The Grudge (2020)

'The Grudge 2020' has done the impossible and delivers a movie that's somehow worse than part 2 & 3 and even some in the Japanese series such as 'Black Ghost'. This movie has almost nothing to do with Takashi Shimizu's films outside of copy & pasting certain tropes associated with the series and is one of the most boring horror films I have ever seen. Within the first five minutes, the movie immediately destroys any real connection to the backstory of the previous entries and leaves us with no Japanese setting, no Kayako or Toshio, and a whole lot of the same old shit we've already seen. It's obvious that producer Sam Raimi & director Nicholas Pensce seem to be struggling with making this yet another remake or a continuation of the 2004 film. It attempts to connect that previous story with this new entry, but its so paper thin you'll forget it before the half hour mark.

Every single scare is predicted only minutes before it happens and not just because the film's scares are so incredibly lazy and obvious, but the movie itself projects them. The music will cut off the exact moment a horror scene is about to begin and then BOO! jump scare! Well, if you're me you were dozing off but just pretend that it scared you. The many iconic images of the 'Ju-On' series are also present with this new film, but make little to no sense in context. Rather than Kayako & Toshio, this one shows the previous victims of the curse as ghostly entities but still make the iconic croaking noise just because it was in 'Ju-On'. Only one ghost has the iconic look to her, but she's an American girl of maybe 9 years old. As if people didn't already confuse this series with 'The Ring' enough you have to replace the antagonist and make her a little girl like in 'Ring'.

The film is so lazy in fact that it attempts to shock with what they seem to believe is hardcore gore & violent acts. Even the marketing for this seems to think the franchise was all about blood & guts and making sure you know it's an 'R' rated film. This is the tamest 'R' rated horror I've ever seen, with the majority of the violence being the aftermath or looking more like mud or black tar. This is due to my next big gripe: the cinematography which uses that same de-saturated look that every damn horror movie has to do these days. The color is just sucked out of 'The Grudge' and is just unpleasant to look at but not in a scary way but more akin to looking at vomit on a canvas.

After my long rant, I can say a few things that are redeemable about 'The Grudge'. For a first time director Nicholas Pensce he does a good job with how the film is made and if not for the grungy photography I'd say the film was at least competently made for the most part. I also will give it up to John Cho & Betty Gilpin, who do the best acting with their segment. They play a couple having trouble due to their unborn child having some medical issues and I genuinely felt for them. The dialogue in this segment is also well done and I felt the climax to their story was the most tragic. On the whole, the writing overall wasn't too bad but a lot of it is pretty bland and people still make stupid decisions just because it needs to follow the horror formula but surprisingly, this was far from the weakest aspect.

'The Grudge' is just a boring, lazy cash grab that attempts to revive a franchise that was already on thin ice with the numerous Japanese entries. The early year curse that affects the horror film is still strong with this newest corpse for the pyre. Avoid this one and see anything else this weekend or hey just check out the original two 'Ju-On' films if you want a better time.

D-