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The Grudge
Don't Blame Buffy!

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall, Bill Pullman, Takako Fuji, Kadee Strickland, Ted Raimi, Courtney Webb, William Mapother
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Screenwriter: Stephen Susco

Reviewed by Dawn Capp

When someone dies in the midst of extreme rage or sorrow, a curse is born, or so The Grudge would have us believe. However, the real curse might be the movie itself. Burdened with a weak storyline and cheap horror cliches, The Grudge tries unsuccessfully to frighten and awe its audience.

"Scooby Doo? Where are you?!"

The film, however, has a few redeeming qualities. With diverse talent that includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bill Pullman, and Rosa Blasi along with a couple of genuinely creepy scenes, The Grudge delivers at least a few chills, but seasoned horror fans will likely find themselves yawning or, in a few cases, chuckling over the movie's unimaginative tricks (and a ghost that can apparently find anyone, anywhere...but occasionally needs to call for directions).

In The Grudge, Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Karen, an American student living and volunteering in Tokyo as a care-giver. When one of her co-workers fails to show up for work, she's sent on the missing woman's assignment -- caring for an elderly woman who lives in a large house. The moment Karen steps into the house, she senses something's wrong, but by then it's too late. The house, it turns out, has a brutal history that's left it with supernatural residences intent on haunting and killing any soul unlucky enough to step foot inside.

The Grudge arises from a Japanese series of movies, Ju-On, and essentially remakes the third movie in the series. So, it's safe to assume that if The Grudge does reasonably well in the United States, American audiences will be subjected to another installment of the grudge-holding house.

All the films in the original Japanese series were directed by Takashi Shimizu, who also directed the American remake. However, some names familiar to American horror fans will also pop up in the credits. Sam Raimi, who wrote and directed the Evil Dead series and directed both Spiderman and its sequel, lends his talents to The Grudge as Executive Producer (and as anyone who knows Sam Raimi expects, his brother, Ted Raimi, makes a significant appearance).

Unfortunately, Sam Raimi's talents fall short in this film, which is burdened by underdeveloped characters, choppy flashbacks, and a U.S. rating system that has most studios salivating over maintaining a PG-13 rating in order to woo the profitable teenage audience. Hence, horror film zealots will likely begrudge the dampened thrills and quick flashes of gore that transforms the third Ju-On movie into The Grudge. However, expect a few scenes to haunt you a few hours after the movie -- when you turn off the lights and head to bed.

Rating:

(2 out of 4 stars)

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