The Grudge (2004)

Very disappointing...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

First off, at the beginning, no girl would pursue a noise upstairs, much less to the ATTIC, by herself when there shouldn't be anybody up there. After the blond was haunted at the office so late at night, she wouldn't take a cab just back to her place; she'd want to be with someone. She'd want to stay out in public. Especially when she's ultimately creeped out after the phonecall, the last thing she'd want to do is lock herself up in her place by herself. And of course, in the whole building, even late at night, she doesn't run into anybody.

'The Grudge' isn't the best horror film and it isn't the scariest either, but there's something about it that always manages to get to me. From the very first scene, which is appropriately bizarre, to the last, 'The Grudge' is a very creepy movie and I can't quite put my finger on why.It is successfully unnerving partly due to the eerie and tense atmosphere that surround the whole story. There are a few jump scares but nothing that will scare the average horror fan, but it does have the ability to make you feel uneasy and does a good job at building and maintaining tension.'The Grudge' is nothing special or new and there are certainly scarier horror films out there, but it does have the ability to put the viewer on edge every now and then. I've seen it several times and it still creeps me out.

This movie is the Western remake of a Japanese horror film based on the idea that a powerful curse appears in a place where someone full of rage dies violently, and that curse can destroy everything around. This is what happened in a certain house in a residential neighborhood of Tokyo, where there are mysterious deaths happening. After a visit, the young American Karen Davis begins to feel haunted and will research the history of the house, in search of a way to ward off the evil that pursues her. Directed by Takashi Shimizu, this film is different from almost everything I've seen in horror: what frightens us is the depth of the permanent tension felt throughout the film. Okay, I've never seen the original so I cannot see how close it is, but it did not fail to impress me. The script is good, the story is interesting and make me remember of "The Ring", with all the focus on investigating that dark history. Sarah Michelle Gellar is the protagonist, but she does not make a particularly interesting performance, like none of the actors. Despite this, it's a worth watching horror movie.

I am only giving this a 2 out of 10 because I did get at least some laughs out of it. Otherwise it would be a 1! I watched this with my hubby and 13 year old daughter, having heard from a couple friends that it was scary. We all like scary, and it was rated PG-13 so okay to watch with our child. Frankly, after watching it, PG would've been a fine rating. As a "scary" movie, it fails to meet any criteria thereof. Slow moving, no suspense, and the ghosts are more hilarious than scary. My 13 year old was even bored, and kept pointing out the holes in the plot, which were like Swiss cheese. The only reason we didn't turn it off midway is that we all hoped it would pick up and get better. It didn't, right down to the oh so predictable ending. My daughter's final comment: "how lame". Couldn't have said it better myself!