The Grudge
Originally Written: October 2004
Horror movies are tricky critters for critics. How do you grade them? Style, intelligence, scares, suspense, complexity, gore? All valid angles to look from. But what id the movie fails to scare you or gross you out? Do you just write it off completely? Is the film without merit? Wouldn’t you do that to a comedy that failed to make you laugh? What makes horror movies any different?
The difference is that horror movies can work on more than one level. While smarts isn’t a necessity in a great comedy (even satirical humor can be juvenile), intelligence can make a horror movie great when it doesn’t freak you out (see “Scream”). Style- again, not important for comedy- can turn a lackluster horror script into creepy fun (“Army of Darkness” is wicked fun courtesy Sam Raimi’s deliriously crazy style). Comedies need not be complex to work (in fact, they work better if they’re not), but add a little depth to the same-old story in the horror genre, and marvel at the results (“The Devil’s Backbone” was more than your ordinary ghost story). And suspense? Comedies don’t rely on dramatic twists and situations to work (otherwise, they shouldn’t be comedies). As for horror, though, this is essential (see “The Ring”). It doesn’t have to scare me, ’cause it takes a lot for a piece of fiction to do that (see “Jaws”). It doesn’t have to show all sorts of blood and guts, and with few exceptions (“Evil Dead II”), I prefer that it doesn’t. All I ask of a horror movie is that it holds my interest, leaves me wanting to come back, and gets under my skin.
For me, “The Grudge” did that. Following in “The Ring’s” footsteps in remaking a popular Japanese horror thriller, producers Sam Raimi (director of the “Spider-Man” movies) and Robert Tapart- who a decade ago completed their rebellious, devious “Evil Dead” trilogy (a deserving cult classic)- return to the genre by asking director Takashi Shimizu to remake his own thriller “Ju-on: The Grudge” (one of four “Ju-on” movies by Shimizu) from an American script by Stephen Susco. Both films- though I’ve just seen the American version (the original hits DVD Nov. 9)- revolve around a caregiver whose ward- an elderly woman- lives in a house in Tokyo possessed by a curse. It seems that some in Japan believe that if a person dies in a state of sorrow or rage, a curse will stay in the house, and take hold of anyone who enters the house.
If that sounds boring compared to the grabber premise of “The Ring”- a killer videotape that results in death seven days after it’s watched- just skip “The Grudge.” Don’t bother. I’m not going to pretend “The Grudge” is the definitive haunted house movie, ’cause it’s not (watch Robert Wise’s “The Haunting”- not the recent remake- for that, with Kubrick’s “The Shining” not far behind), but the film did have some interesting spins on the material.
For me, “The Grudge” was effective for a lot of reasons some “horror” movies this year haven’t been. I liked the score by Christopher Young (who beautifully scored Raimi’s “The Gift” in 2000), which was a decent- if not overly genius- genre effort. I liked the characters at the center of the story- Sarah Michelle Gellar’s caregiver Karen, Bill Pullman’s professor (who enters and exits the plot in similar fashion as characters do in David Lynch’s “Lost Highway,” which Pullman also starred in), Ted Raimi- Sam’s brother- as Karen’s boss, and Ryo Ishibasi as the detective on the case. I like Shimizu’s polished, nonlinear way of storytelling, which flashed back-and-forth through time without being showy or obvious. I liked that when Gellar’s character is off-screen, I wasn’t checking my watch await her return (which is more a reflection on the story’s interest than Gellar’s performance, by the way; Gellar- though not at her “Buffy” best- respects the material and holds her own). I liked Shimizu’s precise shot compositions and editing, which owes more to Kubrick than Michael Bay (who produced last year’s uninspired “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” remake). I liked the use of CG and makeup effects, which were subtle and unsettling. And I loved the closing shot, which screams sequel (one was fast-tracked after the film’s stunning $39 million opening weekend), but also lingers long after you’ve left the theatre.
Lest this sound too good to be true, here’s what is lacking in “The Grudge.” Namely, depth. Though “The Grudge” is a brisk and compelling 93 minutes, and the story is fleshed out adaquetly enough for my taste, one of the reasons I felt “The Ring” surpassed the Japanese “Ringu” was the added complexity to the story, which was fascinating and enthralling to watch. Secondly, there’s the fact that Gellar’s character never becomes the heroine you expect, a problem “Ringu” shared (Naomi Watts anchored “The Ring” superbly). There are hints of it, but her Karen is never shown going all-out supernatural sleuth like Watts did. The structure is partially to blame for that, as is the aforementioned lack of depth. The character of Gellar’s student boyfriend- played by “Roswell’s” Jason Behr (whom “Buffy” fans should recognize as Buffy’s bud from L.A. in the terrific Season Two episode “Lie to Me”)- is underdeveloped to the point he shouldn’t really even be in the story. He serves a purpose essential to the plot, yes, but is never engaged in the plot like Watts’ ex-flame was in “The Ring.” Finally, that ending- though indelibly chilling- really does have the stench of a sequel setup, but the truth is, even some of the best films have trouble pulling that off.
But despite those negatives- and considering the positives mentioned above- the reason “The Grudge” succeeded ultimately was this- it got under my skin, like the most memorable horror does. It touched something deep down, and inhabited my nightmares. It’s the most unsettling aspect of horror movie filmmaking, and in the end, it’s when the genre is its’ most unforgettable. It’s not the body count, or how gruesome the deaths get, and its’ not how often I leap out of my seat when those scare chords are hit in the score- it’s how the movie creeeps you the Hell out. On that level, “The Grudge” very much reminds me of Kubrick’s “The Shining.” It doesn’t explore its’ themes as profoundly as that classic did, but what it does that puts it on par with Kubrick’s film is dig into your psyche on a primal level, and plays off your worst fears, especially the fear that anywhere- at any time- something will jump out at you and kill you. For someone who- for some reason- is still a bit wary of going down any darkened hallways (believe me when I say the projection booth of a movie theatre at night is more than a little creepy). Sometimes, that’s the best gauge of what a good horror movie is. In the case of “The Grudge,” that’s the gauge I’m using in calling it a very good horror movie. No other horror movie this year has managed to work so well on such an important level.
