The Grudge
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| Directed by | 清水崇 [Takashi Shimizu] | |
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| Release date | 22 October 2004 | |
| Runtime | 92 minutes | |
| RYM Rating | ||
| Ranked | #616 for 2004 | |
| Language | English, Japanese | |
| Genres | ||
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Review
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Cast
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
Karen Davis - 藤貴子 [Takako Fuji]
Kayako Saeki - Bill Pullman
Peter Kirk - Jason Behr
Doug - Ted Raimi
Alex - KaDee Strickland
Susan - Clea DuVall
Jennifer - Grace Zabriskie
Emma
20 Reviews
I imagine the pitch for this movie went something like this:
"So... why don't Americans like Japanese horror?"
"Because it relies less on jumpscares and more on atmosphere, and rather than outright shock value, it focuses on making its audience as uncomfortable and on-edge as possible?"
"What? No, silly! It's because western audiences can't relate to it."
"What do you mean? You don't mean-
"That's exactly what I mean!"
So what exactly are you saying?"
"I'm saying we should get the guy who made Ju-On, and have him make the exact same movie, shot-for-shot at times, but more marketable to western audiences, meaning less disturbing content and more white people."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, but do whatever you need to do to get white suburban teenage butts in seats. Knock yourself out."
In short, it's one of those "remakes" that's the exact same movie but not as good. The quality is decent, but there is literally no reason for this movie to exist. Just ignore this thing and watch the original instead. If you've seen the original Ju-On, you've seen this movie. And if you only watch this, you've had the original Ju-On spoiled for you since all the scares are the same but cheaper. It's not that hard to use subtitles for a better experience. Would not recommend.
"So... why don't Americans like Japanese horror?"
"Because it relies less on jumpscares and more on atmosphere, and rather than outright shock value, it focuses on making its audience as uncomfortable and on-edge as possible?"
"What? No, silly! It's because western audiences can't relate to it."
"What do you mean? You don't mean-
"That's exactly what I mean!"
So what exactly are you saying?"
"I'm saying we should get the guy who made Ju-On, and have him make the exact same movie, shot-for-shot at times, but more marketable to western audiences, meaning less disturbing content and more white people."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, but do whatever you need to do to get white suburban teenage butts in seats. Knock yourself out."
In short, it's one of those "remakes" that's the exact same movie but not as good. The quality is decent, but there is literally no reason for this movie to exist. Just ignore this thing and watch the original instead. If you've seen the original Ju-On, you've seen this movie. And if you only watch this, you've had the original Ju-On spoiled for you since all the scares are the same but cheaper. It's not that hard to use subtitles for a better experience. Would not recommend.
Published
More than anything a kind of ingenious architectural study that puts up with rather than exacerbates or probes the dread of place. This of course is strange given that the film is about the uncanny timekeeping of the Home that, as our observers, puts us as spectral traces among other spectral traces, pointless actions and habits recorded in the skin cells among skin cells lining the walls and floors, and so on. I am thinking particularly of how Pulse or One Missed Call atomises human life: lived spaces (but also elevators, pedestrian bridges) are presented through a cube-like flat perspective that renders them dioramas of (always) isolated suffering. The Grudge has that same obsessive quality, but the two storey house with the mezzanine view from the door forces Shimizu into an exploded view instead. The cameras trace handrails and beams, anchored by the use of two-point perspective to keep emphasis on the far corner of the room. This is not as stylish a decision as that former mode wherein the viewer is 'caught' in the artifice of space, pulling seamlessly from the rectangular frame of the television, but Shimizu's artless agitation here is by design. The angular framing actually trains the viewer to wander from the screen of the fiction and through the room they're sitting in, to the corners that mark the shadowy threshold between a scare's potential and actualisation. It fucks up the way you see, by tricking you into looking.
But where this might sound anxious, Shimizu is lazy when it comes to that threshold being crossed. The exploded view is sharp and methodical, but the tone of The Grudge is narcotic, almost Italianate (Argento, Fulci) in its horror. The score ticks like a stuck needle and refuses to erupt when Kayako is there, giving the viewer the time to process Yes she is there, Yes she is still there, before dissolves escort us from the ever evasive what happens next. There's a feeling less of slow inevitability in any cosmic sense, than in the sense of trivial, episodic remembering on the part of the house. It comes to us and then goes like a dream. The way this works then is not the cameras cuing the recorded trauma of place, but transforming the house into a skeleton only to find moments of overlap with the woman that lives in the walls.
But where this might sound anxious, Shimizu is lazy when it comes to that threshold being crossed. The exploded view is sharp and methodical, but the tone of The Grudge is narcotic, almost Italianate (Argento, Fulci) in its horror. The score ticks like a stuck needle and refuses to erupt when Kayako is there, giving the viewer the time to process Yes she is there, Yes she is still there, before dissolves escort us from the ever evasive what happens next. There's a feeling less of slow inevitability in any cosmic sense, than in the sense of trivial, episodic remembering on the part of the house. It comes to us and then goes like a dream. The way this works then is not the cameras cuing the recorded trauma of place, but transforming the house into a skeleton only to find moments of overlap with the woman that lives in the walls.
Published
Scarier than Ju-On but lacks its creepiness and passion
AMERICAN REMAKES OF J-HORROR PART 1: The Grudge (2004)During this quarantine, I’ve found a new love for j-horror. The consistent creepiness and atmosphere of the films I’ve watched have intrigued me and have left me wanting consistently more. Of course, knowing these movies were being remade in the 2000s, I want to go through and watch those and see how they match up.
I watched The Grudge tonight after rewatching Ju-On last night; while I’m new to j-horror, Ju-On is iconic enough that I’ve seen it multiple times in the past. This version, however, bored me out of my mind, but it could be because I watched a movie that matched its same beats last night. I will say this: the scary scenes were legitimately more scary and Kayako herself is more frightening in this remake (she doesn’t less like a woman in body paint and more like a ghost), but Ju-On was much creepier and had a better established world. This one’s fine on its own, i guess; just not as good.
Published
Creepy "Ghost" Story Makes This Stand Out among Japanese Horror
Rewatched this after not having seen it in a long time. Injects real creepiness into a basic ghost story. And this ghost can get you anywhere--not tied to a single house. Actually, not sure "ghost" is the right word, as it seems less like the spirit of a single person and more the curse of traumatic violence haunting characters. Great story and performances.Published
The ghost is pretty creepy (the woman, not the kid who meows) but that's really all this film has going for it. Oh yeah and I guess the jawless girl is pretty cool too. Gellar sleepwalks her way through this and Pullman is useless as always and honestly, there's just not much of a story here, even for a haunted house flick.
Published
(2004) Review 10:
Right, this is another one of my classic re-reviews. Primarily because I recently re-watched this movie, to show my girlfriend a side of Asian horror re-makes which she had not seen before. I did big this up to her quite a lot prior to watching it, and we both ended the movie with similar emotions.The movie basis itself around a house in Tokyo. Where a careworker is employed after the previous one was killed by a spiritual entity within the house. We soon find out that everyone who has entered this house is stalked by this curse. The only plot snag is that a lot of this is told in different orders. That's how the movie works. The curse was created by a husband killing his wife and son after suspected his wife to have been unfaithful.
Yeah, it's that same plot that's been used several times now. Although this was the first time to Western audiences, so I can see why they didn't really change much with it. They wanted to stay faithful and introduce a different, widespread kind of people to an Asian classic. How scary the movie is, depends on how scared you are of the kind of things that are in it. I know people who are very scared of this, and I know people who aren't at all. This really depends on you as a person I'm afraid. The atmosphere from the original has definitely taken a downgrade, I don't know why that is, possibly because the series has taken a hollywood approach through the remake, but I can't fault that, they wanted the movie to be as popular as possible, like The Ring. Acting is fine, characters are fine, everything else is FINE.
Pros; Scary, interesting settings, good plot and a decent retelling of a story.
Cons; Lacked atmosphere, felt too polished, ending wasn't as good as the original and it just didn't hit the same heights as the original in general.
The Grudge is an okay remake. I feel that because this series has been made over and over so many times that Takashi Shimizu really has to look at himself for what he's done here, in either a good or a bad way. I would recommend watching one of the original Japanese versions of this movie, but if you HAVE to, then this isn't a dreadful alternative.
2/5.
Published
Eh, The Grudge is a decent horror film. It features a nice Japanese setting and is competently directed. Sometimes it's too subtle, sometimes it's too unsubtle, and it isn't particularly scary overall. A nice horror film to chill out to (?).
Published
I haven't seen the original movie, but this did scare me in some points. There was great athmosphere. Though I didn't like those BOO!-scenes, they are irritating and real horror doesn't come from those scenes, even though movie makers (especially in 00's) seem to think so. Some things are ridiculous, especially those with wheeze sounds from their throats. But I liked the idea of this movie, they could have done great movie but sadly it turned out dull and somewhat stupid. But this isn't really bad, it's ok. But I still liked more Ringu when I saw it many years ago. It really scared me, I was scared even by my own shadow even a week after seeing the movie.
Published
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