ron

The Grudge

not good/5 will never think about again

Codeliusthe2nd

The Grudge

The Grudge is a frustrating film. There’s a good film hidden underneath it all. There’s a damn good film here, but what’s frustrating is the lack of backstory. Backstory is very important, especially when you’re bringing a Japanese story into the United States, offering only a big of an explanation while leading up to your title card. We don’t get much of an explanation of why characters were doing certain things, why this spirit is able to move from location to location - it became frustrating watching events occur with little to no explanation as to how they’re able to occur. But, there is a genuinely good film here. Pesce set this film up in a way that audiences aren’t used to, utilizing a non-linear storyline to push us through the many events, which actually worked quite well. I had no problem going through the time jumps, and how they were slowly integrating also made this film an intersting watch. Unfortunatley, jump scares seeemd to be the main way to frighten, but they built up enough atmosphere to justify the scares, and add that extra level of creep into it. The Grudge, with some tweaking, could have been an amazing adaptation, and spawned some great sequels as well. I’m not sure if we are going to be getting any further sequels, especially after seeing the initial reactions to the film. It’s a shame, since the Grudge universe is absolutely interesting, and I’d love to see more films looking into all of the happenings with these spirits. This film certainly is going to need some more time to digest with me, and some more viewings to truly understand what the lore is. But, I still enjoyed watching this film, even if the crowd I was in wans’t terribly impressed. Also, please support this film if you can. We need more independent artists like Pesce to come and make different kinds of horror films. He’s already impressed me with The Eyes of My Mother, and I’d love to see him dealing with a bigger budget and see what he creates. Giving films like this to indie directors is always a gamble, but showing support really gives studios the opportunity to give more directors the chance to come up to the big leagues and show their stuff.

sol

The Grudge

wow so great!