The Grudge 3

Roadshow

R4 DVD

The belief in the vengeful dead is very significant to most “traditional” cultures with all manner of rites used to protect the living from their power. In Buddhism they are known as Hungry hosts and in Asian countries this has spawned a rich tradition of ghost tales. One of the many adaptations of these tales is found in the idea of the cursed place. The legend goes that when someone dies in extreme sorrow or rage, the emotions become embedded in that location. Death and suffering become a part of the locale, absorbing further negative emotions and destroying everything it touches. Once you make contact with it, you cannot escape.

Takashi Shimizu explored this theme in a series of horror films, the first two were direct to video, while the third “Ju-on: The Grudge” was such a success it became a major release not only in Japan but worldwide. This was remade as an American film “The Grudge” in 2004 which was followed by two sequels, the Grudge 2 in 2006 and The Grudge 2 in 2009. While the earlier films were given an M rating in Australia, this received a MA15 + for violence, it is certain more visceral that its predecessors.

Grudge 3 is an interesting American remake as Takashi Shimizu is still involved and hence it sustains some of the vision and authenticity of the original J Horror films. In this case Shimizu decided to produce rather than direct and also wanted to explore a new idea, could the curse be stopped. This allowed an expansion of the plot to include a direct Japanese connection, the introduction of a Japanese spirit medium and a rather intriguing Japanese folk exorcism at the climax of the film.

The story focuses on a brother, sister and their disabled sibling living in a Chicago apartment block. Recently it has been beset with disaster as tenants seem to be dying from strange and unexplained causes. The key seems to be a young girl who visited the “cursed” house in Japan and brought back a dark presence to the apartments. Slowly it spread, like a virus, infecting all it touched. A whole family was killed and the boy who survived, Jake, is now in a mental institution. It is with Jake the movie opens.

Soon a young woman arrives from Japan who seems to know the nature of this curse as her sister was the nexus of the events which unfolded in Tokyo. She holds the key to stopping the evil spirit of Kayako but the cost will be great and many will have to die before the ritual will be completed.

This is an interesting expansion of The Grudge story. The characters of the family members in the Chicago apartments are well developed and you feel a strong empathy for their plight, the sick child Rose is especially impressive. The way in which the story is told through the tale of Jake Kimble, who has survived his family’s death from Kayako, but knows she is coming for him works well. Adding in the element about the Japanese sister’s mother being a spirit medium and hence Kayako becoming an especially powerful and vengeful ghost after death is a good plot development and the folk exorcism at the end is innovative. All in all, this is a surprisingly effective sequel.

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This review will appear in Volume 2 No.4 (2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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