he Grudge… It never forgives and never forgets. It results from the curse of a victim who dies in the grip of rage, and it kills anyone who comes across it. Does it sound scary? Can't wait to see what happens? Well, "The Grudge" is an American-Japanese remake of "Ju-on" ("The Grudge," 2003), which was written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. Unlike previous movies transferred from Japan to Hollywood, this remake is also directed by Takashi Shimizu, which is much better in my opinion. (Reminder: "The Ring" was directed by Gore Verbinski rather than Hideo Nakata.)
Briefly, the story is as follows: We have an American exchange student, Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), whose field is social service. One day she substitutes for a nurse and takes care of an old lady. Since this is her first time on duty, she feels a little bit nervous. However, her tension increases significantly after she realizes that something is terrifyingly wrong at her patient's house. The curse slides into the story, and life gets harder for Karen. Of course there is more to come.
Well, honestly speaking, "The Grudge" resembles "The Ring" to a certain extent. Both movies have the same girl with long black hair who walks with her head down. Hehe. Really, the murderer spirits look like each other. During the first half, predictable things happen. There are scenes with a tub filled with murky water or an attic filled with cobwebs. Along with this, the score music clues you in so you know that something is going to happen. It's kind of mood-killing. In order to scare the audience, the scenes should be unpredictable. Horrifying sound effects, especially, should be forbidden since they're obviously the messengers of scary incidents.
Besides, unfortunately, I watched the movie with an obnoxious audience where people were screaming, "No! No! Don't open that door, you stupid girl. You're going to be killed. Hahaha!" In addition to this, a friend of mine commented: "This woman kills via burping. That's funny." (Note: The murderer spirit makes a weird sound that sounds like burping. However, in my view, it has a connection with the way she dies.) The audience's various kinds of noisy attempts to save the actors' lives were pretty mood-killing during the first half. Ok, it's not totally their fault, since we were all sure that something was going to happen after the door opened, but no need to exaggerate. However, the second half was filled with "mostly" unpredictable scary scenes, and the audience was as innocent as a cat that's just swallowed the family parrot.
Some critics have disparaged the movie and accused the director of making films that were too similar to previous ones. In my opinion, this is way too merciless. "The Grudge" tells its story in a non-linear way, which keeps you connected to the movie. Besides, unlike many other films, "The Grudge" assimilates its story properly. If you watch the movie alone and concentrate on the story, I'm sure you're going to jump frequently. All in all, I believe watching this movie will add some spice to your life, which has no doubt been filled with academic stuff lately.
Good luck with your finals! Have a nice holiday and see you all next semester! Have fun and stay cool!
Directing: 1
Acting: 0.5
Editing: 1
Visual Effects: 0.5
Story: 0.5

Atilla Karakurum (IE/IV)