The Grudge
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The Grudge is an American horror/thriller film released in 2004 (see 2004 in film), a remake of the Japanese film ' (2003). It is directed by Takashi Shimizu, who wrote and directed the original film, while Stephen Susco scripted the remake. In the same tradition as the original, the story is told through a non-linear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots. In the 2006 film, Scary Movie 4, The Grudge''' was parodied in many ways.
Plot
The Grudge is the curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural curse die and a new one is born, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror.
The Saeki Family and Peter Kirk
A young Japanese woman, Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji), is unhappy in her marriage to her husband, Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama), and slowly develops an unhealthy obsession with an American college professor, Peter Kirk (Bill Pullman), who is working in Tokyo. Despite the knowledge that he, unlike her, is happily married, Kayako continues to hold a torch for this man that she does not know, and keeps a secret diary which she uses to chronicle her fantasies about him. She stalks him regularly, and even sends him love letters informing him of her feelings. When she returns home one day, she discovers, to her horror, that her husband has read her diary, and knows all about her affection towards the other man. In the grip of a powerful rage, Takeo brutally murders his helpless wife by breaking her neck, and their young son, Toshio (Yuya Ozeki), by drowning him along with his beloved pet cat. Upon arrival at the Saeki residence, Peter finds Toshio seemingly alive but bruised and shaken, and then discovers Kayako's body stuffed into a crawlspace in the attic upstairs. He instantly leaves the house in a state of shock. The next morning, in front of his wife, Maria (Rosa Blasi), he commits suicide by jumping off the balcony just outside his apartment.The Williams Family
After he is given a promotion by his superiors, Matthew Williams (William Mapother) moves to Tokyo, and takes his wife, Jennifer (Clea DuVall) with him, along with his slightly ailing mother, Emma (Grace Zabriskie). Matthew's sister, Susan (KaDee Strickland), who has been living in the city for some time, helps them in their search to pick out their new home. Matthew, Jennifer, and Susan decide on a house located in the suburbs, although Emma, however, feels a great sense of unease when she ascends the staircase to the second floor of the house. This continues when the Williams family finally move in, and Emma sleeps fitfully, while Jennifer has quickly gone off her new life in Tokyo, feeling lost and lonely as she hasn't the faintest grasp of the language, and chooses to spend most of her time in the house. One day, when Matthew is out at work, Jennifer goes to investigate some strange noises and occurrences within the house. When Matthew returns, he finds his wife laid out on their bed, struggling to breathe. A young boy appears in the bedroom and confronts him with strange cat-like sounds. Matthew and Jennifer meet a gruesome fate. After a while Susan, worried about her mother, phones the Williams residence and leaves a message on the answering machine, and prepares to leave work. As she does so, she notices she is being followed by someone, and when she manages to catch a glimpse of the woman, she leaves her workplace as quickly as possible. Thinking she is safe in her flat in the city, Susan finds out she is wrong, as the woman later appears in her home and kills her.
The Social Workers
Yoko (Yoko Maki), a young social worker, goes to the cursed house to help take care of Emma and possibly help with house cleaning. She enters the house listening to her walkman and walks around the building until she goes upstairs. There, she takes off her headphones after hearing something and looks around the room. (There is an extended version of this scene available in the Director's Cut version) She opens a closet at one side of the room and looks up at the top of the closet to an actic access sliding door. She opens the sliding door and lights her lighter looking around in the attic until she comes upon the face of a ghostly woman (Kayako). She is dragged up into the attic and has her jaw ripped off; then she becomes possessed by the curse.
The next day, when Yoko does not appear for work, the main character Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is requested by her boss, Alex (Ted Raimi), to cover for Yoko and go and check on the house. She enters the house and finds Emma lying on the floor in her bedroom, in a sort of catatonic state. She helps her and cleans up the house until she enters the same room with the closet upstairs. The closet is completely taped up and there is a sound coming from inside. She opens the closet to find the boy sitting at the bottom looking rather innocent. She is not sure what to do and calls her boss. He eventually comes after Karen sights another ghost. He finds Emma dead on the floor and Karen staring at the cieling. Karen goes to the hospital and is questioned by detective Nakagawa (Ryo Ishibashi). Alex is killed by Yoko at the welfare center. Karen later learns about the Saeki's and the murder. She questions Peter Kirk's wife, but does not get much information, except that Kayako has appeared in the background of every photograph Maria and Peter have taken. Karen goes back to the house after finding out her boyfriend, Doug (Jason Behr) has gone to the cursed house to look for her. She goes there and walks upstairs. A flashback shows what happened when Peter discovered Kayako's body. Peter leaves. Karen walks in Toshio's bedroom and sees that after the murder, Takeo hung himself and Toshio is banging his feet on the wall. Karen realizes what happened in a flashback of the murder (Parts of it are shown on the regular version, but a graphic entire sequence is shown on the director's cut). Karen goes downstairs and finds Doug on the floor. She tries to leave with him when a door opens upstairs. Kayako crawls down the stairs and kills Doug. Karen kicks over a can of gas (that Nakagawa brought earlier to try to destroy the house) and lights the house on fire. After, Karen is at the hospital and looks at Doug's body on the table. Kayako appears behind her, and it is not explained if Karen lives or dies.
Production
Like the original film in Japan, The Grudge was a surprise runaway box office success. Opening in U.S. theaters on October 22 2004, the film generated $39.1 million in ticket sales in its first weekend of release, and declined 43% in its second weekend with $21.8 million, becoming the first horror film to top the Halloween box office since House on Haunted Hill (1999). It made a total of US$110,359,362 in North America alone and $183,474,602 worldwide, far exceeding the expectations of box office analysts and Sony Pictures executives alike. The company stated that the film cost less than $10 million to produce, thereby making it one of the most profitable films of the year.Sequel
A sequel, The Grudge 2, was announced three days after the film opened. On December 5, 2005, Sarah Michelle Gellar confirmed she will return to reprise her role from the first film. Filming commenced on January 30 2006, and the sequel is currently slated for an October 13 2006 (which is a Friday) U.S. release.
Extended Version
On May 17 2005, the MPAA-unrated director's cut of The Grudge was released onto DVD in the U.S. It included several scenes cut to achieve a lower rating from the MPAA, as well as others which were removed for pacing and plot reasons. This version of the film was used for its theatrical run in Japan.Extended, Unrated Edition Difference
See: [Alternate Versions for The Grudge (2004)].Cast
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Karen Davis, an exchange student who takes a job as a care worker to get a social credit.
- Jason Behr as Doug, Karen's boyfriend, who attends the University of Tokyo, and has a part-time job working at a restaurant.
- William Mapother as Matthew Williams, a "number cruncher" who receives a promotion from his superiors that requires him to relocate to Tokyo.
- Clea DuVall as Jennifer, Matthew's wife.
- KaDee Strickland as Susan, Matthew's younger sister, who resides and works in Tokyo, and who helps her brother, sister-in-law and mother choose and move into their new home.
- Grace Zabriskie as Emma, Matthew's mother, who is suffering from senile dementia.
- Bill Pullman as Peter, a teacher working in Tokyo, who receives a number of love letters from Kayako, a woman he does not know.
- Rosa Blasi as Maria, Peter's wife.
- Ted Raimi as Alex, the director of the care centre that Yoko and Karen are stationed at.
- Ryo Ishibashi as Nakagawa, a detective whose colleagues all died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances during the investigation of the Saeki family murder case.
- Yoko Maki as Yoko, a Japanese care worker who speaks English, and is assigned to care for Emma Williams.
- Yuya Ozeki as Toshio, the seven year-old son of Kayako and Takeo Saeki.
- Takako Fuji as Kayako Saeki, a married woman who develops an attraction towards Peter.
- Takashi Matsuyama as Takeo Saeki, Kayako's husband, who is angry when he discovers her feelings for another man.
- Courtney Webb as Sick Girl, a young girl who is in the same hospital as Karen.
References
- . Retrieved June 9, 2005.
- . Retrieved June 9, 2005.
- . Retrieved June 7, 2005.
External links
| The Ju-on Curse |
|---|
| Directors: Takashi Shimizu |
| Short Film: Katasumi and 4444444444 |
| Juon Series: Ju-on | Ju-on 2 | ' | ' | |
| American Films: The Grudge | The Grudge 2 |
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