The Grudge

Great movie, very entertaining, edge of your seat horror!!

This was a fun, well-executed horror movie with solidly disturbing imagery. This is also a convoluted film that may confuse viewers with its time-hopping recipe of 10% prequel, 0% of the advertised reboot, 45% paralleling The Grudge (2004), 40% paralleling The Grudge 2 (2006), and 5% acknowledging The Grudge 3 (2009) timeline. So I’d recommend you watch parts 1 and 2 first.I hope you wanted more ghost-croaking and well-placed jump scares, because that’s what you’re getting! And while better in scares, effects and execution than the original Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (2003), and maybe even passing The Grudge (2004) to reach The Grudge 2 (2006) jumpy-fun quality, this sidequel lacks the clarity in storytelling of its 2004/2006 predecessors. Or does it? At first it may seem to have radically disjunct, piecemeal, timeframe-hopping confusion when actually, like many of the later Saw sequels (parts IV-VI), this “sequel” is best viewed right after freshly seeing The Grudge (2004) and The Grudge 2 (2006).Why? Well, this franchise installment makes basically no effort at all to explain the “rules” of the ghost, the origin of the ghost, why this ghost has “a grudge,” what’s up with the little boy ghost, or why on Earth we’re seeing scenes that take place in two timelines (2004 and 2005) prior to the present (2006). Wait… or was the present 2009? So… how many timelines? See? This gets confusing if your Grudge game isn’t strong.When we see a caretaker leaving Tokyo to return home to Pennsylvania, she mentions Yoko (the caretaker prior to Sarah Michelle Gellar from the 2004 movie). Then we jump to 2006 as Detectives Goodman (Demián Bichir; The Nun, Alien: Covenant, Machete Kills) and Muldoon (Andrea Riseborough; Oblivion, Mandy) come across the scene of the long dead and shockingly decayed body of Lorna Moody (Jacki Weaver; Bird Box, Haunt)—whose 2005 timeline is later explored—and questions the deeply disturbed Faith (Lin Shaye; Critters, Insidious 1-4, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Chillerama). Then we back up again to 2004 and we meet expecting couple Peter (John Cho; Searching, The Exorcist series, Sleepy Hollow series) and Nina Spencer (Betty Gilpin; The Hunt, Stuber, American Gods, GLOW). And what the heck happened to Detective Wilson (William Sadler; Tales from the Crypt S1, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, VFW, Ava’s Possessions) in his great and very creepy cameo? The actors all did great and the atmosphere was consistently unnervingly creepy. But all these disparate stories are just confounding.What’s going on here is that this sequel takes place before and during the events of The Grudge (2004) and The Grudge 2 (2006)… and apparently The Grudge 3 (2009) as well. Yup… This was first advertised as a franchise reboot, but that it most certainly is not. Writer and director Nicolas Pesce (Piercing, The Eyes of My Mother) succeeds in making very engaging and very creepy scenes that pack a mean punch. But the connections to the other two films, while obvious, are also somewhat tenuous. I’d like more direct mentions of some key events or characters to coax me along as to “this is why this is important.” It certainly would have eased my confusion in the first 30-40 minutes of this movie—when I thought I was watching a reboot! But you know what, it’s still pretty entertaining. And again, had I just seen the previous films (right before this), the storytelling would have worked much better.Disturbing and grotesque imagery of self-mutilation and twisted cadavers infested with writhing maggots serve up some eerie surprises. In fact, horrifying dead bodies (like in The Ring, but different) is quite a strong suit in this film. That, and the franchise-typical jump-scare fare.You don’t necessarily need to have seen the Japanese originals (2002, 2003) or even American remakes (2004, 2006) to enjoy this, but it certainly helps to know what’s going on. However, if they are recently familiar to you, then this sequel/sidequel seems to thrive on the foundation built by its forefathers regarding “the rules” of Kayako and the origins of the ghost. And like its predecessors, I’d say this was jumpy but largely empty fun. The film is well-made in many respects, but nothing here is going to resonate for long.

Contains minor spoilers.First and foremost, this is NOT a remake... it's a side story. The people in these reviews calling it a remake are either extremely stupid or reviewed without actually watching the film just because they enjoy being haters.I love the Ju-On and the Grudge franchise. I am an avid lover of canon storytelling and extremely protective over stories that I love. Remakes are not my favorite thing in the world, so I went into this film having low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. This is not a remake, but a side story about another american caregiver who was working in Japan and brought the curse back with her.The acting is good, Lin Shaye is magnificently creepy, and seeing John Cho in this kind of role makes me want to check out more stuff he's been in, since the only things I've seen him in consist of comedy (which he's also very good at).As for the people disappointed that there was no resolution, when was there ever any resolution in this franchise? How do you kill a curse? You DON'T. That's what makes it scary. Enjoy the ride for what it is! This film is able to tell a grudge story without taking anything away from the original, which is the best part.

There's a big difference in today's concept of "scary" and "horror"; this is not a "horror" movie, but it's a terrific "scary" movie. Although there are some pretty gruesome characters that are briefly spotted, and a couple of fairly "horrific" scenes of violence, the overall tone of "The Grudge" is one of true fear...not just blood splatter and gore. The suspense is pervasive, almost from the beginning of the movie right up until the final scene; this movie, however, is much more than the usual shallow "how much gore can we squeeze into 90 minutes" as is so frequently the case in today's idea of the Horror genre. It's not a star-studded cast, but each carries the weight of the role and makes it a great watch. The idea of being haunted/tormented by these malevolent spirits is conveyed to the screen in a very realistic manner, making this movie a pleasure to watch. There were a couple of "holes" in the overall plot that I found difficult to follow (time lapses, etc) but that may have been because I momentarily stopped to play "Words With Friends" on my phone instead of staying riveted to the storyline. Overall, this was a terrific movie for those who genuinely love a good "scary" movie. It *might* satisfy a craving for those who are looking for scares along with ghastly beings, but if you're looking for a lot of gore and blood, you probably won't enjoy this one. True scare fans, however, owe this one a look.

Wow I almost didn't buy this because of the bad reviews but since I have ju-on and grudge 1-3 I had to have it. I am so glad I did because it is AWESOME. Bravo Sam Raimi you've done it again.I thought watching it that the people who gave it a bad review must have been watching different movie.It is scary, there are a few jump in your seat moments.It is Not a remake to is another chapter in the franchise.I'm glad they kept it in America since they brought it here it makes sense to keep it here.I did miss the hair and the creepy noise that grudge fans have learned to love so much.I know that the, " horror pseudo intellectuals", think only the original "Ju - On" has any merit but I love all of the grudge movies, including this one, and hope there are more to come.So I say watch this one and decide for yourself if it's good or bad. I have purchased a lot of bad horror movies and this is not one of them.I hardly ever give anything 5 stars but this deserves it.

I bought for my partner. He said the movie is so so. (I don’t watch many horror movies). But most important to me is that it was playable and the DVD was as in good condition.

definitely watch if you love gore or urban legends,this was really scary and a 10/10😭

Exactly as shown.

Nach langem Zögern habe ich mich nun doch entschieden, den neuesten Beitrag zum JUON Universum zu gucken ... und ich muss sagen, das war gar nicht schlecht! Aufgrund der extrem schlechten Kritiken habe ich quasi nichts erwartet und wurde mit einem mysteriösen Thriller überrascht! Ich kenne alle JUON - The Grudge Filme, sowohl die asiatischen Originale sowie die US Remakes etc. Es stimmt, dieser Film schlägt stimmungstechnisch in eine ganz andere Kerbe. Von Langeweile ist in den 94 Minuten aber keine Rede. Die zeitlich versetzten Handlungsstränge sind klar von einander zu unterscheiden und die durchwegs aus Film und Serien bekannten Schauspieler machen einen sehr guten Job. Die Jump-Scares sind gelungen und die Effekte richtig schön krass! Ich schaue mir wirklich viele Horrorfilme an, auch richtig schlechte, aber dazu gehört THE GRUDGE bei weitem nicht. Ich freue mich, dass ich den Kauf nicht bereuen muss und mache Unentschlossenen, wie ich es einer war, Mut zum gruseln :)

J'ai été déçu!! C'est comme une suite de la trilogie mais sans punch !!