The Grudge (Yahoo! Movies) was the second of my double-viewing on Monday afternoon. It stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and features Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, KaDee Strickland, Grace Zabriskie, Bill Pullman, Rosa Blasi, Ted Raimi, Ryo Ishibashi, and Yoko Maki. Directed by Takashi Shimizu and produced by Sam Raimi.
Generic Yahoo! Plot Summary:
The Grudge is the curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural curse die and a new one is born, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror.More specific IMDB Plot Summary:
Kare Davis (SMG) is a woman residing in Japan with her boyfriend, who is studying abroad. Temporarily assigned to be caretaker for a woman (Grace Zabriskie) with severe sleeping conditions, Kare goes to an unsuspecting house. But what she finds, is something she would never expect. The house is plagued by the presence of murderous ghosts, the result of a curse. The curse is born from someone dying in a powerful rage. Now, Kare finds herself being tormented by that curse, as it eventually starts claiming it's victims.Here's the deal. If you ignore some of the minor (imo) plot holes and just soak in the unnerving atmosphere and creepy vibe, it's an okay-to-sub-par horror flick. However, overall, it's tripe. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the vibe and how I absolutely loathed the two, but the movie itself isn't very good. The plot-continuity leaves a lot to be desired as does the acting and order of scenes presented. (E.g. You're shown Gellar, the house post-some killings, then shown the killings, then shown other ones, then it goes back to Gellar... Not linear by any means and certainly not intuitive.)
Apparently this was an American, bastardized version of a hit Japanese film. Supposedly, the original Japanese movie is good or maybe great. But this p.o.s. that I saw just reeks. I recommend you avoid it at all costs. Not worth the money, not worth your time, not worth the ink this is written in. Heck, I'm a fan of SMG (Go Buffy!) and she wasn't even close to being enough to make this movie worthwhile. Really, avoid it like the plague.
ALAN'S MOVIE RATING: Won't see again for the rest of my life if I can possibly help it.