The Grudge

Based on 2002’s Ju-On: The Grudge, The Grudge follows several figures, including Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Karen and Bill Pullman’s Peter, as they’re individually pursued (and, mostly, knocked off) by a sinister spirit named Kayako (Takako Fuji). Filmmaker Takashi Shimizu effectively kicks The Grudge off with a striking sequence detailing the fate of Pullman’s character, and the movie, past that point, segues into a typically deliberate midsection that does, for the most part, fare better than one might’ve anticipated – with Shimizu, along with scripter Stephen Susco, punctuating the proceedings with a handful of admittedly striking and downright creepy interludes (eg a malevolent spirit pursues a protagonist from work to her apartment). There’s little doubt, too, that The Grudge benefits from a time-shifting structure that doubles back on itself to fill in certain narrative blanks, which does ensure that the storyline’s somewhat repetitive nature never becomes as problematic as one might’ve feared. (And it doesn’t hurt, either, that Shimizu has elicited strong work from an eclectic cast that includes William Mapother, Clea DuVall, and Grace Zabriskie.) It’s disappointing to discover, then, that the picture’s final third drags and spins its wheels to a rather lamentable degree, with the predictable emphasis on a character’s investigation into Kayako’s tragic past certainly not doing the lackluster atmosphere any favors – which, when coupled with a fairly underwhelming finale, cements The Grudge‘s place as a watchable yet erratic Hollywood remake. (The film does, at least, fare better than its tedious prececessor.)

**1/2 out of ****