Amber Tamblyn ventures to Tokyo to find her disturbed sister (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and bring her home to their ailing mother (Joanna Cassidy). Meanwhile, we have two other ghostly story strands going on; Shy, ugly duckling Arielle Kebbel is dared by some mean girls to enter the charred haunted house of the previous film, and all the girls soon find themselves plagued by nightmares. Then, back in the US, Jennifer Beals plays a MILF who has her own curse to deal with, after moving into a new apartment.
The J-horror genre, and subsequent Americanised remakes are not my favourite things in the world. At all. In fact, I’m sick to death of them. However, the “Grudge” films, whether in original form or Americanised, are founded on a concept far more interesting than the “Ringu” series. That said, this flick is a bit lesser than its predecessor (which I found slightly better than the original. Confused? Yeah, it’ll do that to ‘ya!). For starters, Amber Tamblyn is distractingly awful (Is she related to Russ Tamblyn? If so, that’d explain a few things…), and sadly, our main character. And there’s little new here, there’s even a repeat of the shower scene, but with Aussie Teresa Palmer instead of Gellar.
Thankfully, there’s a wonderful sense of dread, maybe even more impressively conveyed than last time. It also starts well, with the Columbia Pictures logo morphing into the long-haired ghost, followed by a scene with Beals that makes me wish that awful “Shirley Valentine” were a J-horror film.
Best of all, unlike the “Ringu” films, these films are actually genuinely creepy. I’m still not keen on these mystery/investigation-based horror flicks, though, unless there’s a deformed, red-cloaked dwarf involved.
OVERALL SUMMARY
It is what it is, and as it is, it’s all very watchable, if a little less so than last time (Is this the most confusing review I’ve ever written or what?).
