Hey folks, Harry here... the headline is slightly misleading, Albert here only has a grudge against THE GRUDGE's ending. Otherwise, it looks like Buffy and the rest of the cast did a good job in this remake, and the cg seems to have been used correctly. Here ya go..
Hi Harry!
Last night I saw THE GRUDGE in NYC. Luckily enough, earlier this year, JU-ON was released in a few theaters here (God bless the Angelika!) and I was able to see the original before the remake. After sitting through the most terrifying movie experience of my life, I thought there would be no way America could do the film justice. Remakes invariably suck (THE VANISHING and THE RING being two classic examples) and it’s a shame more audiences aren’t willing to read while watching a film (unless it’s Jesus Christ getting the fuck beat out of him). My initial feelings regarding the remake were assuaged when I learned that the JU-ON director would also be helming the remake. This didn’t help THE VANISHING, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.
My main problem with the film, which is very scary and a blessing with the recent horror films hitting the big screen, is the ending. Without getting into spoilers, fans of the original will be slightly disappointed with the tweaks to the ending. The film does the original justice throughout, so it perplexed me why they wouldn’t leave things alone.
The basics, for those of you who don’t know, are simple. When somebody dies in a state of rage, a curse is left behind that will exact vengeance on anyone who crosses it. The best part of this is, innocence be damned. Buffy (who is a damn fine actress, but I don’t get the people who call her attractive – her nose is seriously fucked up) plays a social worker living in Tokyo who is assigned a case at a home where we come to find out the grudge exists. A freaky looking old woman is the home’s resident, and some strange shit goes down during the visit.
I don’t know the budget for JU-ON, but that film’s CGI moments were actually pretty good. However, things look more polished in this film. Specifically the shadow monster. At least Hollywood, if nothing else, can provide a quality budget to their remakes.
After this visit, we shift to another story, connected to the house and its grudge. We will come back to SMG, but I appreciated the fact that Hollywood left the non-linear structure of the original intact. For those unfamiliar with the original, THE GRUDGE is really a series of inter-connected vignettes involving the house and the tragedies that befall everyone who are confronted with the grudge.
The entire cast of the remake is strong, with the lone exception of Jason Behr, who I’ve never liked in anything, including ROSWELL.
I didn’t want to give any of the scares away, but I promise horror fans will like this film (although I do recommend checking out JU-ON instead). I don’t know why, but little Japanese kids with big, dark eyes, are always good for a scare. I wonder how parents over there cope! And be on the lookout for a much scarier version of the Linda Blair spider-walk.
If you want to use this, call me Albert Markovski.
