The Grudge: "Here it comes...get ready...almost...

[Downhome 0]

"It's coming...wait for it...I promise...get ready...any second now...here is the cue...and...BOO!"

 

If you want to experience this film you only need to do two things. First watch the trailer, then read the above sentence. Did ya do that? You did? Well, congrats, that's all this movie is. One big long ass cheap scare, a scare that you almost always expect, and always know when it's coming. I couldn't even get caught up in it, because I was always ready for whatever was about to happen.

 

Don't get me wrong, and if you know me you know that I love horror films, but this isn't the "good" kind of scares. Everything in this film is expected. You know exactly what is going to happen, before it even happens, and the film itself doesn't even think about playing games with you. Before everything that could even remotely freak you out, you KNOW you are about to see a weird face, something flash by, or whatever other cliche they can come up with.

 

You see, before every scare in this film, there is a lead into it using screeching violins. Very, very loud screeching violins, or some sort of cliche music. It builds, and builds, and right when it climaxes you know that someone is about to jump out of the shadows and go "BOO!".

 

I do not like that.

 

I am a sucker for cheap scares like that at times, many films do it right. But when it's done right, the scares like that come out of nowhere. They'll build up to it, then not actually have anything happen. Then when all seems cool, when all seems normal once again, then wham, you get scared, that's when it works. It does nothing for me when you have the director there holding your hand basically going "it'll be ok, don't worry, sure it'll be freaky but I'm right here to let you know exactly when the bad thing will come".

 

That's what I came away from this film thinking overall, just horribly cheap scares.

 

Then you have the trailer, which pretty much showcases most of the scares in the film. I'm not really joking about that either. Just about everything that it meant to freak you out in the film is in the trailer.

 

The acting was stiff, I didn't care about any of the characters because they didn't actually take time to tell the story of anyone involved, which only leads you down the path of not giving a shit when someone gets knocked off. It's just, ok, that dude just got killed, gotcha. Not that I care about this aspect though, but there is pretty much no actual gore showcased either. It leaves almost everything like that up to you and your imagination. That's fine in some films, but here they don't really give you much to work with to even get your own imagination going, so in the end that's all in vain also.

 

They also pretty much don't explain anything at all about the plot until right near the end. You see weird things going on, but it means next to nothing simply because you have no foundation or roots on which to build anything in your mind which could even explain anything. It starts up and weird things happen. A little while later something weird happens again, you get the big boo, weird stuff again, and then another boo or two. I may be in the minority, but without any hint of what is going on, without anything at all, all of this weird stuff is just that...just weird shit that you see taking place. It means nothing to you at all, therefore I couldn't care about any of it.

 

Also, and I'm sure that anyone who sees it can say the same thing, it feels like there was a TON of scenes that were left on the cutting room floor. I wont get into specifics, but there had to have been minutes on top of minutes of film which were deleted, there had to have been.

 

All of that said, yes there are some creepy scenes. Yes it would be a good flick to take a gal out to see just to see her act all crazy and scared, and yes it "looks" good visually. But if you are going because you want to see a good, well made, horror film then you are out of luck.

 

The plot even leaves a lot to be desired even after it's explained, and the entire ending sequence is just one huge cliche that almost made me want to puke.

 

This film has no heart, no desire, and no true ability to present any sort of horror. It felt like a horror film for beginners more than anything else, and that is just sad.

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOO!

[Guest cpac]

Downhome you should checkout Saw. It's not that much of a horror film but a decent psycho killer film with gore and a good story and turns.

[Downhome 0]

I plan on checking it out as soon as it opens in my area.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I knew this movie was going to be horrible just by looking at it and going, "Hey it looks like they've started making The Ring ripoffs already". Thank god my fears were confirmed (and I usually take Downhome's opinion in good stride, we seem to have pretty similar tastes)

 

As for Saw, when I first saw the trailer, I thought it was a movie version of the game Manhunt for a bit until it went a bit deeper into the storyline. I was kinda disappointed, but now at least it gets me wondering.

[Anya 0]

But SMG is in it. I have some desire to see it because of that.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I'll probably see it today or tomorrow...and the Ring was a severly overrated movie.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Saw "The Grudge" last night, and I'll have to give it **1/2 out of ****. There are some great moments in it, but eventually, the scares start to become predictable (as in you know when they're going to happen) and in the end, the film feels more like a series of "jump" scares than an actual movie. Granted, I do enjoy horror films that don't make a whole lot of sense, but this one was something of a mixed bag for me.

[1234-5678 0]

I may go see it, not sure yet. Might just wait for "Ring 2".

 

The trailer is up

[Vyce 0]

You know, I'd probably have to go with **1/2 stars as well. It was decent enough for what it was, but overall I was disappointed seeing as this was a remake of a film that some have proclaimed to be "scarier than Ringu".

 

I haven't seen ANY of the Japanese versions, so maybe they're better, but overall the film could have been a great deal better than it was.

[Guest OSIcon]

There are some great moments in it, but eventually, the scares start to become predictable (as in you know when they're going to happen) and in the end, the film feels more like a series of "jump" scares than an actual movie.

 

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on it. Only a couple of "scares" really came out of nowhere, while all the rest were built in a way that made them predictable. It wasn't a bad scary movie or anything, it just wasn't anywhere near the hype it was given.

[Guest Reservoir_Kitty]

As soon as I heard the commercial proclaiming that the Grudge was scarier than the Ring, I immediately gave up hope and decided to skip the Grudge. The Ring was god-awful and I'm thankful that I stopped myself from making a seven dollar mistake in seeing the Grudge.. I'm saving my pennies for Saw. *drool*

[Yuna_Firerose 0]

Then you have the trailer, which pretty much showcases most of the scares in the film. I'm not really joking about that either. Just about everything that it meant to freak you out in the film is in the trailer.

I hate trailers that do that... Secret Window's full trailer was the same way with all the major plot points.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Funny thing is, I don't even think the original was that great. Personally, I think "Suicide Circle" and "Audition" (which will really fuck you up if you see it) are far better examples of Japanese horror. Films like "Ju-On: The Grudge" and it's

American remake can creep you out at times, but they fail at being truly terrifying horror, IMO.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Reminds me too much of the Ring, think I'll pass.

[dubq 0]

Saw the remake on Friday. Aside from having a theatre [Varsity in Toronto] full of idiots [and I do mean idiots] The Grudge was pretty meh... Though, what can you expect when they had to cut it down to meet the PG rating standards. Hopefully the DVD will be a full-on director's cut, because I'm sure that Shimizu hadn't meant it to end up like that!

[2GOLD 0]

That film was...just freaking THERE!

 

God, can Hollywood MAKE a movie that doesn't just make me go, "it was...there"?

[dubq 0]

Exactly. There were a few jumps here and there, but otherwise it was very mediocre. I seriously hope there's an unrated director's cut in the works.

[Guest M. Harry Smilac]

The original wasn't perfect but still good.Not a great movie overall like the original ring but it did provide scares for most of the movie.

 

 

They always seem to make one major change that fucks up these remakes.In The Ring remake it was the absolute crap with the horses.In The Grudge it seems they took out the title cards for each character that make the movie easier to follow which makes no sense when they usually dumb these things down for Hollywood.

[dubq 0]

Yeah, there were quite a few ppl in the theatre who didn't get that portions of the movie were happening before the stuff they just saw. =\

[Special K 0]

Suicide Circle/Miike films are not horror, though they are horrific. They are exploitation movies. Is Riki-Oh Horror? no.

 

For the last time: the long haired pale woman is a common image for ghosts in Japanese folklore.

 

Whoops, by Miike films I meant Ichi and Dead or Alive. Audition is certainly horror.

[dubq 0]

Suicide Circle/Miike films are not horror, though they are horrific. They are exploitation movies. Is Riki-Oh Horror? no.

 

For the last time: the long haired pale woman is a common image for ghosts in Japanese folklore.

 

Whoops, by Miike films I meant Ichi and Dead or Alive. Audition is certainly horror.

I'd label Audition more as a suspense/thriller than a horror.

[Special K 0]

Well, yeah. But the lines are blurred. I usually consider silence of the lambs horror. On the other hand, I usually consider Dead/Alive as pretty much straight comedy. There's no horror in it, if you have a strong stomach.

[dubq 0]

Well, yeah. But the lines are blurred. I usually consider silence of the lambs horror. On the other hand, I usually consider Dead/Alive as pretty much straight comedy. There's no horror in it, if you have a strong stomach.

I agree there, Dead or Alive is definitely not a horror flick. More action if anything. And Happiness of the Katakuris is fucking hilarious. I love how Miike can take on any genre of film and kick all kinds of ass. You seen Zebraman yet? COMEDY GOLD!

[Guest M. Harry Smilac]

Well, yeah. But the lines are blurred. I usually consider silence of the lambs horror. On the other hand, I usually consider Dead/Alive as pretty much straight comedy. There's no horror in it, if you have a strong stomach.

I agree there, Dead or Alive is definitely not a horror flick. More action if anything. And Happiness of the Katakuris is fucking hilarious. I love how Miike can take on any genre of film and kick all kinds of ass. You seen Zebraman yet? COMEDY GOLD!

I think he meant Dead Alive the Peter Jackson flick.Which I agree is pure comedy.

Zebraman was alot of fun.

 

I think of Audition as more of a drama with a horror ending.

 

 

If ppl didn't like The Grudge wait till the Dark Water remake comes out.75 minutes of staring at a water stain in the ceiling getting bigger followed by a 15 minute scarey ending.

[dubq 0]

The book that Dark Water is based on is a lot better - which is usually the case for movies based on books. It just seems like, with the movie, they tried too hard to make the water eerie. Didn't work out very well, IMO. I'm sure the remake will have to be severely tweaked for NA audiences.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

Suicide Circle/Miike films are not horror, though they are horrific. They are exploitation movies. Is Riki-Oh Horror? no.

 

For the last time: the long haired pale woman is a common image for ghosts in Japanese folklore.

 

Whoops, by Miike films I meant Ichi and Dead or Alive. Audition is certainly horror.

Actually, one of the things that seperates the original Ju-On(video version) from alot of the new wave Japanese Horror moves is that they didn't take that route with the ghost. Unlike Ringu, her face is not hidden behind long hair and is almost always revealed.

[Guest Anglesault]

I saw it last night with a group of people, doing the ol' Hey, how great would it be to see a horror movie on Halloween? thing.

 

I'll say this much, it wasn't terrible, and I guess it served it's purpose.

 

I went into this movie more or less knowing what it was, and how I would/should react. I can sit pretty still throughout a slasher flick, but when things just jump out at you, even when I expect them, can scare the shit out of me. That being said, by the end of the movie, I let out with a very audible "Oh this is getting fucking stupid"

 

And the plot, holy crap. I could almost handle all the hopping back and such. It'd be nice if they let you know what was going on, but you can figure it out.

 

But I actually turned to the girl next to me and asked "does it feel like we've been sitting here for a long time without any kind of plot being developed at all? How the hell long is this movie?"

 

And then to find out that there were ten god damn minutes left and we hadn't learned the who, what, why and how for ANYTHING?

[Youth N Asia 0]

The Grudge sucked. Throughout the entire movie it just felt like the Ring. There were no scares either. You saw everything that was about to attack, where was the shock in that?

I was very bored with the movie. And how does SMG get top billing over the title, when she doesn't even seem to be in it that much.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Wow. I saw it Saturday and liked it a lot. *runs and hides under blanket...*