The Grudge 2
November 2nd 2006 22:26
I’ll give it to director Takashi Shimizu. He knows a thing or two about nightmare imagery. Ju-on: The Grudge (2003) pulled a few rabbits out of its hat. Not since the original Ringu (1998) had a creeping thin woman with long dark matted hair been so genuinely terrifying. In the case of The Grudge the spectre seemed even scarier as she was able to move more independently than the video/phone bound ghost from Ringu.
This time round the menace has been dampened. What once appeared truly original in its horror now seems almost comical at times. The Scary Movie series has a lot to answer for I’m sure. The Grudge 2 packs a couple of good “Boo!”s, but the story is so flimsy and the acting so mediocre that the film’s intended fury is extinguished early on.
Warning spoilers ahead!
Sarah Michelle Gellar returns (albeit a cameo) as the haunted survivor from the first film. This time round her younger wallflower sister, on instructions from her ill mother, has come to Japan to bring her back to the States. Gellar gets about as far as the hospital rooftop.
Meanwhile a hapless photo journalist who’s been following the infamous murders from the first film befriends the sister. It isn’t long before the Ju-on spectre infiltrates his dark room, and in one of the film’s only truly original sequences it comes alive as a dark shadow in a print, growing and spilling over into the developing tray, filling it black, and then slowly rising out of the ink, its wide eyes peering up at the petrified young man.
Unfortunately several people in the cinema guffawed at this peering visage, indicating this horror film wasn’t packing the terror punch it should’ve been.
Like the non-linear, interweaving subplots of the original movie, a dual narrative swings under way with a young inquisitive boy in an American apartment wondering what is making those strange noises next door and who the hooded whimpering figure is living there. While in Japan a couple of International High School students (obviously so that they can speak English instead of Japanese with subtitles) lure a third slightly geeky girl to “the most haunted house in Japan” and trick her into going into the closet.
Well, we all know what happens to arrogant teenagers who dabble and taunt, don’t we?
The Grudge 2 definitely has some startling images; the partially hidden appearances of the woman and/or the boy spectres, especially in one sequence when the photo journalist is watching a taped interview and after hearing a creaking noise in the footage, freeze-frames the image and spots a ghostly visage in the corner of a background shadow. Creepy, creepy, creepy.
But overall the film falls prey to the same old nonsense which spoils so many potentially good horror movies, where characters that seem reasonably smart do really stupid things, logic is twisted to fit the narrative, and other incidents are left as inexplicable.
Of note is Australian up-and-coming actor Teresa Palmer who recently was nominated for an AFI award for her role in the indie suicide flick 2:37, although it is one of the better performances (not too dissimilar to a young Noami Watts) she’s pretty much relegated to prancing around in short pleated skirts and knickers (not all that bad). Another thankless performance is dancer-turned-actor Jenna Dewan, whom had the lead in the dubious “drop dead gorgeous” horror Tamara (2005), then starred in two dance movies – Take the Lead and Step Up (both 2006) - and ends up vomiting milk in The Grudge 2. Hey, going places girl!
To be perfectly blunt, the best thing going for The Grudge 2 is its opening titles sequence; it’s a vivid and swirling work of inky red and black graphic art. The rest of the film is a tedious exercise. And I see that The Grudge 3 is in production. Ho-bloody-hum.
* the images on this page were taken from the wikipedia page:
The Grudge 2 (movie poster and screen shot)
They are licensed from the GNU Free Document License.
This time round the menace has been dampened. What once appeared truly original in its horror now seems almost comical at times. The Scary Movie series has a lot to answer for I’m sure. The Grudge 2 packs a couple of good “Boo!”s, but the story is so flimsy and the acting so mediocre that the film’s intended fury is extinguished early on.
Warning spoilers ahead!
Sarah Michelle Gellar returns (albeit a cameo) as the haunted survivor from the first film. This time round her younger wallflower sister, on instructions from her ill mother, has come to Japan to bring her back to the States. Gellar gets about as far as the hospital rooftop.
Meanwhile a hapless photo journalist who’s been following the infamous murders from the first film befriends the sister. It isn’t long before the Ju-on spectre infiltrates his dark room, and in one of the film’s only truly original sequences it comes alive as a dark shadow in a print, growing and spilling over into the developing tray, filling it black, and then slowly rising out of the ink, its wide eyes peering up at the petrified young man.
Unfortunately several people in the cinema guffawed at this peering visage, indicating this horror film wasn’t packing the terror punch it should’ve been.
Like the non-linear, interweaving subplots of the original movie, a dual narrative swings under way with a young inquisitive boy in an American apartment wondering what is making those strange noises next door and who the hooded whimpering figure is living there. While in Japan a couple of International High School students (obviously so that they can speak English instead of Japanese with subtitles) lure a third slightly geeky girl to “the most haunted house in Japan” and trick her into going into the closet.
Well, we all know what happens to arrogant teenagers who dabble and taunt, don’t we?
The Grudge 2 definitely has some startling images; the partially hidden appearances of the woman and/or the boy spectres, especially in one sequence when the photo journalist is watching a taped interview and after hearing a creaking noise in the footage, freeze-frames the image and spots a ghostly visage in the corner of a background shadow. Creepy, creepy, creepy.
But overall the film falls prey to the same old nonsense which spoils so many potentially good horror movies, where characters that seem reasonably smart do really stupid things, logic is twisted to fit the narrative, and other incidents are left as inexplicable.
To be perfectly blunt, the best thing going for The Grudge 2 is its opening titles sequence; it’s a vivid and swirling work of inky red and black graphic art. The rest of the film is a tedious exercise. And I see that The Grudge 3 is in production. Ho-bloody-hum.
* the images on this page were taken from the wikipedia page:
The Grudge 2 (movie poster and screen shot)
They are licensed from the GNU Free Document License.
| 87 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by suitably*wounded
Eternal Days; Author: Illness, M.
And number two still has SMG. Oh the horror. =)
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
yeah, only for the first ten minutes or so ... then SPLAT!
The Hazing, huh? Sounds like a hungover remake of The Shining ... lol
Don't bother with The Grudge 2 unless there's nothing else on the horror shelves you're keen to see ...
Dare I sound de-sensitized, but these M-rated horrors are starting to grate on my sensibilities ...
Comment by Anonymous
But, check it out for no other reason than to say you did and allow me to play demented puppet master from across the pond.
=D
P.S. Oh, and I'll be sending you email, my bloody valentine. So don't forget to check your inbox.