Friday Oct 22nd 2004

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bull Pullman
Directed By: Takashi Shimizu 
Rating: PG-13


I wanted to like this movie and I tried really hard. While
people around me were laughing at the movie's attempts to scare
them, I sat concentrating on the film. I tried to find some sort of mood
and some reason to care about any of the characters. In the end, I
failed. I recognize that this is a Japanese made movie and they have
different ideas of horror. I also realize that this is a remake with
Western actors for a Western audience. That being said, it seems the
filmmakers didn't catch onā For one thing, I shouldn't have
to do readings beforehand to be entertained by the movie. Many have
compared it to The Ring, I'm not going to dwell on it, but I will
simply say, The Ring scared the crap out of me, this didn't. If
you're huge into Japanese culture, then go for it, this might be for
you.

Our heroin Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is an American exchange
student who came to Japan with her boyfriend Doug (Jason Behr) so that
he could study architecture. She apparently is taking some courses too
(although any insight into the lead character's life is purely
optional and the movie didn't feel like burdening us with that
knowledge) Whatever she's studying, she needs some health credits so
she volunteers to take care of sick people in their homes (There is a
riveting scene where she does some vacuuming, will the vacuum suck up
the wad of paper? Will the cord reach all the way across the room?!) 

'The Grudge', as it isn't called anywhere in the film, is held by 
a young Japanese lady and her son (and apparently the cat) who were all
killed by the lady's husband after he found out that she had a secret
crush on an American professor named Peter (played by Bill Pullman). 
The husband then hangs himself and the curse is set, who ever enters the
house will be hunted down and killed¦ by the dead wife or the creepy 
cat-son creature. Of course, that's about all we know about them, if
you were looking for some deeper meaning or some true form of evil well, 
maybe you'll have to do those readings I mentioned, or wait for sequel. 

This movie leaves you with many questions... Motivation is one,
why did the husband kill the boy and the cat? Why did he kill anyone? Is
that normal in Japan? (Man, those poor guys are repressed!) Also, why
with so many horrors in the world, would such an evil (and otherwise
cool) curse be set just because of a double murder suicide?  Can you
imagine that in any major US city? "Don't go down that block, a
crack head ghost will hunt you down and kill you." Also - why is the
dead son part cat?

The really tragic part of this movie is that the acting was fine. 
Sarah Michelle Gellar, whom I've never particularly cared for, actually
did a great job. I empathized with her even though they movie didn't
bother to give me a reason. Also, Yuya Ozeki - Toshio the young
boycat (who also plays Toshio in Japanese version of this film: Ju-on:
The Grudge and Ju-on: The Grudge 2: Electric Boogaloo), is very creepy,
I think the movie would have went much farther if they had just had Yuya
play the role and leave off all of the CGI animation. (Maybe spent some
of that money on an interesting plot...) I think the editing hurt this
movie more than it helped. The editors tried to get clever and
interspersed the back story in with the real story, the result of this
was that the viewer was off balance, which in horror films is good, but
the viewer is also confused and angry and that's not so good... All
of the sudden people who we know are dead are walking around -
There's no transition, and the key, there's no particular rhyme
or reason for it. I's as if someone decided "Well we need some
back story now, let's slap scene seven in."

On a positive note, I must say, I have a certain respect for a 
movie that kills off big stars; and I LOVE it when the bad guys win...
Pullman dies in the first scene, that's balls.

The movie certainly doesn't stand alone, I think that's probably
why Ju-on I and II both came out in 2003... If I were to see a poster
for The Grudge II coming next week, or some indication that they were
going to release these back to back, I might be a little more lenient.
But as it stands, I think maybe I'll go read 400 volumes of ancient
Japanese mythology and try again, or at least trying to prep myself for
the next one.

The Grudge opens nationwide on Friday Oct 22 2004

By: David Kerr
Detroit Buzz Staff Film Critic