Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Format: DVD
DVD Features:
Starring: Amber Tamblyn, Edison Chen, Arielle Kebbel, Misako Uno, Sarah Roemer
Trailer
The Grudge 2 follows a recent trend of Japanese horror films being remade for American audiences. Originally, this movie and its prequel were labeled Ju-On, directed by the same Japanese director, and shot on the same set. Ringu and Ringu 2, known on Western shores as The Ring series are another example. I have seen Ringu and there isn’t a great deal of variation between it and the version starring Naomi Watts. There is even less variation between The Grudge and Ju-On. So, why go through so much trouble to remake the film? Are American audiences so resistant to subtitles and foreign faces? It’s not just Japanese film that gets this treatment either. What about Vanilla Sky (Abre los ojos)? Why spend millions of dollars just to retell a story that, more often than not, was much better the first time?
If you haven’t seen The Grudge, you may be a little bit lost, since the sequel picks up just about where the first one left off. Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), after trying to burn down the cursed house from the previous film, is now in the hospital. Her mother in the U.S. decides that she’s going to send Karen’s estranged sister Aubrey (Tamblyn) to Japan to convince her to return home. But, Aubrey doesn’t have much time to talk before the spirits from the house finish her sister off. At the hospital, Aubrey gets some help from a young man named Eason (Chen), who is a journalist investigating the history of what happened in the house.
Meanwhile, high school students Vanessa and Miyuki decide to play a trick on their classmate Allison (Kebbel) and take her into the evil abode. Little do the three of them realize, the legend attached to the house is true – anyone who steps inside will be followed by the phantoms that haunt it and every step they take is doomed. After Miyuki disappears and Vanessa is attacked, Allison loses her grip on sanity and returns to her family in Chicago. But, the curse has followed her there and begins to seep through the walls into the neighbor’s apartment.
Just as with the first Grudge movie, the main spooks are the young woman and son who were the first victims in the house. The boy, Toshio, continues to appear out of the shadows and the mother, Kayako,’s animated hair winds its way around her victims. The two don’t have any new characteristics or talents to speak of, they just pop up in unexpected places. There is a shower scene in the sequel that threatens to mimic a similar scene from part 1, but thankfully it’s just a tease. I would have been happy to see Yoko or maybe Peter take part in the haunting this time. Sadly though, none of the other victims of the curse make an appearance in ghost form. To be quite honest, I’m tiring of the cat yowl and the croaking noises coming from these two. It was creepy the first time, but not in the second round. Many of Yoko’s attacks reminded me too much of a similar long haired spirit from a similar Japanese remake, especially the dark room scene.
As far as the acting in The Grudge 2 in concerned, well, I never thought I’d say it, but, there are worse actors than Sarah Michelle Gellar. In fact, I wish she would have lasted longer in the sequel because I much rather an additional hour of her performance than what the film continued with. Edison Chen was terrible as the so-called investigative journalist and male companion for Aubrey. Granted, even veteran actors from Hong Kong usually bomb in their first American films, but Chen seemed like he was being read his lines from offstage. Amber Tamblyn seems to have mastered little more than repeating the same horrified look over and over. Miyuki, played by Misako Uno, had the most shrill and irritating voice! It was like listening to nails on a chalkboard every time she opened her mouth. Thank god she doesn’t have a huge role in the movie. The best actor I noticed was Matthew Knight, who plays Allison’s curious neighbor Jake.
During most of The Grudge 2, it was as if there were three separate plots taking place at once. Karen’s sister and Eason are the first and most obviously connected characters. The three students, Allison, Miyuki and Vanessa take up the second string. Jake and his family make up the third, and most detached storyline. Until the end of the film, it was difficult for me to determine how the Chicago family was involved, seeing as how none of them stepped foot in the haunted house. In addition, there is a small bit of Yoko’s past that figures loosely into the movie that is never fully realized. The story is sort of all over the place and non-cohesive.
I was very disappointed with this follow up to The Grudge. The first film was truly eerie at times, made much more sense and had a richer cast of characters. The ending to this second movie was relatively confusing and particularly lame, especially the conclusion of Aubrey’s involvement. While a few interesting ideas were touched on in The Grudge 2, they were never explored further or even figured back into the plot afterwards. I was even more let down with this film than I was with the sequel to The Ring.
Overall Rating: 2
Hottie Rating: 1 (Chen was almost attractive if it hadn’t been for the terrible performance)
Alternate recommendation: The Ring
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Dread Central review
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