2008 Woodie Awards
Gellar overwhelms creepy 'Grudge'
Amanda Bellamy
Issue date: 10/20/04 Section: Arts
This Halloween season couples will cuddle in the dark, horror geeks will rejoice and 12-year-olds will sneak into theatres while the dark images of "The Grudge" and "Saw" dance across the screen. Beating "Saw" by a week, "The Grudge" opens Oct. 22.
The tagline for the flick promises, "when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage, a curse is left behind." Audiences need to know or understand little more about the film before seeing it.
However, they do need to be made fully aware, "The Grudge" delivers and should leave many restless tossing and turning in their sleep.
Sarah Michelle Gellar plays an American nurse (Karen) in Japan, charged with caring for an invalid, Emma (Grace Zabriskie). Karen finds Emma alone in a seemingly deserted home.
Writer and director Takashi Shimizu takes the audience through a non-linear narrative, explaining the mysterious circumstances surrounding this house.
Emma has been scared into a comatose stupor by what haunts the house. Her son and daughter-in-law have been missing for two days.
And now that Karen has encountered this dwelling, it's her turn to suffer the consequences.
While Gellar has successfully broken free of her Buffy chains, her persona overshadows the film. The actress isn't simply doing her job, playing an extradite caretaker in Japan. Instead she's Sarah Michelle Gellar proving a point; she's not Buffy anymore.
With a new production house churning out horror films faster than chocolate out of Wonka's factory, "Spiderman" and "Evil Dead" director Sam Raimi is the guiding force behind "The Grudge."
Impressed with the Japanese original, "JU-ON" by Shimizu, Raimi describes the original as one of the most terrifying films he'd ever seen.
The wild success of "The Ring" and its Japanese counterpart "Ringu" marked the beginning of a new wave within the horror genre. If the "The Grudge" garners big returns at the box office this Halloween season, Hollywood will be importing more Japanese thrillers.