The Grudge (2004)

The Worst Film Ever

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A lot of fun.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

First off, at the beginning, no girl would pursue a noise upstairs, much less to the ATTIC, by herself when there shouldn't be anybody up there. After the blond was haunted at the office so late at night, she wouldn't take a cab just back to her place; she'd want to be with someone. She'd want to stay out in public. Especially when she's ultimately creeped out after the phonecall, the last thing she'd want to do is lock herself up in her place by herself. And of course, in the whole building, even late at night, she doesn't run into anybody.

Karen Davis is residing in Japan with her boyfriend, who is studying there. Temporarily assigned to be a carer 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.....In the early noughties, the cinema was rife with remakes of 'J-Horror', and even though some of them were good, it was just an excuse for Hollywood to make money, because some people just couldn't be bothered with subtitles.The Ring, Dark Water, Shutter, and this are prime examples.But at least this was directed by the originals director, so at least some respect has been maintained. Geller is in it, she's okay, but the movie goes to show that she could never carry a film. She more or less put a stake in her movie career with her performance, like rice with no salt, its does the job, but it's very bland.So thank heavens then for the rest of the cast, and the brilliant camera-work used when we see the ghosts.The lift scene, and the photo montage are standouts, in what other wise are jump scenes.Its one of those movies that the more you watch it, the less the horror will scare you, and the story will intrigue you more.Worth seeing, but if you've seen the original, don't bother.

When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage... A curse is born. The curse gathers in that place of death. Those who encounter it will be consumed by its fury.Peter Kirk (Bill Pullman) kills himself jumping off his apartment balcony in Japan.Yoko visits elderly Emma (Grace Zabriskie) living in a Tokyo house. She is attacked by a spirit. Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a student nurse living in Tokyo with her boyfriend Doug (Jason Behr). Karen takes over Yoko's job with Emma after she disappeared. Karen finds little boy Toshio trapped in a taped up closet.The movie flashes back to when Emma is first shown the house with her kids Susan (KaDee Strickland) and Matthew (William Mapother) and his wife Jennifer (Clea DuVall).The only interesting thing in this movie is Japan. Sadly, it doesn't even take full advantage of that since most of this takes place inside the house. The spirits aren't that creepy and not scary at all. The kills aren't gruesome. It's just very tame. There really isn't anything to this movie. There is also a problem with all these tangentially connected characters. They have no emotional relationship with SMG's Karen. The disconnected nature really lowers the stakes of this movie. The spirit chasing KaDee Strickland in Japan is the most compelling sequence but again she has no real connection with Karen.

"The Grudge" is quite possibly the most scariest ghost/horror movie I have ever seen. Sarah Michelle Gellar takes on the main role as nurse Karen living and working in Tokyo. While working she is exposed to a supernatural curse involving a vengeful spirit which locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming his/her life and spreading its curse to another person.This movie starts out with Karen moving to Tokyo with boyfriend Doug (Jason Behr), where we get a taste of drama as they adjust to their new lives in Japan. The suspense builds when they encounter mysterious events in the house Karen is a caretaker in and, what follows, are one creepy moment one after the other as main ghosts Kayako (Takako Fuji) and Toshiro (Yuya Ozeki) take center stage, wreaking havoc with those unfortunate enough to cross its path.Takashi Shimizu did a great job directing the movie that grabs the audience attention with scenes that send chills down your spine, has moments that make you jump, and has disturbing images that will stick in your mind after the movie is over. The mysterious yet dramatic atmosphere of the movie created an eerie feeling of the ongoing horror and the built-up suspense, which are contributed by the cast members' realistic and dramatic acting. Some of the plot lines dangled and are unexplained, but that is a minor flaw.Overall, this is a movie with the right balance of horror and drama - no over-the-top stuff. If you are a fan of horror movies, "The Grudge" is highly-recommended.Grade B+