Alright, I guess we’re doing this again. You might remember The Grudge from 2004, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. You might even be aware that that movie is a remake of a Japanese movie. You probably think that’s it. You would be wrong. This is the fourth American Grudge movie and there are eight (fucking eight!) Japanese Grudge movies plus a Grudge vs. Ring movie, which is basically the Japanese equivalent of Freddy vs. Jason. For those that only vaguely remember the 2004 movie, this will likely seem like a repetitive waste of time. For those (like me) that have seen every one of these goddamn things, this will definitely seem like a waste of fucking time.
This is not a remake of the 2004 movie, nor is it exactly a sequel. I assure you, though, that it contributes nothing to the overall story. We begin in Japan in 2004 and meet a girl that worked at the same house that was featured in the Sarah Michelle Gellar movie. I’m not sure why she didn’t exist previously in the 2004 movie since the events should be overlapping, but fuck it. Anyway, she comes back home to the United States and brings the curse with her. After her family is killed, her house (and anyone that enters it) is haunted by the grudge. If you have seen any of the previous movies, you know how this will go at this point.
I should say that I just don’t like this series. The early Japanese films at least have a sense of dread and foreboding atmosphere, but they never really did much for me for a couple of reasons. First, I never understood why the Japanese seem to be terrified of damp, long-haired brunette women. Seriously, watch a bunch of Japanese horror movies. If you spray a brunette with a hose, everyone in Japan will shit their pants in terror. Second, the Grudge films are (almost) always told in a non-linear fashion with connecting vignettes (think Pulp Fiction). A horror story doesn’t usually work when told in this fashion because it isn’t building toward anything; it is difficult to build suspense when the movie ends in the middle of the story.
This latest entry suffers from both of those problems, to varying degrees. The evil brunette imagery sometimes appears (for no particular reason), but is quickly replaced with generic-looking ghosts. The non-linear structure is also back, not only bringing back the lack of suspense but also emphasizing another serious problem with this series: It’s repetitive as hell. Somebody goes into the house and is haunted by a ghost, they interact with somebody else that goes into the house and is haunted by the ghost, and on and on and fucking on. Horror series are built on repetition, sure, but this formula just bores the shit out of me. Although this is an R-rated entry in a usually PG-13 series, it is still entirely reliant on jump scares, and poorly-staged jump scares at that. If you have seen more than one horror film in your life, you can tell where the scary face will jump out of the shadows from a mile away. The R-rating is a soft one and basically comes from some shitty computer-generated blood. Yippee.
I spent much of the running time wondering who exactly this movie was made for. It doesn’t reference the events of the prior 2004 movie (or the Japanese movies), but seems to be taking place in the same universe and at the same time as the 2004 movie. Yet, despite the implied connection, the stories of the two movies aren’t linked except for the brief glimpse of the house in the beginning. The movie seems to assume that audiences will get the connection, and even seems to assume that audiences know the backstory of the series, but then does nothing with that connection. It’s a sequel that doesn’t acknowledge the previous movie(s) but also doesn’t provide enough explanation to stand on its own. It’s almost bold in its quest to be nothing in particular. It doesn’t add to the prior movies, it doesn’t retcon the previous movies, it just does nothing. One must seriously strive to write something that inconsequential.
The only saving grace here is the surprisingly strong cast. Featuring the likes of Demián Bichir, Lin Shaye, John Cho and the great William Sadler, the performances elevate the film above the level of a typical January horror movie. These people are genuinely trying, and that made me kind of sad. I’m not familiar with lead actress Andrea Riseborough, but man is she trying to do the best she can with this script. Her performance feels like she is auditioning for the next season of Fargo or whatever else will get her out of having to do The Grudge 2. These people deserve better than this.
This movie received a rare F audience score, which I actually find surprising. For one thing, it’s not nearly as bad as Black Christmas or The Curse of La Llorona, as far as recent horror movies go. Additionally, the (surprisingly large) audience that I was absolutely loved it. These people seemed determined that this would be the scariest movie that they would ever see and literally started screaming during the Ghost House Pictures logo before the movie started. They then continued screaming for most of the movie’s duration. A door opens? Screaming. A shadow moves? Screaming. I think that The Grudge is a bland, forgettable entry in a series that has worn out its welcome, but apparently it is the second coming of The Exorcist for everyone that was in the audience with me that night. Those people are morons. Don’t be like those people and don’t bother with this.
Image By: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/The_Grudge_2020_Poster.jpeg
