[JasonB]

Note:

I searched for a thread and couldn't find anything so I'll add one. Please delete if I've missed something.


I saw The Grudge this afternoon and really enjoyed it. There are plot holes big enough to drive a tank battalion through, the acting isn't the greatest, but as a pure jump-out-of-your-seat-and-wet-yourself movie it is incredible.

There's one scene that made me jump more than any movie that I can ever remember. Definite edge of your seat, watch with one eye closed kinda movie.

Recommended!

[Matt Stone]

Here are my thoughts that I posted in the Scary Movie Challenge thread...

The Grudge - Hmmm...I feel mixed about this one. I just read Scott's (scathing) review of the film, and I agree with a lot of what he said. On the other hand, the aspects that were ripped directly from the original Grudge worked here too. I didn't think SMG was as bad as everyone else did. I didn't "care" about her, per se, but I didn't "care" about anyone. That didn't mean I wasn't interested in what was happening to them. My main problem was jump scares. It was detrimental to The Ring remake, and even more-so here. The atmosphere is killed with sharp loud music. It was almost like someone was up in the projection booth turning the volume to 11 () just as a scare showed up. Lazy film-making, IMO. I also thought the ending was pretty crap-tastic. Having SMG survive was bad enough, but the execution of Kayako showing up was pretty lame. Rather than having some sort of slow-burn ending (like the house being sold to another family), it's just another loud shock scare. The only thing that this film added was Pullman's suicide at the beginning. Great execution and a great way to begin a film.

I was flabbergasted at how much of the film was identical to the original. The only thing it seemed they changed was:
swapping out the police-man/daughter (original) story for the Pullman story. Of course, the Pullman stuff was based off of the first Ju-On, so it was still relying on previous story from the series.

The Lynchian aspects of the original are mostly gone, but I didn't expect them to be ported over. I'm glad they kept the splintered storytelling method. I (unlike so many critics) liked it in the original, and I like it here. If you only view one of the vignettes, you don't really understand the context...but when you see them all together it shows a defined picture. I said that the jump-scares kill atmosphere, but I thought the house gave off plenty of creepy vibes. I saw it with my mom, and she was totally put off by the the noises, especially the croaking noise. Take away a lot of the loud music, and I agree with her. Way too over the top with the score. Overall, I didn't think it was a bad movie. As I said before, it had a lot of aspects that I liked (those from the original). But, it didn't add much to the original story and jump scares were too prevalent. I feel pretty conflicted, but I'm going to give it a 3.5/5. That may change if I see it again.

...btw, Scott summed up my feelings on jump scares much better (and more comedically) than I ever could:

"Imagine you paying me money to throw a cat at your head while you're fumbling through a dark hallway. And as soon as I toss the cat, I click play on my insta-shriek violin machine."

[Alex Spindler]

I actually quite liked it. It was so very faithful to the original, which I quite liked. Beyond some minor changes and the obvious ethnicity changes in most of the prime characters, it was a veritable shot for shot remake.

I was impressed that they kept to the same minimal special effect style. I also don't think they relied on jump scares any moreso than the original had. There were a few score 'stingers' that were gratuitous, but it all seemed to keep me (and my audience) on edge. The episodic nature of the story also translated well.

I could only find one fault and that was that was that the final scene was somewhat more effective in the original, in that the fractured appearance and climb down the stairs really seemed like a broken caricature of a human where the remake it was shot too close to preserve that feeling.


As to the validity of making a remake that is essentially just a shot for shot retelling with an American cast, I'm a fan of introducing anything to the general audience which emphasizes mood over special effects. And considering how enrapt my audience was, I'd say it was effective.

[Josh Pounds]

I hated this movie. I'm angry at it.

Very angry.

It was nothing more than a long string of "jump" scares, and that's very, very boring. You reach a certain point when you stop caring and begin expecting them.

I normally am more articulate when it comes to these matters, but this movie was DUMB. D-U-M-B.

And who thinks CGI is scary? WHO? I was IMMEDIATELY taken out of the movie when I saw that. Awful. Awful Awful. Horror movies work best when they use practical effects, or at least minimal computer manipulation of existing images. CGI monsters suck.

So very angry.

[Shawn_KE]

Didn't care for it. Too many cheezy things pulled me out of the movie. The little kid with the mouth opening up wide all the time was silly. The audience laughed more than they jumped. Reminded to too much of The Ring.

[Patrick Sun]

I ended up laughing more than I should have, but some of the extended stuff just didn't make any sense, and left me going "WTF?"

As others have noted, minimal character intros or development hampered this movie (why should I care about these people who visit this house from hell?).

The mood was good in spots, but the film never has enough story to elevates itself out of its genre. The 3rd act is confusing as hell in an obtuse way, an unproductive manner.

I give it 2 stars, or a grade of C.

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "The Grudge". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an Official Discussion Thread.



Crawdaddy