|
The Grudge
A film review by Taryn A. Harris
Sarah Michelle Gellar (really terrific
in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series) stars as an
American student in The Grudge, based on the horror film,
Ju-On by Takashi Shimizu.
Karen (Gellar) signs up as a volunteer
at a healthcare center and gets her lucky break when another
worker doesn't show up. Uh-oh.
Strange things begin to happen as soon
as Karen enters the home of Emma Williams (Grace Zabriskie).
With the help of police detective Nakagawa played by Ryo Ishibashi,
Karen learns about the curse and the murders that followed.
Supposedly when a person dies violently,
their spirit takes revenge on anyone who is misfortunate enough
to enter the last place where they died. Basically, once you
step into the house (a woman and her son were murdered by her
husband), you can't escape. You will literally die of fright.
The Grudge
provides numerous chills and thrills (and even some laughs),
but without the trademark music that usually signals something
creepy is about to happen.
Overall, I was creeped out and screamed
a few times, but it wasn't as scary as The Ring (another
Japanese import).
The Grudge
also stars Bill Pullman, Jason Behr, Clea Duvall and Ted Raimi
(his brother Sam, was executive producer).
|
