The Grudge

Review by Richard Lee

Columbia Pictures / 2004 / 92 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: February 1, 2005

Specifications:
-DVD-Video
-DVD-9
-Region 1

Aspect Ratio: 
-1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:
-English
-French

Subtitles:
-English
-French
-Spanish
-Subtitles Off

Main Menu:
-Play Movie
-Languages
-Scene Selections
-Special Features
-Previews

Special Features:
-Cast & Crew Commentary
-A Powerful Rage: Behind The Grudge
-Under The Skin
-Previews

Apparently in Japan, when someone dies in a rage, a curse is left behind and attaches itself to the place where the death occurred. Any unfortunate soul who happens to wander into that place is, consequently, marked for death. This is about as simplistic a plot device as you can get for a horror film but Japanese writer/director Takashi Shimizu is given the opportunity to do it twice; once in his native country and again for American audiences. Many will find similarities with this film and another recent American retelling of a Japanese horror hit "The Ring". Whereas "The Ring" was a completely westernized version of the Japanese "Ringu" movies, "The Grudge" kept its original Japanese director and some of the original Japanese cast and left the location in Tokyo. Only the leads are recast with American actors.

Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Karen Davis, an American exchange student in Japan earning college credits by doing work as a caregiver. When one of her co-workers doesn't show up for work, Karen is assigned to care for a mentally-impaired woman who happens to reside in a house where tragedy struck three years prior. Sam Raimi, who got his start with the "Evil Dead" horror trilogy, produced this American version because he was impressed with the stylistic direction by Shimizu in the original, "Ju-On". Indeed, there is little gore to be found in this atmospherically creepy tale and genuine shocks abound, especially if viewed in a darkened room with the surround system turned up. Be fore-warned, the shocks come in the form of "stingers", unexpected jolts in sound effects accompanied by intense visuals. 

Picture Quality:

The image is meticulously clean without a hint of dust or grain. Colors are strong and vibrant, creating a natural looking environment while the nightmarish scenes in the film take on hues and shades that are eerie to say the least. Black levels are rock solid making sure the image has good visual depth and also ensuring the shadows that make up a good portion of the horror are perfectly reproduced without losing detail. Definition of the image is extremely good throughout and no edge-enhancement or compression artifacts are apparent to distract from the viewing experience.

Audio Quality:

The 5.1 Dolby Digital audio that comes on the DVD is remarkably efficient. Making aggressive use of the surround channels, the sound mix enhances the experience immensely in this film, as we hear the evil all around us, building the intensity. Dialogues are natural and always understandable. A very understated score accompanies the film that never gets in the way of the story or the images. It is nicely mixed with a wide sound field and is so well done that it truly becomes one with the images. Creepiest moments: 6:20 - Ghost takes out Yoko; 21:00 - Ghost appears to Karen; 30:20 - Ghost takes out Son and Daughter-in-law; 57:50 - Yoko re-appears; 1:00:00 - Viewing of the surveillance tape; 1:22:00 - The Truth of the Murders.

Special Features:

There is a cast and crew commentary track featuring co-producer Sam Raimi, his brother Ted, who appears in the film, Sarah Michelle Gellar and others. It is an interesting commentary full of valuable tidbits about the making of the film in general, the shoot in Tokyo, the concept of working with Japanese filmmakers, and so forth. It is definitely worth checking out if you want to learn some more about the project as a whole. They also mention a forth-coming un-rated version of the film with additional scenes; a standard practice with DVD's these days. Hey, anyway the studios can get more of our money…

A five-part documentary is also included covering different aspects of the movie's production in more detail. The DVD is rounded out by "Under The Skin", a featurette what takes a closer look at the medical and neurological concept of fear and its implications on the body. What is fear, where does it come from and what happens inside our bodies are some of the topics discussed here, particularly in the context of experiencing fear through movies.