Susan Granger’s review of “The Grudge” (Columbia Pictures)
Timing is everything – and the end of October is perfect for a white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat ghost story, especially one that leaves enough to your imagination to be truly terrifying. This English-language remake of the Japanese horror hit, “JU-ON: The Grudge,” revolves around the curse of someone who dies in the grip of a terrible rage. According to folklore, those who encounter this supernatural spell perish. Then these victims become ghosts and repeat the evil cycle in an endless, growing chain of horror. Think of it as a timeless, surreal virus. Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) plays Karen, an American health care worker/exchange student living in Tokyo. She’s sent to care for elderly Emma (Grace Zabriskie) who is in Japan with her son, Matthew (William Mapother, Tom Cruise’s brother), and his wife Jennifer (Clea DuVall). Rounding out the American cast, there’s Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Bill Pullman and Ted Raimi. But most of all, there’s this haunted house with its shadowy ghosts. Adapted by Stephen Susco (“Endgame”) and directed by Takashi Shimizu (who created the original), it’s not gory, it’s not bloody and it’s not filled with computer graphics. Yet because of its psychological suspense and elusive, non-linear simplicity, it’s a much more effective thriller, not unlike “The Ring.” Which I’m sure is what producers Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man,” “Darkman”) and Rob Tapert (“The Evil Dead,” “The Gift”) had in mind in evoking these intangible, uniquely evil spirits that play off Geller’s innate vulnerability. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Grudge” is an ominous, intangibly scary 7. This is the eerie, mystical stuff of nightmares – a real spookfest!
