Does The Grudge 2020 Pass The Lost in Translation Test?
It’s J-Horror Time, everyone! In this edition, we’re going to take a look at the latest in J-Horror adaptations: Nicolas Pesce’s The Grudge. Let’s get cracking!
This version of The Grudge has a unique story-line in the Ju-On universe that runs alongside the events of the previous three movies, and it acts as a reboot to the series started back in 2004. It took a different approach than Grudge ‘04, and while both films start the same, that’s where the similarities end (aside from nods to G’04, like the iconic shower scene).
***SPOILER ALERT***
The films share the same title card (In Japan, it is said that…) and introduce the Saeki house as a cursed place. However, rather than focus the film on what happens in Japan, it starts with Fiona Landers (Tara Westwood, Detours), who was a live-in nurse at the Saeki residence in Japan, comes back to the US. Of course, she brings the curse with her and with it, certain death for her family. Naturally, the curse draws in other people, such as a husband (John Cho, Star Trek (2009)) and wife (Betty Gilpin, GLOW) realtor team and an elderly husband (Frankie Faison, Banshee) and wife (Lin Shaye, Insidious) that move into the house and each meets their own grisly demise. Finally, we hear about Detective Muldoon (Andrea Riseborough, Waco), who is tied into the tragic events that took place at 44 Reyburn Drive and is eventually bound to the curse as well.
The acting in this movie was good, all things considered. I felt that Shaye and Cho were phenomenal in their roles (especially Shaye), but the others didn’t fall flat. Riseborough fit the role of Det. Muldoon, which I find funny because she was in the Black Mirror episode Alligator on the other side of the law. The actors that played the doomed family members of the people affected by the curse filled their roles well, too. It was refreshing!
The visual effects took G’04 and kicked it up quite a few notches. The “Grudge spirit” was much more fluid because of the advancements in CGI, and oftentimes, the effects blended into the film so well that it stopped registering as CGI as the film went on. The sets were fantastic, especially 44 Reyburn Drive, which was one of the creepiest houses I’ve seen in a horror movie since Insidious 3.
Where it falls short is something I talked about in my article, Lost In Translation. To me, this should have been the first Grudge movie in the series, mostly because it mainly takes place in the US, whereas the ‘04 version took place mainly in Japan. I felt that this movie was a way to bridge that gap, but unfortunately, it’s a bit late in the franchise to recover. Honestly, after two lackluster sequels, it seems like horror fans are jaded with the prospect of ever getting a good Grudge movie. I, however, hope they make a sequel or two to this movie so that we can try this whole thing over now that we have more powerful tools at our disposal.
All in all, it’s best not to have expectations from this movie, and also to forget about the prior three movies because comparing it to the other films will always end up in disappointment. It is, however, worth a watch in my opinion because it’s a decent installment of the franchise.
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