The Grudge feat. SM Gellar, T Raimi, B Pullman, Y Ozeki (The creepiest child alive!)

Prior to beginning the review, I have to say that this movie once again proves Japan's mastery of economy and efficiency over Americans. This year, for Halloween, Japanese families don't need to buy a single thing for costumes. They merely have to give their young sons bowl-haircuts and stand them on someone's porch, ring the doorbell, and run. When the unsuspecting house dweller opens the door, the kid only needs to stare at them, eyes wide open, and say nothing. If the person has seen The Grudge, chances are they will be throwing candy, their wallets, some curses, and anything they can think of to get the Hellspawn off their porch.

This movie is a remake of Takashi Shimizu's Japanese film Ju-On (low budget, but equally creepy) with much better effects. It's nice to see Hollywood throw money at a project and not get in the way of a director's vision. The movie does have some faults, and leaves some loose ends that aren't nicely tied up. But that's not what this movie is intended to do. It's intended to unsettle you and scare the crap out of you, and at the sold out show I attended, it succeeded with flying colors.

The story has multiple arcs centering around an innocuous house in the Japanese burbs. But of course, something awful has happened here. The presence of the evil committed lingers on and assaults anyone who dares to cross the threshold of the house. Think of it as The Sixth Sense without the comforting ending. This version does rely on jump scares a little too often (but what the Hell, they work, and they're very creepy). Ju-On was at its best when it ignored American horror rules. Just because the ghost is in the room, the music doesn't have to change, the bimbo passing through the room doesn't even have to notice the presence. The Grudge brings some of these moments back, but leans heavily on the old "...did I hear a noise upstairs? Should I get help, or just take my cigarette lighter upstairs into the drafty attic to investigate?" scene. Much of the back story seems hastily filled in. This movie didn't creep me out quite as much as Ringu, but it was plenty creepy.

Judging by the trailers before the film, Hollywood is now in love with Japanese-style horror, and frankly it's about damn time. I don't know what exactly goes on in the psyche of the collective population in Japan, but if one were to judge a nation on its horror films, one would say that America loves breast implants and latex gore, where as Japan loves... well, Japan is just plain F'ed up. If you love being scared, see this film. And then, as I did, you will leave evil messages on people's machines consisting of nothing more than a throat gargle... yes. Throat gargle. The most evil sound of 2004.
Four & 1/2 out of Five stars