The Grudge (2004)

Yows! I hate strange noises!

This was a real surprise movie for me. Having heard this movie mentioned so much, but not knowing the premise is what really caught me off-guard. What a freakin' spooky movie!!! I loved the way the movie was pieced together after each spooky ocurrance, so that you knew what led up to the demise of each individual; instead of trying to guess. I especially liked the fact that it was made in Japan, and the some of the American actors had to try and communicate in Japanese.

Let's see now... cats, attics, cell phones, closets. I think I should try and avoid all those things in the night from now on. What the heck was that noise? What was that little boy doing in my sink?

Oh damn! I gotta' shampoo my hair in the morning (check for extra fingers in scalp), and then take the bus to work (look out for reflections in the window) I don't think I'm ever going to sleep in my bed again. That sofa is looking pretty good from here. Aaaaahhhhhhhhh! September 15, 2008

It's That Gurgling That Gets Me!...

I first saw THE GRUDGE in it's initial theatrical form. I didn't find it all that frightening. Of course, I had just seen THE RING, which made THE GRUDGE seem like a clone thereof. Well, I recently watched the extended, director's cut of THE GRUDGE and it is a tad spookier. One thing that puzzles me is why the many deleted scenes were not incorporated into the finished product. Quite a few of them are as scary as anything in the movie! They also add to the overall story in key places. Oh well, at least these scenes are included on the DVD. I recommend this director's cut AND the deleted stuff. Sarah Michelle Gellar is very believable in her role as caregiver, Karen Davis. The rest of the cast is equally good, especially the gal who plays Kayako! When she crawls down those stairs, making that accursed gurgling sound, my body temperature drops 10 degrees! Crikey!... September 14, 2008

Ignore the critics.

I wish I had seen this in the theater.
I waited till it came out on video, and I wasn't expecting to like this movie.
The Ring started the wave of "J" horror and The Grudge continues the excellence.
Mega freaky parts make this movie a must see.
A great, twisty, turny script, good acting, and a great ending.
I like Sarah Michelle Geller but she isn't the most convincing actress on the planet.
That minor complaint aside, I recommend The Grudge for being so different from American horror.
Hardly any gore, no nudity, still not appropriate for young children.
Go rent it.
June 23, 2008

great movie

This was a good movie but not creepy or scary well i don't get scared of horror movies anyway but this was a good movie. This was way better then the second part that one was not good, but this was. May 10, 2008

Effectively Creepy

Horror movies are effective when they're not so. . .horrifying. Show me a Hamburger Helper gore-fest and I'll get downright bored; there's only so many ways to skin a cat (pardon the pun), plus the viewer, after awhile, becomes completely desensitized to all the blood 'n guts. There's something to be said about things that go bump in the night; if a scary flick is to be effective, there needs to be suspense, a little campy creepiness, and a fleeting glimpse of a monster screaming, "Boo!"

Enter THE GRUDGE, director Takashi Shimizu's American remake of his Japanese thriller, "Ju-on." I thoroughly enjoyed this yarn precisely because Shimizu didn't try to gross his audience out; instead, we catch glimpses and haunting images of three demons who terrorize a house. . .and anyone who dares to enter it. Accordingly, actual violence is kept to a minimum; shots of ghosts only last long enough to tweak the "ick" nerve, and the viewer never, ever, witnesses a victim endure a long, agonizing death.

And that, folks, makes for effective horror.

The mostly American cast is adequate, yet not memorable. Sarah Michelle Gellar as an American nurse-in-training abroad in Tokyo--and subsequently tormented by messy ghouls--is okay, although she often seems aloof and disinterested. Other American actors include Bill Pullman, who gets this movie rolling right along. The ending, like most horror flicks, is pretty lame, yet THE GRUDGE works effectively via creepiness--not chainsaws.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning


May 9, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...