A brother and sister duo (Gil McKinney and Johanna Braddy) are staying in the same apartment complex as in “The Grudge 2”, with their chronically ill little sister (Jadie Hobson). McKinney is, in fact the landlord there. Meanwhile, Matthew Knight, the sole survivor of “The Grudge 2”, is in a psych ward and is trying to convince shrink Shawnee Smith that something awful is set to happen yet again. And indeed the curse that prayed on people in the previous film is back for another round. Meanwhile, Smith decides to pay visit to the apartment complex, as does mysterious Emi Ikehata, recently arrived from Japan and possessor of the knowledge of how to deal with the curse. A surprisingly aging Marina Sirtis appears briefly as a victim.
I hate J-horror generally, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this series, be it the Japanese originals or the first two American ones (“Dark Water” still stands as the best J-horror in my view, though). That moderate affection ends with this film from Toby Wilkins, who fared far better with the engaging creature feature “Splinter”. Series creator Takashi Shimizu only warrants a producer credit here, so perhaps the lack of his creative influence is somewhat to blame for a frankly unnecessary and unimaginative film, which unlike the previous American “Grudge” films, was released direct-to-DVD.
I’ve always felt that unlike the dull “Ringu” series, this series of films drown in a sense of dread that I really dig. The music score here by Sean McMahon is damn good, and gets things off on a right note that suggests that this might be pretty decent, as does the cool and creepy title design and the opening B&W scenes are unsettling. I also loved the shot of a painting bleeding black, which whilst a “Ringu” rip-off, is creepier IMHO. And that creepy meowing sound never fails to make my skin crawl, so I was glad to hear it again in this one. The ghosties look a little hokier in this one, and played by different actors, but they’re still creepier than anything in “Ringu”. But for the most part this reeks of a filmmaker (or more likely, a studio) making a movie simply because they know they can make a buck with it, albeit on DVD. You could make the same argument for “The Grudge 2” I suppose, but I’ve finally tired of it all now.
The actors are either insufferably dull (McKinney), too low-key (Braddy is likeable, despite her crazy eyes that unintentionally seem to suggest demonic possession- tell me I’m wrong!), or entirely wasted (Smith, and Deanna Troi herself, Marina Sirtis- in the Grace Zabriskie role!). The best of the bunch is Ikehata, but her role seems like an afterthought, despite her character being far more necessary than the two leads if you ask me. If anything, she has the Amber Tamblyn role from “The Grudge 2”- and well, there you go, no reason for this film to exist at all. And getting back to Braddy, her casting calls out the film’s diminishing quality. The first film starred “Buffy”, the second starred “Joan of Arcadia”, and this one features a semi-regular cast member of “Greek”. Wow, if they make another one, I reckon it oughtta star the craft services guy from the set of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”. There’s a terrific knife through the throat, but that and the music score aren’t nearly enough to save this tired, unnecessary film. The ending is a non-event, too.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Only for those of you who absolutely have to see every film in this series, and even then you’ll likely be disappointed by this unnecessary, dull film.
