Director
Takashi Shimizu
Cast
Sarah Michelle Gellar Karen Davis
Amber Tamblyn Aubrey Davis
Edison Chen Eason
Arielle Kebbel Allison
Jennifer Beals Trish
Takako Fuji Kayako Saeki
DVD Release Date: February 6, 2007
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 102 Minutes
The Movie
When The Grudge came out in 2004, the trailers made it seem like most of the other Japanese horror remakes we have seen for some time now not really worth checking out. I waited until it came to DVD and must say that I was pleasantly surprised by what actually came through in the film. Ju-On was already one of my favorites and the remake surely did not disappoint. The story was incredibly deep and flowed perfectly. And combined with some great performances from Sarah Michelle Gellar and Takako Fuji, there was a movie that actually creeped me out a little.
Now would the sequel follow suit and deliver a watchable movie? Sadly enough, it wasn’t even close.
Aubrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn) hasn’t spoken to her sister Karen (Gellar) in years, but due to the recent string of horrible events in Japan, the girls’ sick mother insists that Aubrey go to her sister’s side. Aubrey goes and finds Karen in a hospital strapped to a bed since the doctors think she not only killed her boyfriend but burned a home to the ground which picks up right where the first film leaves off. That is about the only sign of continuity in the entire film.
Aubrey gets to Japan and finds her sister in complete disarray and begging for help, but the Japanese authorities won’t allow it. Stricken and alone, Karen does the unthinkable and throws herself off the top of the hospital; falling dead right at her sister’s feet. Aubrey will stop at nothing to find out what is going on and why her sister is no longer with her.
Now that’s not the only thing going on though for there are two totally different stories happening at the same time. Two schoolgirls decide to take a little trip to the burned out house and introduce the new girl Allison to the horrors that lie within. Simply trying to scare her, they are in for a lot more then they bargained for when the rumors and stories they have heard start to come true in all the traumatic occurrences happening to them.
Fast forward to Chicago and a family consisting of a father, daughter, and son are welcoming in the father’s girlfriend after she finally decided to move in. Everyone likes the new make-shift family except for the son, Jake. He just doesn’t like the idea of having a new “mother” step into where his left off. It isn’t long though until everyone in the house starts acting very strangely and turning on one another, yet it’s young Jake who is the only one to realize something is wrong.
All three of these stories are intertwined in the film and told at exactly the same time. I’m not going to exactly spoil anything for you because I won’t give away the ending, but the way the stories are told is just outright confusing. There is no evidence that they have anything to do with one another other then the fact that Kayako is haunting them for entering the house. But now it seems as if she is just tormenting anyone she feels like and not even caring if they entered the house or not because she has even made her way all the way overseas to Chicago.
The film jumps all around every five minutes from Aubrey trying to figure out her sister’s murder to the schoolgirls being haunted to the family being torn apart. From Japan to Chicago then back to somewhere else in Japan and then to Chicago again and so on and so forth. It time warps you all over the place and the entire time you are made to think that all three stories are happening at the exact same time so you have no other choice but to keep questioning why and how the evil got over to the States.
If the entire film had been the story of Aubrey trying to figure out what happened to her sister and why she took her own life, then there would have been no problem. But obviously they couldn’t come up with enough to make a good movie out of just that which amazes me because it practically writes itself. And the thing is, that storyline is the only good part about The Grudge 2 but you barely get it for even thirty minutes. Don’t come looking for scares either because you’re not going to get them here. The “frights” are Kayako and her little brother’s ghost just showing up all the time hoping to make your skin crawl.
They don’t, the movie itself does.
The Video
The film is shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen and looks great. I did enjoy how the film looks so that is one bonus. When over in Japan where the evil lives, the sky is constantly grayed over and there are nothing but dark colors everywhere you look. Head over to Chicago and the sun is always shining with bright colors everywhere as evil slowly starts to move in and make it as dark as the places it’s been before. I enjoyed the look of this film a lot and it was done very well.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and is so-so. There is really only one tone the entire length of the film and it’s a somber one. The music is mostly on the creepy side and trying to build up a feeling of tension, but it gets old after a while. Everything can be heard just fine, but even the creepy gasping noise made by Kayako doesn’t have the same feeling to it as it did in the first film which is disappointing.
Special Features
East Meets West Featurette – The cast and crew discuss all about the first film and how the sequel plays into it. But after getting past that is where it gets really interesting. They discuss how actors who only speak English dealt with not only filming in Japan and getting used to the language barrier but also getting adjusted to the cultures and customs in the country.
“Ready When You Are Mr. Shimizu” Featurette – The entire history of Ju-On and The Grudge franchises and how they are the creation of director Takashi Shimizu. One of the best points made is when they discuss how for the entire length of the films that the horror comes from the long suspenseful tension that Shimizu creates so the audience never gets a chance to relax. I agree totally with that for the first film, but it was an incredibly lost art in The Grudge 2 because that tension and suspense never came to a climax.
The Grudge 2 Storyline Development Featurette – A more in depth look of where the sequel’s story originated from as opposed to how it related to the first.
Deleted Scenes – Only three deleted scenes that wouldn’t have made much of a difference to the film had they been left in.
Cast And Crew Reel Change Montage – The entire, and I do mean entire, cast and crew hold the clapboard to signify different scene and reel changes. Shimizu put it together set to the “spooky” score from the film. Nothing extremely interesting or informative, but a fun little watch none the less; and a nice way of making sure everyone gets their few seconds on screen.
Trailers – Ghost Rider, Crossover, Casino Royale, Premonition, The Grudge, Gridiron Gang, The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, The Covenant, and Spider-Man 3
The Inside Pulse
The only thing saving this DVD from a total disaster of a score (see Grim Reaper) are the special features. The enjoyment I got from the 45 minutes of watching the extras was more then I got from the entire length of the film which was just plain lousy. There are no scares, no direction, and just no memorable moments from start to finish. If you’ve seen the first, maybe check this out as a rental so you can be terribly confused and annoyed that you spent your money on it. But the good thing is, you don’t have to keep unlike if you buy the thing which I just highly object to anyone doing. Ever.
