caretaker) working her way through college who gets hooked up with this house, and subsequently, gets to share in the goolies.

First of all, the movie is creepy - despite some bad reviews. The director wields a lot of suspense for a movie that actually shows the payoff right from the beginning. And that's a difficult feat. The crazy, pale Japanese ghosts with eyes about as big as an anime cartoon get under your skin adequately enough. So props go there.

And props go to the screenplay. It's nice when a horror movie isn't wrought with way too much exposition and over-explaining. In fact, even though I'm trying not to draw comparisons, I felt The Ring suffered a bit from those very problems. Not here though. The creepy starts from the beginning and keeps on coming, without much time for the whole "why is this happening" speech. To tell you the truth, it's refreshing.

However, the non-linier storytelling can become a bit confusing for those not paying attention. When it goes in flashback mode - you better be on your toes or you'll be scratching your head and getting frustrated. It didn't bother me so much, but I did find it could have been done more effectively.

The big issue with this movie is simply its lack of depth. Sure, there are scary moments - but there is nothing here that will stick with you. The good scary movies are the ones that make you think twice about turning out the lights. The Grudge doesn't do that.

And as a side note - it did seem like a give up that they set the movie in Japan...but put some Americans in it. I mean, why not just show me the original?

The extras are not bad as you get cast and crew commentary that's better than normal (some funny stuff in there too), a five-part "making of," and a little documentary on fear and film audiences that ends up being fluffy. So, buy it if you like this kind of stuff.

It's not the scary hit that The Ring was in 2002, but The Grudge makes a similarly convincing case for American remakes of popular Japanese horror films. Barely a year passed between the release of Takashi Shimizu's creepy ghost story Ju-On: The Grudge and the production of this American remake, set in Tokyo and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar in her first post-Buffy horror film. About the only significant difference between the two films is the importing of a mostly-American cast (including Bill Pullman, Clea DuVall and Grace Zabriskie), but The Grudge was reconfigured (by screenwriter Stephen Susco) to allow Shimizu to refine and improve the spookiest highlights of his earlier version, which enjoyed previous incarnations as a short film and two made-for-Japanese-video features. Surprising box-office analysts with a $40 million opening weekend, The Grudge may disappoint hard-core horror fans because it lacks gore and graphic violence, but as a creepy tale about a very haunted house, it's guaranteed to send a few chills up your spine.

Love the Movie If you have to much Gore it can be distracting. But a good creepy tale always gets you hooked......
{ Mrs puman}

Just want to say, right off the bat, that I am not a big fan of remakes. I see how some older movies could use with a remake because of the technology available. I've found myself hoping for a remake of some classic horror films - Last House on the Left anyone? But to remake a movie that came out a couple of years before just because the studios don't want people to "strain" their brains by reading subtitles?

Ju-on is the original Japanese movie that has become a classic for the creepiness it oozes from every frame. So Hollywood did what worked so well for another groundbreaking Japanese horror film - Ringu - and remade it frame by frame. Using the same director, same locale, everything is the same - except for a storyline that is now being incorporated into The Grudge 2. So why does it not have the same creepy feeling as the original? It could be the acting - love Buffy, but c'mon she can't act - or it coul dbe that I had already made up my mind against this film before watching it.

Either way the original has a more surreal look and feel. The extra storyline adds to the history of the curse and the Japanese language actually makes you pay extra attention so you feel tense the whole time.
Still, this is not a bad movie and if you rather not read subtitles then it is worth the $. I rather watch originals not copies.

If I would have to summarize in a few words what do I like of this movie, in order to help you to decide if this is the kind of horror movies you like, they would be:

Ugly ghosts, japanese environment, detectives, foreign americans studying in Japan, unexpected scare, very mad spirits that were murder, ghost house, good actors.

If you like the american kind (spirits/ghosts) horror movies, and you really like to get scare with a movie, I think this is for you... The first time I watched this movie was at the movie theater some years ago, and since then I considered this movie the most scary movie I had ever seen. I wanted to buy this movie because I was feeling in the mood of watching horror movies, and I wanted to see if it caused the same effect it caused the first time I saw it, and it did. I have watched the dvd twice and it still being scary, it says something good of the movie, because usually watching a horror movie for a second time is not that scary, but this still being scary. I like horror movies, but the kind with ghost and spirits, (I dont like the ones with the psycho murder after a victim all of the movie), and this movie covers with that.
The fact that every thing happens in Japan (since the original movie Ju-On is Japanese) gives to the movie a really scare and cool environment. That‘s why I added this movie to my dvd collection!!!

Okay this is one of those reviews I have to jump to the movies defense. I heard everything from its like the ring..... NOPE didn't think so,to it wasn't scary.... (UM tell me you didn't get the heebie jeebies when you saw that thing with her jaw hanging off)oh yeah and (tell me you didn't need to change your underpants when that thing crawled down the stairs and got up in sarahs pretty face real close. HELLOOOOOO I am a huge horror fan I have seen just about everything or read it. Leatherface didn't do it for me, the hills have eyes thought was just gross, the ring was OK, but seriously other than the exorcist which I am now 36 and have now finally gotten the courage to watch it all the way through (if thats being a wus don't know cause seriously the most scary thing about that is how could they do all that back then ya know we didn't have the technology for some of those tricks) but I still can't get past the part and this is rare footage I believe where she bends over backwards and walks down the stairs on her fingertips with blood dripping out of her mouth....NOPE CAN'T DO IT! So that leaves me with The Grudge my next favorite scary movie. WELL DONE, BRAVO, yes I can watch this one all the way through but have to turn on all the lights in the house after or have my hubby walk me to my bed at night and don't even get me started about the impression it leaves on you.... my preschooler came home and said she learned a new noise she opened her mouth and made that loud creaking sound we all think is cool when we are little I chased her around the kitchen for an hour saying "Stop that""Don't do that""Seriously mommy isn't joking" cause of the same sound that thing makes in this movie. Til this day I swear to god when I hear that sound the heebie jeebies come rolling into town. I think this show was underated I thought it was awesome, effective, creative, and wow I seriously can't beleive it got such a cold shoulder from all the horror fans out there I couldn't even sell it when I was done with it and I got it free from blockbuster and I loved it.I also saw ju-on but thought this version was way more effective. The little boy with the cat sounds didn't scare me but come on the thing crawling around with the big eyes I am sorry guys I give this one a horror girls "heck yeah" on the goosebump scale and I have read about serial killers,, seen slasher movies nothing made me look under the bed like this. Honestly this girl is having a hard time waiting those couple of days for the second one to come out. I don't even think I can go see it in the theatre I want to be in the comforts of my own home so nobody laughs at me in my jammies with a "wubby" bowl of popcorn and a big, mean, looking just as scared as me, husband .That way there is no proof I ran and jumped on my bed,couldn't even think of looking under it.My husband won't tell nobody if I scream and jump and say "I think I peed a little" just kidding but I swear to god if my husband runs around for the next week making that creaking sound again I will superglue all his tools to the workbench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
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