This is the Grudge as I never thought I could see it. The
formula is completely different- instead of a husband having killed his
wife and son, this story apparently eschews tradition and the wife is
responsible for killing the husband and the daughter. Very different
from before in that they just switched the genders. Also, remember how
the croaking from the first film came from the death rattling last
breath of the victim with the broken neck? This time, it comes from all
the ghosts and especially from the drowning victim who didn't have a
cat. Totally different. And remember the creeping, crawling, moving
closer within inches ghosts from the previous films? This time they
appear out of nowhere and show off spastic shaking heads as if they were
lead guitarists in a speed metal band. And only for a split second
before cutting to show us they're not "really" there. Totally
different.
This version of The Grudge is entirely different from any of the others in that it wasn't really a Grudge film as much as it was a Smudge film, just sort of barely recognizable as the Grudge and only if you squint real hard and remember the first film.
The story, on the other hand, works perfectly well and is suited to the original material. The performances aren't bad and the pacing is at least consistent. A detective mourning the loss of her husband moves to a new town with her young son, she is immediately drawn into a mystery when a body is found on the outskirts of town. The body's last known address was at the house where a recent string of deaths (Murders and suicides) have taken place. Lin Shaye continues to solidify her increasing reputation as the Godmother of Horror and should start to be spoken of with the same reverence as Vincent Price Peter Cushing, and Boris Karloff with her appearances in the genre. She is a true horror Icon.
So I am unsure of whether I've spoiled the whole thing for you, but I insist that the numbers 9 and 4 should be repeated ad infinitum in every Grudge movie from now until eternity. There's plenty of room for an improvement... maybe from watching the first Grudge film and maybe trying to do the things that actually WORK from those films rather than pretending any of this mess did.
5.49 and not a strong recommend, but not necessarily an "avoid". Still, I can't really insist that it's anything great.
This version of The Grudge is entirely different from any of the others in that it wasn't really a Grudge film as much as it was a Smudge film, just sort of barely recognizable as the Grudge and only if you squint real hard and remember the first film.
The story, on the other hand, works perfectly well and is suited to the original material. The performances aren't bad and the pacing is at least consistent. A detective mourning the loss of her husband moves to a new town with her young son, she is immediately drawn into a mystery when a body is found on the outskirts of town. The body's last known address was at the house where a recent string of deaths (Murders and suicides) have taken place. Lin Shaye continues to solidify her increasing reputation as the Godmother of Horror and should start to be spoken of with the same reverence as Vincent Price Peter Cushing, and Boris Karloff with her appearances in the genre. She is a true horror Icon.
So I am unsure of whether I've spoiled the whole thing for you, but I insist that the numbers 9 and 4 should be repeated ad infinitum in every Grudge movie from now until eternity. There's plenty of room for an improvement... maybe from watching the first Grudge film and maybe trying to do the things that actually WORK from those films rather than pretending any of this mess did.
5.49 and not a strong recommend, but not necessarily an "avoid". Still, I can't really insist that it's anything great.
No comments:
Post a Comment