The Grudge (2004)

An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.

Director:

Takashi Shimizu

Writers:

Stephen Susco (screenplay), Takashi Shimizu (film "Ju-On: The Grudge")

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Karen
Jason Behr	...	Doug
William Mapother	...	Matthew
Clea DuVall	...	Jennifer
KaDee Strickland	...	Susan
Grace Zabriskie	...	Emma
Bill Pullman	...	Peter
Rosa Blasi	...	Maria
Ted Raimi	...	Alex
Ryo Ishibashi	...	Nakagawa
Yôko Maki	...	Yoko
Yuya Ozeki	...	Toshio
Takako Fuji	...	Kayako
Takashi Matsuyama	...	Takeo
Hiroshi Matsunaga	...	Igarashi

Storyline

Karen Davis is an American Nurse moves to Tokyo and encounter a supernatural spirit who is vengeful and often possesses its victims. A series of horrifying and mysterious deaths start to occur, with the spirit passing its curse onto each victim. Karen must now find away to break this spell, before she becomes its next victim.

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Plot Keywords:

Curse | American | Japan | Rage | Nurse | 

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Taglines:

It never forgives. It never forgets.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, disturbing images/terror/violence, and some sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Official site [ru]

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

22 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled 'Ju-on: The Grudge' Remake

Filming Locations:

Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$28,220 (Chile) (3 March 2006)

Gross:

$352,562 (Chile) (3 March 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Fellah Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 97 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Toshio is almost always found with his cat. In real life, the boy who plays Toshio, Yuya Ozeki, was terrified of cats.

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Goofs

When Susan leaves her apartment when Matthew rings the bell, the door slams shut behind her. When she turns around to go back inside, the door is open.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Maria: Good morning. Peter? Are you OK? You're up early today.

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Connections

Referenced in Oculus: Chapter 3 - The Man with the Plan (2006)
The mirror ghouls are modeled to resemble Kayoko and Toshio, including the Toshio gaping mouth with non-human sounds eminating

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Soundtracks

Soundtrack on Varèse Sarabande

User Reviews

Loses something

This movie definitely loses something in the translation. Unlike "The Ring" which equaled and even improved on the original story in some ways, this one just meanders along in an uninspired fashion.

The original Japanese film, "Ju-on", was pretty incoherent, mostly just a series of set pieces and great chills. The American version, directed by the same filmmaker, has done nothing towards clarifying the muddled story and, aside from the great opening sequences, is just a straight-forward recreation of the same suspenseful sequences that somehow don't play as well. I'd suggest renting the original instead.

5 out of 10.