The Grudge
Encyclopedia
The Grudge is the 2004 American remake
of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge
, and the first horror film in the Ju-on
series, Ju-on 1
. The film is the first installment in the American horror
film
series The Grudge
. The film was released in North America
on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures
, and was directed by Takashi Shimizu
(director
of the original series
) while Stephen Susco scripted the remake. In the same tradition as the original series, the plot of the film is told through a non-linear
sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplot
s.
As the first film in The Grudge series
, it has spawned two sequels: The Grudge 2
(which was released on October 13, 2006), and The Grudge 3
(which was released on May 12, 2009), as well as a new film which will soon go into production as a planned reboot of the series.
that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage
or extreme sorrow
. The curse gathers in the place where that person died. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural
force die and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order, the film showing them in a non-linear narrative.
The curse in particular has consumed the Japanese suburb home of the deceased Saeki family. Housewife Kayako Saeki
had an obsessive crush on American teacher Peter Kirk, spilling her emotions into a private diary. Unfortunately, her husband Takeo Saeki
discovered it and went ballistic, murdering Kayako by snapping her neck. His son, Toshio Saeki
, who witnessed the murder, and the family cat are also killed. Takeo then seemingly hanged himself after hiding his family's bodies in the attic and closet. Peter visited the house looking for Toshio, found Kayako's body and later committed suicide. However, the curse caused the family to re-emerge as ghosts, most notably Kayako as an Onryō, and kill anyone who entered the house.
The Williams Family, Matthew, his wife Jennifer, his unwell mother Emma, and his sister Susan move to Japan, and move into the Saeki house with the exception of Susan who lives in an apartment in the city. Jennifer and Emma are both disturbed by the house, and soon Jennifer and Matthew are consumed by the curse. A caregiver named Yoko visits the house to look after Emma but follows Kayako's death rattle
to the attic's entrance, and is dragged into the attic by her jaw. Karen Davis, an American caregiver, is sent by her boss Alex to cover for Yoko. Karen finds Emma alone in the house, but is shocked when she finds Toshio and the cat in the closet, and telephones Alex for help. Karen catches Emma talking to herself, but then sees Kayako descend from the ceiling and kill Emma. Alex and various police officers enter. Among them is Detective Nakagawa who finds Yoko's cell phone, bottom jaw, and the bodies of Matthew and Jennifer in the attic.
Karen finds herself haunted by Kayako and Toshio, and investigates the house's past. Meanwhile, Susan is stalked by Kayako and flees to her apartment where she too is killed. Alex is also killed when he encounters Yoko's jawless ghost. Karen confides to her boyfriend Doug, and then confronts Detective Nakagawa regarding the Saeki family's deaths. Nakagawa reveals three of his co-workers were killed while investigating the deaths, and the retailer who sold the house to the Williams is also dead. Karen returns home to find a message from Doug, informing him of Yoko and Alex's deaths, and how he has gone to the house. Nakagawa arrives at the house first and attempts to burn the house down to end the curse using gasoline, but is lured to his doom by Toshio and Takeo. Karen arrives and witnesses a flashback where Peter visits and finds Kayako's body. Karen snaps out of it and finds Doug. Kayako emerges from the attic and crawls her way down the stairs to kill the two. Doug is killed while Karen fights with Kayako to drop a lit match into some spilt gasoline.
Karen awakens in hospital to learn the house was saved, but mourns Doug's death. However, Kayako's ghost pops up behind Karen, implying she still is a target for the curse.
box office since House on Haunted Hill
. The film made US$
110,359,362 in North America alone and a total of $187,281,115 worldwide, far exceeding the expectations of box office analysts and Sony Pictures executives. Sony also stated production costs of less than $10 million, making it one of the most profitable movies of the year.
The Grudge received mixed reviews, earning a "Rotten" rating of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes
(with 61 out of 154 film review
s counted fresh). Classic FM
's film critic Simon Bates
deemed it the scariest film he had ever seen.
and UMD
on February 1, 2005, as a standard version of the film with only a few special features. On May 17, 2005, the MPAA-unrated
director's cut of The Grudge was released onto DVD in North America. The release included several scenes that were cut to achieve a lower rating from the MPAA, as well as others which were removed for pacing and plot reasons. This version of the film was used as the theatrical run in Japan. The release also contained new deleted scenes and commentaries, director Takashi Shimizu's original "Ju-On" short films, "4444444444" and "In a Corner", and more.
It was made available to purchase on iTunes
in 2008.
The film was released on Blu-ray Disc
in Germany
in 2008 and in the U.S. on May 12, 2009, the same day as The Grudge 3
DVD.
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge
Ju-on: The Grudge
is a 2003 Japanese horror film written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. The film is the third entry in the Ju-on series and is the first film theatrically released...
, and the first horror film in the Ju-on
Ju-on
is the title of a series of horror films by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-on projects to fruition.-History:...
series, Ju-on 1
Ju-on 1
is a 2000 Japanese direct-to-video film directed by Takashi Shimizu. It is the story of a man, Takeo Saeki who killed his wife, Kayako , and his son Toshio , in a jealous rage. Then Toshio's teacher, Kobayashi , looks for him because he has not been in school...
. The film is the first installment in the American horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
series The Grudge
The Grudge (film series)
The Grudge series is the American movie quadrilogy from Sony Pictures which is based on the Japanese Ju-on series created by Takashi Shimizu...
. The film was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, and was directed by Takashi Shimizu
Takashi Shimizu
Takashi Shimizu is a Japanese film director, best known for the Ju-on series of horror films.-Filmography:...
(director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
of the original series
Ju-on
is the title of a series of horror films by Japanese director Takashi Shimizu. Shimizu attended the Film School of Tokyo, where he studied under Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Kurosawa helped Shimizu shepherd the Ju-on projects to fruition.-History:...
) while Stephen Susco scripted the remake. In the same tradition as the original series, the plot of the film is told through a non-linear
Nonlinear (arts)
Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film, hypertext websites and other narratives, wherein events are portrayed out of chronological order...
sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
s.
As the first film in The Grudge series
The Grudge (film series)
The Grudge series is the American movie quadrilogy from Sony Pictures which is based on the Japanese Ju-on series created by Takashi Shimizu...
, it has spawned two sequels: The Grudge 2
The Grudge 2
The Grudge 2 is the 2006 sequel to the 2004 American horror film remake The Grudge. The Grudge 2 is the second film in Sony's The Grudge series and is directed by Takashi Shimizu and written by Stephen Susco. The film is produced by Sam Raimi and stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle...
(which was released on October 13, 2006), and The Grudge 3
The Grudge 3
The Grudge 3 is the direct-to-DVD sequel to the American horror film The Grudge and its sequel, The Grudge 2. The film was directed by Toby Wilkins taking Takashi Shimizu's place. The film was released on May 12, 2009. It stars Johanna Braddy and Shawnee Smith-Plot:Jake is brutally murdered by...
(which was released on May 12, 2009), as well as a new film which will soon go into production as a planned reboot of the series.
Plot
The Grudge describes a curseCurse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage
Rage (emotion)
Rage is a feeling of intense anger. It is associated with the Fight-or-flight response and oftentimes activated in response to an external cue, such as the murder of a loved one. The phrase, 'thrown into a fit of rage,' expresses the immediate nature of rage that occurs before deliberation. If left...
or extreme sorrow
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
. The curse gathers in the place where that person died. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
force die and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order, the film showing them in a non-linear narrative.
The curse in particular has consumed the Japanese suburb home of the deceased Saeki family. Housewife Kayako Saeki
Kayako Saeki
Kayako Saeki is a fictional character from the Ju-on series of Japanese-horror movies and The Grudge trilogy of American remakes. In all of the films, except for the third, she is played by actress Takako Fuji. In The Grudge 3, Kayako is played by Aiko Horiuchi, Fuji having turned down the role...
had an obsessive crush on American teacher Peter Kirk, spilling her emotions into a private diary. Unfortunately, her husband Takeo Saeki
Takeo Saeki
Takeo Saeki is a fictional character created by Takashi Shimizu for the Ju-on/The Grudge saga. He is depicted by long-time veteran actor Takashi Matsuyama.-Character history:...
discovered it and went ballistic, murdering Kayako by snapping her neck. His son, Toshio Saeki
Toshio Saeki
Toshio Saeki is a fictional character from the Ju-on series of Japanese-horror movies. He was played by several child actors, being Ryôta Koyama in the original two V-Cinema movies, Yuya Ozeki in the theatrical movies and the first American remake, Ohga Tanaka in The Grudge 2, Shimba Tsuchiya in...
, who witnessed the murder, and the family cat are also killed. Takeo then seemingly hanged himself after hiding his family's bodies in the attic and closet. Peter visited the house looking for Toshio, found Kayako's body and later committed suicide. However, the curse caused the family to re-emerge as ghosts, most notably Kayako as an Onryō, and kill anyone who entered the house.
The Williams Family, Matthew, his wife Jennifer, his unwell mother Emma, and his sister Susan move to Japan, and move into the Saeki house with the exception of Susan who lives in an apartment in the city. Jennifer and Emma are both disturbed by the house, and soon Jennifer and Matthew are consumed by the curse. A caregiver named Yoko visits the house to look after Emma but follows Kayako's death rattle
Death rattle
A death rattle is a medical term that describes the sound produced by someone who is near death when saliva accumulates in the throat. Those who are dying may lose their ability to swallow, resulting in such an accumulation...
to the attic's entrance, and is dragged into the attic by her jaw. Karen Davis, an American caregiver, is sent by her boss Alex to cover for Yoko. Karen finds Emma alone in the house, but is shocked when she finds Toshio and the cat in the closet, and telephones Alex for help. Karen catches Emma talking to herself, but then sees Kayako descend from the ceiling and kill Emma. Alex and various police officers enter. Among them is Detective Nakagawa who finds Yoko's cell phone, bottom jaw, and the bodies of Matthew and Jennifer in the attic.
Karen finds herself haunted by Kayako and Toshio, and investigates the house's past. Meanwhile, Susan is stalked by Kayako and flees to her apartment where she too is killed. Alex is also killed when he encounters Yoko's jawless ghost. Karen confides to her boyfriend Doug, and then confronts Detective Nakagawa regarding the Saeki family's deaths. Nakagawa reveals three of his co-workers were killed while investigating the deaths, and the retailer who sold the house to the Williams is also dead. Karen returns home to find a message from Doug, informing him of Yoko and Alex's deaths, and how he has gone to the house. Nakagawa arrives at the house first and attempts to burn the house down to end the curse using gasoline, but is lured to his doom by Toshio and Takeo. Karen arrives and witnesses a flashback where Peter visits and finds Kayako's body. Karen snaps out of it and finds Doug. Kayako emerges from the attic and crawls her way down the stairs to kill the two. Doug is killed while Karen fights with Kayako to drop a lit match into some spilt gasoline.
Karen awakens in hospital to learn the house was saved, but mourns Doug's death. However, Kayako's ghost pops up behind Karen, implying she still is a target for the curse.
Cast
- Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
as the film's main protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Karen Davis, an exchange student who takes a job as a caregiver to obtain social studies credit. - Jason BehrJason BehrJason Nathaniel Behr is an American film and television actor. He first starred in the American television series Roswell, for which he was twice nominated for a Saturn Award, followed by roles in the films The Shipping News and the American remake of the Japanese horror film The Grudge...
as Doug, Karen's boyfriend, who attends the University of TokyoUniversity of Tokyo, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, and has a part-time job working at a restaurant. - William MapotherWilliam MapotherWilliam Reibert Mapother, Jr. is an American actor and former teacher, perhaps best known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series Lost.-Personal life:...
as Matthew Williams, a "number cruncher" who receives a promotion from his superiors that requires him to relocate to Tokyo. - Clea DuVallClea DuVallClea Helen D'Etienne DuVall is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sofie on the television series Carnivàle as well as for films such as The Faculty , Girl, Interrupted and The Grudge .-Early life:DuVall was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Rosemary and...
as Jennifer Williams, Matthew's lonely wife who is trying to adjust to a new life in Japan. - Ryo IshibashiRyo Ishibashiis a Japanese actor and international celebrity. He is known around the world for his roles in the classic Japanese Horror films Suicide Club and Audition. He is also recognized in America for his role as Nakagawa in The Grudge and The Grudge 2....
as Det. Nakagawa, a detective whose colleagues all died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances during the investigation of the Saeki family murder case. He is all too aware of the house and its strange history. - KaDee StricklandKaDee StricklandKatherine Dee "KaDee" Strickland is an American actress currently known for her role as Charlotte King on the ABC drama Private Practice....
as Susan Williams, Matthew's younger sister, who resides and works in Tokyo, and who helps her brother, sister-in-law and mother choose and move into their new home. - Grace ZabriskieGrace ZabriskieGrace Zabriskie is an American actress. She has appeared in many popular American films but, she is best known for her work in television. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks, Seinfeld, and Big Love.-Early life:Zabriskie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana...
as Emma Williams, Matthew's mother, who is suffering from severe lethargy with mild dementiaDementiaDementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
. - Bill PullmanBill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Peter Kirk, a teacher working in Tokyo, who receives a number of love letters from Kayako, a woman he does not know. - Ted RaimiTed RaimiTheodore "Ted"/"Half Ted" Raimi is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV and Joxer the Mighty in Xena: Warrior Princess/Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
as Alex, the director of the care centre that Yoko and Karen are stationed at. - Rosa BlasiRosa BlasiRosa Blasi is an American actress.-Early life:Blasi was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Rocco and Joyce Blasi. Blasi is classically trained as a mezzo soprano. She also comes from a strong theatre background; ranging from the esteemed Piven Performance Company, as well as The Second City, to...
as Maria Kirk, Peter's wife. - Yoko MakiYoko Maki (actress)Yōko Maki is a Japanese actress signed to .Maki has appeared in several films including 2003 film Infection and the 2004 American remake The Grudge.-Biography:...
as Yoko, a Japanese care worker who speaks English, and is assigned to care for Emma Williams. - Takako FujiTakako Fujiis a Japanese actress and seiyū with strong ties to theatre.-Biography:A native of Tokyo, Honshū Island, Japan who was born there in 1972, Fuji studied acting at the Aoyama Gakuin University, and subsequently joined the Ein Theatrical Company. Her work was usually on-stage or in voice-over studios,...
as Kayako Saeki, a married woman who develops an attraction towards Peter Kirk. - Yuya OzekiYuya Ozekiis a Japanese child actor. He is most known for his role as Toshio in the Ju-on series of films. He has worked with Takashi Matsuyama and Takako Fuji on all theatrical releases of Ju-on and The Grudge...
as Toshio Saeki, the eight year-old son of Kayako and Takeo Saeki. - Takashi MatsuyamaTakashi Matsuyama (actor)is a Japanese actor and voice actor.- Filmography :*The Grudge as Takeo Saeki *Arcade Gamer Fubuki as Referee*Battle Programmer SHIRASE as Principal Miura...
as Takeo Saeki, Kayako's husband, who is angry when he discovers her feelings for another man. He murders Kayako prior to the film's events and puts a curse on the house.
Reception
The Grudge opened at 3,348 theatres in North America. The film generated $39.1 million in ticket sales in its first weekend (October 22–24, 2004). Ticket sales declined 43% on the second weekend earning $21.8 million, thereby becoming the first horror film to top the HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
box office since House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill (1999 film)
House on Haunted Hill is a 1999 American horror film, directed by William Malone and starring Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter and Jeffrey Combs. It also includes a cameo appearance by Peter Graves...
. The film made US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
110,359,362 in North America alone and a total of $187,281,115 worldwide, far exceeding the expectations of box office analysts and Sony Pictures executives. Sony also stated production costs of less than $10 million, making it one of the most profitable movies of the year.
The Grudge received mixed reviews, earning a "Rotten" rating of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
(with 61 out of 154 film review
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
s counted fresh). Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
's film critic Simon Bates
Simon Bates
Simon Bates is a UK disc jockey and radio presenter. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, presenting the station's weekday mid-morning show for most of this period. He later became a regular presenter on Classic FM...
deemed it the scariest film he had ever seen.
Home release
The Grudge was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and UMD
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
on February 1, 2005, as a standard version of the film with only a few special features. On May 17, 2005, the MPAA-unrated
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
director's cut of The Grudge was released onto DVD in North America. The release included several scenes that were cut to achieve a lower rating from the MPAA, as well as others which were removed for pacing and plot reasons. This version of the film was used as the theatrical run in Japan. The release also contained new deleted scenes and commentaries, director Takashi Shimizu's original "Ju-On" short films, "4444444444" and "In a Corner", and more.
It was made available to purchase on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
in 2008.
The film was released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2008 and in the U.S. on May 12, 2009, the same day as The Grudge 3
The Grudge 3
The Grudge 3 is the direct-to-DVD sequel to the American horror film The Grudge and its sequel, The Grudge 2. The film was directed by Toby Wilkins taking Takashi Shimizu's place. The film was released on May 12, 2009. It stars Johanna Braddy and Shawnee Smith-Plot:Jake is brutally murdered by...
DVD.