| The Grudge 2 is a spooky installment in Takashi Shimizu's hardworking Ju-on/Grudge series of horror pictures. It doesn't carry the disorienting thrill of the very first Japanese Ju-on features, but it's a lot creepier than anybody could have expected. The story picks up from the end of the first Hollywood version of The Grudge, and has nothing to do with Ju-on 2, Shimizu's Japanese sequel. Sarah Michelle Gellar returns (a distinctly supporting role) as an American woman traumatized by her experiences with a haunted house in Tokyo; younger sister Amber Tamblyn flies over to help out. This particular storyline doesn't have much meat on it; the murder house is still there, and people who go inside have a disconcerting habit of dropping dead. Fortunately, two other plots thread into the basic one: a group of American schoolgirls in Tokyo become intrigued by the legend of the house, and some Chicago apartment dwellers are unsettled by domestic anxiety and the weird sounds coming from next door. (This storyline, featuring Jennifer Beals, gives the film its extremely satisfying opening sequence.) As usual with these movies, sequences come to us in non-chronological order, and it's up to us to piece it together. You can guess where the film is going, but the slow trajectory toward its final sequences is surprisingly involving. The movie was widely panned upon its release, which says more about the presumption of the law of diminishing sequel returns than the film itself--it's a decent little horror flick. --Robert Horton |
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 I thought it was good |
| Review Date: September 7, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Book lover, Northen, Ca |
You know I have seen many bad reviews on here about this movie, but I think that it's just so many people today are just so desensitized, and they have to over analyze every frame. It's just ugh.... Will it win a Oscar? no. Is it just a good movie that you can sit back and watch with a bowl of popcorn? yes. Get 1 and 2 or rent them and sit back and enjoy a couple of good movies.
I have also seen both of the original japanese movies and they are really good also. |
Not a masterpiece, but better than the original.
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| Review Date: February 10, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Julian, Fort Worth, TX United States |
All I can say is that if you notice one thing about people that give this movie a bad review, they give just about everything a bad review except cartoon movies and star wars.
Now onto MY review...
First of all, The Grudge series isn't the greatest all of horror movies, but it does entertain and make you think. Heaven forbid that we should have to put together a movie plot with logical thinking of our own.
The Grudge 2 is better than the original in the fact that the horror is not limited to one family or group of people. This time, it travels across the globe, and the "scares" are pretty much from start to finish.
The stories DO cross each other's path, which makes for a good puzzle that you have to solve, all the while keeping an eye out for the good ol' pale-face woman and her son.
It's true, Sarah Michelle Gellar DOES get killed off pretty quick, but
according to part 1, she was destined to die anyway, due to having gone in the house. The new heroin, does a nice job of trying to defeat the curse, which ends in an unexpected way. (I won't spoil it.)
In all, it's a good movie that's a heck of alot better than some other
horror flicks coming out. (SEE PULSE)
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NOT GORY(thankfully), but VERY SCARY...top notch spooky movie
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| Review Date: October 9, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Gary L. Fox, Ok United States |
*The Grudge 2: Unrated Director's Cut*
Well first off it's a very good spooky movie. It had me looking over my shoulder a couple of times after it was over. There are a couple of bad acting moments, but recovers quickly and I'd forget about it. It was arranged kind of like Pulp Fiction, not in chronolical order, but in the end it all comes together(unlike Pulp Fiction). I don't remember the first Grudge being near this scary. It just keeps coming at you. I never once felt like it was too long, boring or even over played. The story made sense and it needed to be told so it would all come together in the end. I'd also like to mention that it does answer some of the questions that lingered in the first Grudge.
I don't see why this is getting so many poor reviews...it's a great scary movie, at times even very sad, keeping you on the edge of your seat. I'm just not sure what people are looking for...does it have to be bloody and horrifying to be a great scary movie? I say, "NO!"... Watch this with the lights out(by yourself for best results) and tell me it's not scary.
2 THUMBS UP for FRIGHT FACTOR, STORY LINE and LACK OF GORE |
Will scare you out of your seat
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| Review Date: November 26, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Joan M. Mckeown, ontario, canada |
| I loved the opening scene where Jennifer Beals character first pours hor bacon grease over her live in boyfriends head, and to finish it off then hits him over the head with a cast iron frying pan. Awsome. We don't know at that point she has been taken over by the "thing". One of the better horror shows in years. Beals can do it all, but gets little credit. |
Great, grossly underappreciated film
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| Review Date: July 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Steven Horton, Gadsden, TN United States |
I am going to keep this review short and to the point. People who say how bad this film is are either too stupid to understand a movie whose timeline is not presented to them in simple 'point a to point b' format, or they simply cannot appreciate fine, emotionally nuanced performances, or perhaps they are not really into J-horror (as the genre is called) films. There, I said it. Deal with it.
The film is a showcase for two fine performances:
Amber Tamblyn as Aubrey and Arielle Kebbel as Allison both deliver top-notch, A-list performances as girls forced into a situation in which they have no understanding of either what is going on or how to get themselves out (relatively) intact. The talent they apply in crafting these characters really lets the viewer feel their desperation and terror. It is impossible not to feel so sorry for what is happening to them.
Frankly, Arielle Kebbel steals the show from her more well-known compatriots in this movie. She brings her A-game in this performance. Without giving too much away, there is one scene in particular where one can really feel her horror on a truly visceral level. Her eyes perfectly convey what she is feeling, and her scream is truly classic horror film quality. As I stated before, I felt so terribly sorry for her character because she is, from all we are shown, a good person who in no way deserves the torment she receives, and it seems as though she gets an extra big helping of it indeed.
If you like fine performances and 'films' more than just 'movies', then you should really enjoy this one. In fairness, it may take more than one viewing to fully appreciate. I didn't truly appreciate it until the second time. |
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