The Grudge
If you’re gonna run your cold, decrepit hands through my hands, could you at least give me a little scalp massage?
Cast of Characters:
Det. Muldoon – Andrea Riseborough
Det. Goodman – Demian Bichir
Peter Spencer – John Cho
Nina Spencer – Betty Gilpin
Faith Matheson – Lin Shaye
Lorna Moody – Jacki Weaver
Director – Nicolas Pesce
Screenplay – Nicolas Pesce
Based on characters created by Takashi Shimizu
Producer – Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert & Taka Ichise
Rated R for disturbing violence and bloody images, terror and some language.
The Rundown: When a young detective, Det. Muldoon (Andrea Riseborough) and her partner Det. Goodman (Demian Bichir) begin investigating a recent murder, they uncover more than they bargained for when they find out the house is cursed by a vengeful spirit. With the demonic queen of all death croakers now after her, Muldoon must do everything she can to protect both her and her family.
Pre-Release Buzz: Nothing is more befitting of January, aka the studio’s garbage dump of the film year, than a horror franchise that has already squatted out three celluloid turds… and that’s just the American films, remakes of the original Japanese Ju-On franchise that produced nine total films, all of which ran prior to, simultaneously and after the American remakes’ run.
To date, that’s thirteen total films, two short films, a video game, a couple comics and a graphic novel. In the words of Kevin Bacon’s Chip Diller from Animal House, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?!” Sure, why not?
So here we are with the 2020 reboot of The Grudge, which had been stuck in development hell since Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures first announced a fourth installment to the American series back in 2011. While there’s plenty of reason to just roll our eyes at this project, the production team has assembled together a solid cast and a young, promising director in Nicolas Pesce (The Eyes of My Mother, Piercing), so maybe there’s hope? January has surprised us before.
The Good: Unlike the first three American Grudge remakes that featured the likes of such B-listers as Amber Tamblyn, Shawnee Smith and everyone’s favorite poor man’s
And, of course, horror staple Lin Shaye, who was consistently the best part of the Insidious franchise, is always a welcome sight. If you were hoping for her to bring her creepy A-game, you will not be disappointed.
Also a marked change from the three prior films is Pesce’s style and tone, which, with help from cinematographer Zachary Galler, has a more austere, gritty look, as opposed to the bland, straight-to-DVD presentation of this film’s predecessors. This lends a bleak sense of realism to the franchise’s long-running ghost story that harkens back to the horror-thrillers of the ’70s, and it’s a refreshing change of pace for the series, at least visually so (more on the script’s lack of doing so in just a second).
The Bad: Unfortunately, all that this film does have going for it is wholly let down by a script that can be best described as one big missed opportunity. There are moments throughout that had the potential to really deliver, both in terms of horror tension and even emotional resonance, yet Pesce never goes further than skin deep in exploring the themes he’s trying to present.
But, hey – BOO! Here’s a jump scare instead!
While Pesce does plant the seeds for what could’ve been compelling character arcs, with all the bouncing back and forth he’s doing between each character, he’s unable to let the storylines flourish – for instance, Riseborough’s character is still grieving the recent loss of her husband to cancer; Bichir’s struggling with a coworker’s tragic accident; Cho and Betty Gilpin are hit with difficult news regarding the child they’re expecting and Frankie Faison struggles to care for his wife, Lin Shaye, who’s suffering from a terminal disease. There is one standout moment shared by veteran character actor Faison and Weaver, where Faison delivers a monologue of what grief and coping with the impending loss of his wife means to him. It’s a moment that is beautiful, moving and heartbreakingly poignant all it the same time, and it’s all the more a shame that the rest of the film isn’t able to capture what Pesce and Faison’s performance are able to capture in that scene.
Even more damning is Pesce’s slapdash focus on the story, which is presented in non-linear format. While it is intriguing to see how he sets up one plot point before going back to watch how it all unfolds, over the course of the film, I couldn’t help but think that this was just a tactic to avoid all the mounting questions, most of which are not only not answered, they’re barely explored to begin with. On top of that are the rules that Pesce sets up at the beginning only to then disregard them by the end of the film. I get that you want to maintain suspense for the film’s climax, but if it’s coming at the expense of narrative coherence, the result will be less than satisfsying.
Of course, as is in horror and comedy, much can be forgiven so long as it’s either scary or funny, respectively. Pesce is most certainly capable of generating tension, as we’ve seen in his two prior efforts (both of which are superior to this film), and as we do see here on occasion when he chooses to draw out the tension instead of resorting to cheap jump scares – the fart joke of the horror genre. However, more often than not, the choice is for the latter.
And as the Grail Knight once told Indiana Jones during The Last Crusade… “He chose… poorly.”
The Ugly: Putting aside the film’s final gotcha moment that screams “SEQUEL! SEQUEL! SEQUEL!!!!”, there is a moment – and I won’t spoil it – between Cho and Gilpin’s characters that felt like nothing more than shock value for shock value’s sake. This goes back to my main issue with their characters and their respective conflicts. Had Pesce focused more effort on fleshing out his characters, that moment might have been able to deliver a more devastating emotional punch to the viewer. Instead, it feels cheap and exploitative, as if Pesce’s thinking, “Hey, we got the green light to go R-rated… let’s really show ’em something!”
Consensus: Though headlined by a talented cast giving it their all and dressed up in some suitably moody atmospherics by director Nicolas Pesce, 2020’s The Grudge ultimately feels less like a fresh reimagining of the well over-played franchise and more a lackluster studio obligation to maintain franchise rights.
Silver Screen Fanatic’s Verdict: I give The Grudge a C (★★).
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