The Grudge

Takashi Shimizu 2004

As the age certificate for this film came on screen, I leaned over and whispered to my boyfriend “It can’t be that scary it's only a 15”, I believe that’s what they call famous last words. Within ten minutes I was jumping in my seat and hiding my eyes with the rest of the audience.

A powerful supernatural curse surrounds a house with a horrific past, killing anyone who comes in contact with the property. And the bloody Estate Agent never mentions a word!

Are Americans so lazy that they have to have films remade so they don’t have to read subtitles? Well yes it would seem so. Directed by Takashi Shimizu, who wrote the screenplay and directed the original series of films (which although I haven’t seen its easy to guess they were better) this film suffers from one main drawback…bland American actors. Bless Sarah Michelle Geller’s tiny cotton socks because she tries very hard but she just seems too glossy to be in genuine danger, I mean Buffy has faced some pretty tough adversaries, so a few pissed off ghosts are easy in comparison. And as for Jason Behr, I really can’t remember seeing someone so dull onscreen in a long time…chiseled good looks, designer stubble, zero personality. On the other hand the brilliant Clea DuVall is woefully under used as always.

Insipid Americans aside, this film is scary and you can tell the director takes great pleasure in building the fear, delivering the scares but never really letting you get comfortable. Its cinematic fact that little kids and cats are creepy and here both are used to great effect.

For me “The Grudge” proved that Japanese horror is something almost magical in its effectiveness, it also proves that Americans should learn to read subtitles because their remakes just never really work.