When I was a kid, I was terrified of showering. I’d been scared by titles like Arachnophobia, Final Destination, and of course Psycho. If I took a shower, I was going to get murdered by a serial killer, attacked by a spider, or slip on a bar of soap and… I can’t even finish the rest. Final Destination ruined me. I think horror movies were targeting me personally, honestly, and every time I was finally over my fear, some other movie would come along and ruin those things all over again.
The early aughts J-horror boom was definitely painful for everyday life. Suddenly, cell phones, VHS tapes, and even computers were threats to life. Nothing was safe, and I was an anxious mess. Still, I kept consuming the originals and inevitable American remakes, and one of my favorites—a certified generational classic—was Takashi Shimizu’s The Grudge, a remake of his own Ju-On: The Grudge. The film was a commercial and box office success, triggering an entire English-language series for the franchise. Now, you can catch the original The Grudge streaming on Prime Video.
Per Prime Video: Karen is an American nurse living in Tokyo who is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse. The curse is a vengeful spirit that possesses a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
The Grudge basically was the horror scene of 2004. Everyone saw it and everyone was talking about it. People were emulating the titular ghost’s guttural growl, checking under their sheets, and daring friends to check out their respective neighborhood’s haunted house. Takashi Shimizu adeptly reduced his admittedly convoluted mythos to the basics, and what sensational basics they are. Even Ju-On arguably builds upon a storied history of J-horror, miming the key iconography and tropes seen elsewhere, though it does so with more verve and danger than had been seen before.
It’s no wonder, then, that both Ju-On and The Grudge have a remarkable 13 feature films and adaptations in other mediums, including stage plays, novels, and even a Netflix miniseries. That first English remake truly is something. It’s got Sarah Michelle Gellar, plenty of strong scares, and a fantastic sense of place. Even audiences who haven’t seen The Grudge know about The Grudge, and now that the J-horror classic is streaming on Prime Video, now is as good a time as any to challenge the curse and unpack The Grudge.
Do you have any plans to check out The Grudge, either for the first time or the fifth? How do you think the film compares to the rest of the franchise? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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