The Grudge (Sony Blu-ray) + The Grudge 3 (Sony DVD)

 

Picture: B+/C+     Sound: B+/C+     Extras:  B-/C-     Films: B-/D

 

 

After the 2002 film Ju-on: The Grudge became a popular film in Japan, it seemed like the common trend was to exploit that by transferring the film into an English-speaking version, which wound up being called simply “The Grudge” in 2004 and Sarah Michelle Gellar was cast in the lead role to help market the film for American audiences.  The film became somewhat of a hit in the horror genre, but this also caused attention again for the original film and the formula for converting Japanese films into American ones worked like he had previously on The Ring, and then later The Eye.  We’ve already talked extensively about this here, and also here. 

 

The film is certainly better than it’s sequels, which mostly has to do with the pairing of director Sam Raimi along with the films original director Takashi Shimizu, who help keep much of the films thrilling potency in tact, even with the language change it’s amazing how many things can suddenly alter the films impact, but in this film it works well, despite eventually falling into some of the trappings that kill so many horror films before the credits roll. 

 

Like so many horror films before this one, we have a mysterious spirit that lurks inside a house and begins to overtake anyone who dares come in, later we find out that this spirits name is Ju-On and supernatural events begin to transpire leaving the audience as vulnerable as the characters in the film.  Of course one by one people start dying, there doesn’t seem to be a way of stopping or killing the ‘entity’ and we are left with a psychological battle that plays out in order to find some way to solve the mystery. 

 

Sony has now issued the film for Blu-ray, which will certainly make fans of the series happy, especially since this version is a 50GB Blu-ray disc containing both the theatrical and unrated versions of the film, which really both are about the same except for more moments of shocking imagery and such, which don’t really alter the film all that much.  The film is presented in a respectable 1.85 X 1 framed transfer in true 1080p and looks solid throughout giving the films dreary and distorted look a fresh look on the format, colors are purposely muted to achieve a darker and almost grimy-like quality that enhances the films horror overtones, which look particular good on Blu-ray considering how many darker scenes there are.  The DVD for the film was never capable of offering the depth of the dark greens and blacks for example.  Resolution looks consistent and the life-like images now jump from the screen in a more natural way making the films scare-factor more predominate.  Likewise the Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 mix is abundantly aggressive throughout giving the viewer/listener plenty of ear-candy to match the screen effects and bringing a sonic experience through the listening space. 

 

Extras include some deleted scenes with optional commentary along with a commentary to accompany the film with directors and cast members. 

 

The Grudge 3 is a real disappointment after re-watching the first film and seeing just how much further removed this film is from it’s roots and how the material is wearing thin after three outings.  We are not surprised that this ends up being a straight-to-video release in 2009 and we begin to get third rate directing and acting, which makes this a slap in the fact to fans who have stuck with the series to this point, but this will likely be the final nail in the coffin.  Unlike the Saw franchise, which was able to find new and perhaps exciting ways to kill people or at least market that, this one becomes tired and boring shortly after the first frame.

 

The DVD offering isn’t much to write home about either as it’s basic as we get with a 1.85 X 1 anamorphic transfer that looks drab and stale at this point, mixed with a uninteresting Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and a poor script and it’s truly a title worth skipping, extras include deleted scenes and 2 featurettes, but why bother at this point?  Stick with the original film or the Americanized version, especially the Blu-ray release, which invests back into a film that has found an audience.

 

 

-   Nate Goss