Sometimes figuring out what makes a movie good is like reading the ingredients of a candy bar. If you read "nougat" on the wrapper of a candy bar, then you know you're getting NOUGAT! THE GRUDGE is like a candy bar. It is stylistically solid.
There were American-remakes of Ringu and Ringu2, the one that started the buzz over trans-Pacific horror. The first Ringu tasted like brittle seaweed. It broke into a million fragments like the T-1000 and there were seaweed shreds all over the place. Ringu2 didn't taste too bad, although it still left a strange, swampy aftertaste in my mouth.
THE GRUDGE is like a HEATH BAR -- with cat hair stuck in it. What would make me say such a thing? Well, if you look at the ingredients on the wrapper, THE GRUDGE was directed by Takashi Shimizu, the guy who did the original Japanese version. He threw in all those door creaks and angry black cats that tap you on the shoulder and say, "Hey, you're on the security camera!" You know how the saying goes, if it isn't broken, don't fix it. A Heath Bar works well as a Heath Bar.
On the inside of the Heath Bar is the brick and mortar that the director poured into it, and the milk-chocolate layer represents the Hollywood stars who give the package an enticing allure. I found it very pleasant to watch those actors and actresses. Hey, this movie isn't going to be a huge box office success, so let's have some fun with it. I'll pretend like I'm not who I am. "Yeah, we're famous actors, but we're also professionals who know when we make a good movie. We're going to come together and make this creepy Japanese horror thing work."
Watch it twice.
Jimboduck-dot-com
There were American-remakes of Ringu and Ringu2, the one that started the buzz over trans-Pacific horror. The first Ringu tasted like brittle seaweed. It broke into a million fragments like the T-1000 and there were seaweed shreds all over the place. Ringu2 didn't taste too bad, although it still left a strange, swampy aftertaste in my mouth.
THE GRUDGE is like a HEATH BAR -- with cat hair stuck in it. What would make me say such a thing? Well, if you look at the ingredients on the wrapper, THE GRUDGE was directed by Takashi Shimizu, the guy who did the original Japanese version. He threw in all those door creaks and angry black cats that tap you on the shoulder and say, "Hey, you're on the security camera!" You know how the saying goes, if it isn't broken, don't fix it. A Heath Bar works well as a Heath Bar.
On the inside of the Heath Bar is the brick and mortar that the director poured into it, and the milk-chocolate layer represents the Hollywood stars who give the package an enticing allure. I found it very pleasant to watch those actors and actresses. Hey, this movie isn't going to be a huge box office success, so let's have some fun with it. I'll pretend like I'm not who I am. "Yeah, we're famous actors, but we're also professionals who know when we make a good movie. We're going to come together and make this creepy Japanese horror thing work."
Watch it twice.
Jimboduck-dot-com
