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About this product
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A remake of the Japanese horror hit JU-ON (widely considered to be one of the scariest movies ever made), THE GRUDGE is helmed by its original director Takeshi Shimizu. Like its predecessor, this Hollywood version of the film takes place in Tokyo, but most of the main characters are American, including Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), a young social worker, and her peers. When Karen enters a seemingly abandoned home to look after a mentally disturbed resident, she soon discovers that there's an evil--and very aggressive--presence in the house, and it's lashing out at every person that sets foot inside.Having directed both the original JU-ON and its sequel in Japan, Shimizu was very familiar with his own tale of terror by the time he directed its 2004 incarnation. Using many of the key actors from the previous films (including Takako Fuji and Yuya Ozeki who have unforgettable roles), Shimizu recreates the story with the added advantage of a Hollywood budget (acquired with the help of producer Sam Raimi of SPIDER-MAN fame, who is also a noted horror-movie director). As with many Japanese horror films (particularly the original RING, which strongly influences this movie), THE GRUDGE relies on atmosphere over plot, resulting a series of utterly chilling moments that will leave viewers fascinated and unbelievely frightened.
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.Read full review
It was a decent movie, the only really good thing about it was that it starred sarah michelle gellar(mmmmmmmmmmmm), and jason behr (roswell), and was directed by sam raimi (evil dead, spiderman). Other than that the story is pretty weak and there are no actually scary parts, But what do you expect from a ruined industry trying to bank on a pg13 rating. PG13 is ruining what could be otherwise awesome R rated movies.
PS. STAY AWAY FROM CROSSROADS AUCTIONS ON EBAY!!!!! THATS WHO I PURCHASED THIS FROM, I BOUGHT 9 DVDS FROM THEM AND 7 WERE UNPLAYABLE, I HAD TO HAVE THEM RE-SURFACED OUT OF POCKET. READ THEIR FEEDBACK AND BEWARE!!!!!!!!
With the Grudge, audiences everywhere are treated to a poor man's version of the Ring - another Japanese scary movie that was beautifully done in Japan but, in translation, something was lost. However, the Ring worked - Naomi Watts and the producing and filming carried the Ring and delivered a spooky, creepy movie that was lots of fun to watch. The Grudge, however, isn't as well written or acted (sorry Sarah Michelle Gellar). Yet, the Grudge isn't a failure - there are plenty of scary scenes (though most are the kind of loud noise, out-of-nowhere quick scares.
Here is my rating scale for the Grudge - because it really does depend on what you are looking for. The Grudge is a:
5/5 if you are looking for a date movie.
4/5 if you are looking for some scares and spooks
3/5 if you are looking for overall entertainment.
1/5 if you are juding it as a fine piece of art.Read full review
Just doesn't compare to the original but its still entertaining
A fan of the Japanese version of the film; Ju-on, I had to buy this movie to see how it compared to the original, and also being a fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar, from her Buffy the vampire slayer years, made this film a must have for myself. The acting was not bad, but it just did not compare with the original Japanese version where it had a more authentic feel that this movie just did not have, what saved this film I believe was the special effects and the dark atmosphere that is present in this version as was in the original film Ju-on. The Grudge is about a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow. The curse gathers in the place where that person died. Those who encounter this supernatural presence die and the curse is reborn which it then passes from victim to victim by those who are touched by this curse. The film does stay faithful to the Japanese release with very little alteration to the original script, this version is the unrated extended directors cut which includes an extra 6 minutes of film footage not available in the original release.Read full review
i liked this one. i dont care if it was similar to the ring. so many movies are a like these days, i dont see that as relevant. part of the reason i enjoyed this is due to the fact im a huge sara michelle gellar fan. but that aside i found this pretty creepy. not like SCARY but just creepy enough to make it fun. i let my son watch it (he gets to watch lots of scary movies btw) and he got a little scared in a few places, but nothing bad. i actually found the storyline of this one pretty interesing and basically cohesive unlike the ring, lol.