THE GRUDGE – “Miserably Sleepy”

Grudge2020

RATING

DIRECTOR

Nicolas Pesce (Piercing -2018)

STARRING

  • Andrea Riseborough as Detective Muldoon
  • Demián Bichir as Detective Goodman
  • John Cho as Peter Spencer
  • Betty Gilpin as Nina Spencer
  • Lin Shaye as Faith Matheson
  • Jacki Weaver as Lorna Moody
  • Frankie Faison as William Matheson
  • William Sadler as Detective Wilson

SYNOPSIS

Is a reboot of the 2004 American remake of the Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge. The film's events take place at the same time as those of the 2004 film.

After a young mother murders her family in her own house, a single mother and detective tries to investigate and solve the case. Later, she discovers the house is cursed by a vengeful ghost that dooms those who enter it with a violent death.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Where’s Sarah Michelle Gellar when you need her? Unlike the 2004 Americanized J- horror remake, this weak re-boot / sequel makes for a miserably sleepy viewing experience. Making matters worse is the convoluted and fragmented timeline that will have you scratching your head in-between rolling your eyes. Seriously, we go to 3 different time periods, 2 separate countries and meet 4 pairs of characters before landing on the principal story. And while you won’t need to have seen the aforementioned original film, it may help, as this one ties into it, perhaps appeasing some diehard fans of the series. We also get an overuse of jump scares (what else is new?) and ineffective “creepy things in the background” tricks. To be fair, there are a handful of worthy performances (here’s to you Andrea Riseborough), and some truly haunting visuals. There is also a consistent eerie atmosphere throughout, but it’s all not nearly enough to overcome some bad editing, a predictable finish, and perhaps worse of all, a lethargic story with lazy scares.

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