An American supernatural film by Nicolas Pesce, ‘The Grudge’ is a reboot of the Ju-On: The Grudge by Takashi Shimizu.
Directed by- Nicolas Pesce
Produced by- Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Taka Ichise
Starring- Andrea Riseborough, Demian Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, Jacki Weaver
Plot
The story revolves around a detective investigation on a couple of a haunted house set in the area of 44 Rayburn Drive. There is another story which is going parallel to this, of one Detective Muldoon, played by Andrea Riseborough and Detective Goodman played by Demian Bichir who are working on a case of murder.
Analysis
The film opens with a conventional characteristic of horror; rage and curse. Following, a basic storyline of a haunted house which is already hinted in the trailer and turns out – it is a haunted house. Now without straining the brain, one would know crossing the yellow line is danger.
However, what Grudge does is, it deliberately pushes the story inside of the house because otherwise how would you make a film?
The story has been written in a back and forth narrative. But that story development trick does not work with all the other predictable horror moves. There is a scene where the woman who resides in the house is washing her face on a sink clogged with water. A ghost comes from behind and chokes her into the water. Sounds obvious right? Because it is! Moreover, there is a zillion of such moments which instead of elevating the spook, turns into a spoof of horror.
The film stars Academy Award-nominated Demian Bichir, but unfortunately, none of the actors have been utilised very less or not at all.
Though, made on 2004 US remake of ‘Ju-On: The Grudge’ – a mythology of the Japanese horror franchise, this adaptation fails to justify what it is based on entirely.
At the beginning of the year, Indian Netflix has gifted us with if not a masterpiece but an allegorical take on the horror genre through ‘Ghost Stories’; which has utilised the horror genre to explore the darker human psyche.
Released on January 1, Ghost Stories is now streaming on Netflix. (Ghost Stories Review)
