The Grudge is an American produced remake of a Japanese horror movie called Ju-On.  Actually, in Japan there have been four Ju-On movies; a TV movie and a sequel and a theatrical release and a sequel.  All four versions were written and directed by Takashi Shimizu.  The American remake is also directed by Takashi Shimizu, so this guy knows this story in and out and, apparently, really enjoys telling it.  My first impression of The Grudge after seeing the trailer and the poster was that they were borrowing fairly heavily from The Ring, which is also an American produced remake of a Japanese horror movie.  Like The Ring, The Grudge features scary children, ghosts in mirrors, an American blonde protagonist, an expendable boyfriend, and villain imagery that is almost identical (the jerky, shambling female with all her long, dark hair hanging in her face).  However, I was ready to like The Grudge because the premise seemed solid.  I wasn't clear what exactly it was, but it sounded something like angry ghosts kill people in a haunted house.  It's not exactly original, but few horror movies are anymore.  Anyway, the movie is really about a cursed house and a vengeful spirit that seeks out and kills those who come into contact with it.  This premise should sound familiar because it's EXACTLY like The Ring (a movie about a cursed videotape and a vengeful spirit that seeks out and kills those who come into contact with it).

To set itself apart from The Ring, The Grudge is set in Japan.  Although this really doesn't matter because our protagonist (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is American...so is her boyfriend, the guy she works for, the family that now owns the house, and practically everyone she interacts with except Detective Exposition.  Maybe it was important that Ju-On take place in Japan, but in The Grudge it just looks like window dressing.  The forced setting is not what bothered me most about this movie, though, it was the lack of storytelling.  Basically, The Grudge is one type of scene repeated ad nauseum.  A person ventures into the cursed house for some reason, sees or hears something strange, slowly wanders around the house seeing and hearing more strange and spooky things, then gets gotten by something.  Not only that, but the first few scenes are not in chronological order, but then they start going forward again without any indication.  There is one scene involving a woman in her own apartment that is good and takes us out of the house, but basically, this movie is showing the same scene over and over again.  You can sort of pick the story out of the details, but just when you think you're about to figure it out, Detective Exposition meets with Sarah on the roof of the police station and tells her exactly what is going on.  Speaking of Sarah, I know she was in the movie, but I don't remember any one scene of hers standing out.  I guess she looked scared a lot, which is her role, and she was inquisitive, but other than that you could have put anyone in that role.  When I think about it, I think that KaDee Strickland has a better scene than all of the ones Sarah was in.  I like Sarah Michelle Gellar...well, maybe I just like Buffy...anyway, I'd like to see her succeed, but this movie isn't it, in my opinion.

The Grudge does have some good scares in it, I'll give it that, but they are all of the jump-out-and-scare-you-and-loud-noise variety.  I really like the scares where you can see the danger before the characters do, and there are a few of those kind of moments, but mostly it is all sudden movement and loud noises.  The above mentioned scene of the lady at her office and apartment really shines, but it isn't enough to carry this movie.  I feel like I'm repeating myself by saying this, but I really feel that The Grudge suffers by coming out after The Ring (it probably didn't help that it also carries the teaser for The Ring 2).  The imagery is just too similar.  The "Creep Out" factor is still high for The Grudge, and it is probably more apt to keep you up at night than any slasher movie will.  As I write this at 1:22am, I feel that my senses are more alert than normal and every little pop and creak of my house makes me uneasy.  So, the movie does get under your skin and may stick with you.  However, in the end, I think that The Grudge is too derivative and not telling enough story to really work.  I think that Takashi Shimizu spends too much thinking up scary situations and not enough time telling you the story.  When he does decide to tell you the story, he does it in about 15 minutes and does not have enough time to let the audience in on the mystery.  If you want to scare a date, though, this is a good movie for that.