The Grudge

This movie is so boring that I barely made it to 30 mins and I had to pause three times because simply I couldnt take it. In those 30 mins, I still couldnt find any interest to keep going.

My boyfriend had never seen this movie! Glad we rented it.

I finally got around to watching this in 2013. I had wanted to for quite some time since I keep hearing that If you liked The Ring then you will love this. Many even say it is better than The Ring. In my opinion, that is not the case. Not by a long shot. Seems the only real point of comparison between the two is that they both have creepy kids as their ghosts. While it is by no means boring it is kind of senseless and poorly paced. Sarah Michelle Gellar did a fine job in a role which had so little screen time in the film that I wonder why bother at all? Worse still is Bill Pullman... sorry no spoilers here. Anyway, a little creepy here and there with some slow plot revelation that didnt do much for me.

My mother rented this movie when it first came out, this was when I was pretty young so I didnt get the chance to see it. She said it was one of creepiest movies shes ever seen. Now that Im older I went ahead and bought it and Im very glad I did! It was indeed creepy. Its one of those movies that will keep you on the edge of your seat. You also have to play very close attention because there is always something going on, even if its in the background. It definitely made me jump. So I would recommend this film if your into these types of movies. Although I will say its not the scariest movie Ive ever seen, but thats just my opinion and everyones different. I dont want to go too much into detail and reveal too much about it so you can be surprised and see for yourself! You really cant go wrong with the price! :)

Slight damage to the casing, but overall good

Love this movie

If I learned anything from watching The Grudge (2004) last night its that malevolent spirits are very messy, and dont pick up after themselves. Perhaps thats part of their modus operandi...they come into your home, create a huge mess, and then while your attention is focused on cleaning up the place, thats when they choose to scare the heebie jeebies out of you. Well, few things, cinematically speaking, scare the heebie jeebies out of me anymore (real life is infinitely more frightening), but I did think this film was, at the very least, entertaining, and provided some spooky visuals and an interesting and fairly simple story. Co-written and directed by Takashi Shimizu, The Grudge is actually a remake of a Japanese film he did previously titled Ju-on: The Grudge (2003), which I have not seen, so I cant comment or compare without sounding foolish. Appearing in the film is Sarah Michelle Gellar (I Know What You Did Last Summer)...does anyone else find it slightly pretentious to consistently use all three names? But I digress...also appearing is Jason Behr (Dawsons Creek), William Mapother (Lords of Dogtown), Clea DuVall (Identity), KaDee Strickland (Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid), Grace Zabriskie (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me), Ted Raimi (Man with the Screaming Brain), Ryo Ishibashi (Dog Star), and Bill Pullman, the guy who played the President of the United States in Roland Emmerichs bloated and flawed science fiction orgasmofest masterpiece Independence Day (1996)...I rip on Emmerich because I think hes one of the worst kinds of filmmakers (load the movie with costly special effects to hide the fact its lacking in everything else, including an actual story) but in a purely visual sense his films can be fun... The film begins with some text telling us that when a really angry person bites during a fit of unprecedented rage, the negative energies stick around, creating some wickedly awesome bad mojo that waits to glom onto unsuspecting individuals who happen to visit the area, thus consuming their juicy and effervescent life force. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Karen Davis, an exchange student living in Japan with her boyfriend Doug (Behr) whos quite the hunk with his perfectly tousled hair...you know the style, its the one that someone spends two hours and a whole lot of money at the hairdressers for to get that `just woke up look (I get it every morning for free)...anyway, Karen, whos a nurse of sorts, receives an assignment to provide daytime care for a really creepy infirmed elderly woman (Zabriskie) after the mysterious disappearance of the previous caregiver named Yoko...alas, poor Yoko, I knew her not, Horatio, but she was a pretty, young, hello kitty maiden...anyway, Karen arrives at the house, sensing something odd, but goes about performing her chores. Turns out the crazy lady lives with her son (Mapother) and his wife (DuVall), neither of whom return home, prompting Karen to call her boss (Raimi) as she doesnt want to leave the goony old bat alone...but guess what? Theyre not alone...at least not in that house, as it has a violent history, and something was left behind, something in the form of a small, nekkid Japanese boy with a whole lot of eyeliner...and a big mouth...(the evil takes on many forms, but this was the oddest) First of all, does anyone else think William Mapother is kinda creepy? Im not talking about his character, but the man himself...his face is all scrunched up and too small for his head, reminding me of one of those angry midgets from the Phantasm movies...well, I suppose Im no Adonis myself, and hes probably a very kind fellow...as I said before, I enjoyed this film. It sort of reminded me of a Japanese version of The Amityville Horror, but, instead of Satan moving in and causing all sorts of mischief, we have a nondescript evil entity, the result of a past incident of great anger and violence (the Japanese detective referred to it an `emotional stain), indiscriminately preying on unsuspecting visitors who happen to enter the abode. I might be tempted to label this a haunted house story, but thats not entirely true as the malevolent force wasnt confined to the house, but rather latched on to individuals who spent time within the four walls, and subsequently followed them wherever they went until...well, lets just say following them around was by far the least harmful thing it would do...the story was actually pretty simple, but told in a way to make it appear more complicated. What I mean is instead of proceeding on a linear path, the film is edited in such a way that we see past sequences mixed in with scenes of the present, as they story crosses timeline boundaries, weaving three, connected tales into one. This kind of thing can get messed up very easily, but here they kept it clean, orderly, and understandable. The main one involves Sarah Michelle Gellars character, the second involves the family currently residing in the house, and the third features the family that lived in the house three years past, and the ones responsible for all the stuff going on presently. Oddly, there seemed to be less focus on the characters and more on the story itself, which may be a result of cultural differences, Im not sure, but it felt intentional, so I went with it...there are some good scares throughout the film, many the result of something seemingly innocuous in the background coming forth to surprise an unsuspecting audience, along with a few, drawn out sequences designed to create a sense of suspense. The overall effect for me was a permeating sense of unease, as the evil was clinging to the characters, biding its time. Overall I thought the cinematography was really beautiful, and I especially liked those long and foreboding shots, as they developed a real sense of tension. If youre looking for some visceral thrills, youll probably be disappointed as the blood n guts factor is minimal, but in terms of a spooky ghost story, the film does very well. I have only seen the PG-13 version, but there is an R rated directors cut available on DVD, one that features about six or seven minutes of extra footage. The picture on this DVD, presented in widescreen (1.85:1) anamorphic high definition, looks very sharp and clean and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio comes through very well. The PG-13 version that I have has a commentary track with producer Sam Raimi, screenwriter Stephen Susco, actors Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ted Raimi, KaDee Strickland, and Jason Behr, along with a couple of others. It also features a five part, `making of documentary titled `A Powerful Rage, a featurette titled `Under the Skin - A medical explanation of fear response in film, along with trailers, one for this film, along with The Forgotten (2004), Guess Who (2005), Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004), Boogeyman (2005), Riding Giants (2004), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Man of the House (2005), and Mirrormask (2005). The Directors Cut DVD contains a few more extras, so if you are planning on buying this film, keep an eye on which version youre getting, depending on what youre looking for... Cookieman108 By the way, did anyone notice how I got through this entire review without mentioning The Ring (2002)?

but some unconvincing, dull scenes.

Finally I now own the UNRATED EXTENDED CUT of The Grudge from 2004. Ive only ever had the Theatrical PG-13 version in my DVD collection for the LONGEST time until I found this UNRATED DVD Edition which features more disturbing imagery, bloody scenes, and at least an 8 min longer difference from the original PG-13 Cut. Thats the length of a whole short film which is how Extended Cut releases like this one should be! This is a very cool edition of the film to own! Highly recommend!

Great movie