Review of The Grudge (2004) by Kennedi T — 02 Aug 2012

And it finally came, the one, the original, the magnificent, The Grudge.

When Karen (Gellar), an American student working with a Japanese health center for college credit, comes across a mysterious curse, she quickly finds herself embroiled in a fight for her own sanity, and, ultimately, her very survival. Known as a "grudge," the curse was born inside of a house after its inhabitants died while consumed by rage -- according to legend, the curse touches all who come into contact with it, and will torment those unlucky individuals until they, too, become part of the grudge . Each time the curse finds a new victim, it is, in a sense, reborn, and will continue on its path unless Karen can free herself from its control over her.

The film is directed by the same guy that directed the japanese version of this film: Ju-On, which is surprising, because is the only remake in which the director is the same one that directed the original. The plot here is indeed, parallel stories that connect themselves at the end: Karen's story, the William's family, and the origin's story. The film is easy to understand as a whole, which is a good thing because thinking too much for some causes them headache. The acting is great, especially Gellar's, who plays a really frightened Karen Davis, and the ghosts here look more frightening than ever. To make this better, the film's loaded of intelligent scares and the effects are great.

Overall, this is a perfect example of how a remake should be done, it needs to take a complete different path than the original movie, but always without losing its original soul, plus, it has to be filled with everything a horror fan likes to see in a horror movie, to keep fans and newcomers entertained until the very end. This is because the film is so perfect, because it accomplishes everything mentioned before.