“The curse is about to claim another victim.” Synopsis: 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.

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Calamity Brains:

This viewing of the Grudge was my first time revisiting the movie since it came out in 2004. I came away fairly pleased; the tense atmosphere I’d remembered held up well, and though the spirit effects were hit or miss, a decent amount of them were hit. Although I didn’t feel like the movie quite did justice to Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s talents, I was happy enough with it that I won’t wait fifteen years to rewatch it again.

Unlike most of the American remakes of successful Japanese horror movies, The Grudge remake is still set in Japan. Most of the cast is Japanese, including the same actors who played the spirit family in the original (Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, Yôko Maki). This is a bit peculiar, but definitely welcomed; the story works best where it was originally set. The stranger-in-a-strange-land feelings of the main character also help keep the tension levels high throughout.

I was particularly pleased that I still found The Grudge to be creepy. It’s a rare thing when movies actually get me on edge, and while this flick didn’t do so throughout, I appreciated that it could creep me out at all.

Calamity Brains’ Rating: B
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