On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 148/159 |
David Mumpower |
In a year of indistinguishable horror movies, this inept sequel stands out in its heinousness. |
After opening to $39 million and eventually posting a domestic gross of $110 million, it was a foregone conclusion that The Grudge would have a sequel. After all, it was made on a bare-bones budget (reportedly $10 million) and was hugely profitable for Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures and Sony. It's possible that the PG-13 horror genre is being overdone, but if they all continue to be relatively profitable, it's a trend that isn't going away anytime soon.
Takashi Shimizu, who directed both the Japanese version of the film and the aforementioned U.S. remake, will be back onboard to helm the sequel. Screenwriter Stephen Susco will also return to handle the scripting duties.
The first film starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and showed her working as a nurse for a family in Tokyo. She doesn't have to spend much time in their home before she realizes that it is inhabited by malevolent spirits that want nothing more than to destroy any person who passes through its doors. It's not confined to the house, either. Once a person is "infected" by these ghosts, it is possible for them to be afflicted anywhere and to pass on their condition to others.
As such, though many of the characters in The Grudge came to a calamitous end, it's possible to bring them back in non-corporeal form. It will be fascinating to see if the film follows the trajectory of the Ring sequel or if it can manage to set itself apart and do something completely unique. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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