I’m guilty of never seeing the original (Juon: The Grudge), but something tells me it has to be better than the American remake. Not that the American remake was bad, because it wasn’t at all, but it was nothing special in my opinion.
“The Grudge” is based on the original Japanese hit. The remake I’m guessing is not much different at all based on the trailer and stills I’ve seen of the original. The film has an unsettling atmosphere from the very beginning to the very end. There are plenty of jumps and scares, I did jump about once or twice but my girlfriend who was sitting next to me was jumping and hiding her eyes at almost every scene where the music got loud and the mood got dark. Also as I was leaving the theater many people said it was one of the scariest films they ever saw. Well if your like me, it’s a walk in the park, it had it’s great spooky mood and settings. The production value really pushed the unsettling images along. But it was not a film that hardcore horror fans are going to really be scared by.
I found the acting to be pretty decent, Sarah Michelle Gellar whom I never really ever thought belonged in a horror film did a decent job with her part as the lead, I found Ted Raimi to be really great as her boss, and Bill Pullman although in a small role was great as usual. The acting over all is good, and the directing is good as well.
The plot and script were ok, you can see that there is a lot of Japanese influence in the film, but the plot was “made up” for an American audience and to play as a part to our culture. It had a lost in translation theme going. To me it was just another ghost story with more of a cultural edge to feed to an American audience.
Overall, The Grudge is a decent flick, but is probably worth waiting for it to come out on DVD rather than going to the theater to see it.
-Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
