The Grudge (2020)

Directed by: Nicolas Pesce | 94 minutes | horror | Actors: Tara Westwood, Junko Bailey, David Lawrence Brown, Zoe Fish, Andrea Riseborough, John J. Hansen, Demián Bichir, Joel Marsh Garland, Bradley Sawatzky, Lin Shaye, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Stephanie Sy, Steven Ratzlaff, Jacki Weaver Frankie Faison, William Sadler, Maria Anne Grant

‘The Grudge’ is a new chapter in the horror franchise that started with Takeshi Shimizu’s quirky and enjoyable piece of cinematic art ‘Ju-on’. This tasty portion of creepy fare was followed by the anything but bad, but somewhat lesser American remake ‘The Grudge’ (also directed by Shimizu) and a few more sequels. ‘The Grudge’ from 2020 is not a sequel or prequel, but rather a ‘sidequel’ as the makers call it. This means that the film tells a thematically similar, but self-contained story that takes place approximately in the same time period as ‘Ju-on’. In addition, ‘The Grudge’ is set in the United States instead of Japan.

In ‘The Grudge’ we see how American Fiona Landers, who lives in Japan, rushes back to the United States in 2004 because her home is not exactly clean. Unfortunately, she takes a curse with her, which soon causes her new home environment to be ravaged by malicious supernatural entities. A few years later, Detective Muldoon and her partner are puzzled when they discover an almost unrecognizable and dingy-looking corpse on a remote country road. The detectives’ detective work shows that the body belongs to Lorna Moody, a woman who helps people with a euthanasia wish to end their lives in a painless and dignified way. The trail takes Muldoon to the Mathesons’ home. And let this be the very house where Fiona Landers also lived and where a terrible family drama took place in the recent past…

What is immediately striking about ‘The Grudge’ is that the makers opt for a non-linear storytelling style. Rather than telling the story chronologically, the film jumps back and forth in time and space. The common thread is that we follow the fortunes of various people who have inhabited or visited the foreboding house at 44 Reyburn Drive over time. The time jumps sometimes create a bit of confusion, but don’t make the film difficult to follow. The main problem is that the chosen approach leaves little time for a good introduction to the different characters. As a result, many characters lack body and depth and as a viewer you don’t really empathize with their (sometimes horrific) fortunes.

But ‘The Grudge’ falls short – certainly in comparison with ‘Ju-on’ and the first ‘The Grudge’ – in terms of atmosphere and tension building. Director Nicolas Pesce regularly resorts to predictable ‘jump scares’ and horror clichés devoid of originality. Moreover, the proverbial monkey comes out (too) quickly. As a result, the film rarely gets the oppressive atmosphere that is actually necessary to make a horror film of this type into really enjoyable viewing. Visually ‘The Grudge’ is fine by the way. The eerie ghostly apparitions look quite macabre and terrifying, while the film is also not afraid to treat the viewer to a lot of blood and a few severed fingers. The acting is also quite decent for a horror film.

As a standalone film, ‘The Grudge’ is an average-quality horror film: decent in terms of effects and camera work, but not surprising and exciting enough to really keep you on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately, a comparison with the first two films of the Grudge franchise makes these shortcomings even more apparent.