Review of The Grudge 3 (2009) by Ben A — 25 Apr 2010

Direct-to-video 3rd film in the series finds sole survivor Jake (Matthew Knight) still reeling from the effects of the 2nd film and the death of his parents. His shrink Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith, "Saw") eventually finds him alone in his cell, every bone shattered and crumpled into a demented sort of way, thus leading into the film's plot involving the occupants of the cursed Chicago apartment. But off to the rescue comes the sister of the deceased spirit who's ready to try and end things once and for all.

It's all pretty standard fare, though on the bright side, it's not really any better or worse then the 2nd film. The same scares all happen just like the other films with mediocre results. At this point both the original director and original Kayako have moved onto greener pastures after 2 Hollywood versions, all the original Japanese Ju-On films, and the original short.

The film does actually pick up on the 3rd act when the building's superintendent (Gil McKinney) ends up possessed by the father's ghost and goes all Jack Nicholson/Shining style throughout the building. Unfortunately it's too little, too late. Would be interesting to see how the film would fare had his slip into insanity happened prior to 20 minutes before the film ends, as it's far and beyond the best thing in the film.

Also keep an eye for "Star Trek: The Next Generation"'s Marina Sirtis in a small role. Guess she's gotta do something now they stopped making "ST: TNG" films. It's not a total waste of time for hardcore "Grudge" fans, but don't expect anything new or interesting here, though the effects are on par with the theatrical first 2 films.