The Grudge
by Takashi Shimizu
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Clea DuVall, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Sarah Michelle Gellar, William MapotherDirector: Takashi Shimizu
Brand: Sony
Writer: Takashi Shimizu
Producer: Aubrey Henderson
Producer: Carsten H.W. Lorenz
Producer: Doug Davison
Producer: Joseph Drake
Producer: Michael Kirk
Writer: Stephen Susco
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese (Original Language); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
Published: 2005-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-01
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Grudge
Movie Review: There is something evil there.
Summary: 5 Stars
I will be completely honest with you, I watched this film with my finger on the fast-forward button pressed heavily so that the jumpy scenes wouldn't make me change my pants. I thought that this was one of the spookiest films that I have seen. Director Takashi Shimizu has done an excellent job remaking this film for American audiences. While some will argue that this is nothing more than just corporate Hollywood turning the cranks on audiences' wallets, I thought there was quite a bit of originality to this film. The institution of us seeing the demon or spirits before the characters do was something that I wasn't familiar with in other horror films. Normally, there is this big "jumping out of the darkness" scene that frightens everyone because they were not expecting it, but in The Grudge there was this element of "here I am" that frightened me more than most films do.
Takashi Shimizu, the mastermind behind this film, also created the original Ju-on series that became extremely popular in Japan. This allowed his vision and purpose (with a larger budget) to continue. I enjoyed the fact that the original director was on board and that our American crew was in Japan. This took me away from the idea that this film was going to be nothing more than just a pro-America horror film. It took me to this unfamiliar place (building the fear) and showcased the talents of some unfamiliar/familiar American film actors working next to a complete Japanese crew. I thought that this kept the entire film grounded. It wasn't set in New York, there wasn't the scene of raw nudity at the beginning ... there wasn't the normal American structure to this film because we were not in America ... we were in Japan. This really helped me build the excitement and utter terror that I felt while watching this film. I was impressed.
The acting, well, you don't go to a horror film expecting to see Oscar caliber acting. Gellar and Pullman knew that the horror genre is slowing coming into the limelight as a prominent figure in cinema (it was lacking for a couple of years there) and I think that is why they chose to do this project. Pullman wasn't anything to write home about, thought I was impressed to see him in this film. Gellar was the exact same. She did her part, collected her money, and went home. This wasn't what frightened me about this film. I didn't rent this movie to be blown away by the acting. I expected average acting and that is what I got. What I did go into this film expecting was to shake, shiver, and be frightened to turn off the lights after the film. That is exactly what I found. Takashi Shimizu did an excellent job of building that right amount of suspense, using amazing lighting, perfect sound, and some very freaky visuals. His knowledge and ability to bring us something new was extremely impressive and honest. Here is a director who was handed the money to make the film that he wanted, and while not everything was probably to his liking, it did open the door for more fans to enjoy his work. It also opened the door to more projects from his mind to be released. This could be the new face of cinematic horror, and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us.
Overall, I loved this movie. It was the exact level of fright that I was looking for. There were scenes that I never saw coming, there were elements that were unexpected and vividly raw, and it thankfully did not follow the ever-classic Hollywood horror formula. There was originality and emotion in this film that most horror directors do not give when dabbing in the horror genre. This was a great story, and I cannot wait to gather friends for a late night horror scream-fest featuring this film. From the opening scene, to the bus scene, to the opportunistic final moment, I had my finger on the fast-forward and I was scared. This did what it set out to do for me, and for that I can only praise this film!
Grade: ***** out of *****
Summary of The Grudge
The GrudgeIt'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. --Jeff Shannon
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