The Grudge

The Grudge is a 2004 American supernatural horror film and a remake of the Japanese film Ju-On: The Grudge. The film was released in North America on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures, and was directed by Takashi Shimizu (director of all previous Ju-on films) while Stephen Susco scripted the film. The plot is told through a non-linear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots.

The film was a great box office success, making over $187 million against a $10 million budget.

It was followed by two sequels: The Grudge 2 (which was released on October 13, 2006), and The Grudge 3 (released on May 12, 2009).

Plot

The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow. The curse is an entity created where the person died. Those who encounter this evil supernatural force die; and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order; the original film is presented in a non-linear narrative.

The Grudge 3

The Grudge 3 is a 2009 American supernatural horror film and the third film in The Grudge series. Toby Wilkins, who had previously directed the successful film Splinter and the short films Tales from The Grudge, took Takashi Shimizu's place as director, while Brad Keene replaced Stephen Susco as screenwriter. The film stars Johanna Braddy, Shawnee Smith and Marina Sirtis, with a special appearance by Matthew Knight and was released on DVD on May 12, 2009.

Unlike the previous American films that were both rated PG-13, The Grudge 3 was given an R rating because of its graphic bloody violence, gore and language. The film features a linear plotline unlike all of its predecessors, which used nonlinear sequences of events for their respective plots and subplots.

Plot

Jake, the only survivor from the second movie, is under the care of Dr. Sullivan in an asylum. He is locked in his room following several escape attempts and is attacked by Kayako. The attack is seen on security cameras, although Kayako cannot be seen, and Jake is dead by the time Dr. Sullivan arrives with a security officer. News of the incident reaches a young woman in Tokyo, Naoko, who is the sister of Kayako. Believing that her sister is responsible, she travels to Chicago.

Horror film

Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Inspired by literature from authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley, horror films have existed for more than a century. The macabre and the supernatural are frequent themes, and may overlap with the fantasy, supernatural fiction and thriller genres.

Horror films often deal with viewers' nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage into the everyday world. Prevalent elements include ghosts, extraterrestrials, vampires, werewolves, demons, gore, torture, vicious animals, evil witches, monsters, zombies, cannibals, psychopaths, and serial killers. Movies about the supernatural are not necessarily horrific.

History

1890-1920s

The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by the film pioneer Georges Méliès in the late 1890s, the best known being Le Manoir du Diable, which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film. Another of his horror projects was 1898's La Caverne maudite (a.k.a. The Cave of the Unholy One, literally "the accursed cave").Japan made early forays into the horror genre with Bake Jizo and Shinin no Sosei, both made in 1898. The era featured a slew of literary adaptations, with the works of Poe and Dante, among others. In 1910, Edison Studios produced the first film version of Frankenstein, following the 1908 film adaptation of the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The macabre nature of the source materials used made the films synonymous with the horror film genre.