Tagline: It never forgives. It never forgets.
The Grudge movie storyline. An English-language remake of the Japanese horror thriller “Ju-On”. “The Grudge” is about a murderous supernatural curse born of a grudge held by someone who dies angry. The curse passes like a virus to its victims.
In Sam Raimi and Columbia Pictures’ powerful thriller The Grudge, based on the Japanese blockbuster Ju-On: The Grudge, the normal façade of a modest house in Tokyo belies the hidden terror within. It is possessed by a violent plague that destroys the lives of everyone who enters. Known as “The Grudge,” this curse causes its victims to die in the grip of a powerful rage. Those who are fatally afflicted by the curse die and a new curse is born – passed like a virus to all those who enter the house in an endless, growing chain of horror.
Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is an exchange student studying social work in Japan who innocently agrees to cover for a nurse who didn’t show up for work. When she enters the assigned home, she discovers an elderly American woman, Emma (Grace Zabriskie), who is lost in a catatonic state while the rest of the house appears deserted and disheveled. As she is tending to the stricken old woman, Karen hears scratching sounds from upstairs. When she investigates, she is faced with a supernatural horror more frightening than she could ever imagine.
Within this house, a chain of terror has been set in motion resulting from a terrifying evil that was born years before. As more people die, Karen is pulled into the cycle of horror and learns the secret of the vengeful curse that has taken root in this house. Now she must stop it before it’s too late.
The Grudge is a 2004 American supernatural horror film and a remake of the Japanese film, Ju-on: The Grudge. The film was released in North America on October 22, 2004, by Columbia Pictures,[citation needed] and was directed by Takashi Shimizu (director of all previous Ju-on films) while Stephen Susco scripted the film. The plot is told through a non-linear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots.
The film was a box office success, making over $187 million against a $10 million budget, though it received only mixed reviews from critics. The Grudge opened at 3,348 theaters in North America. The film generated $39.1 million in ticket sales in its first weekend (October 22–24, 2004). Ticket sales declined 43% on the second weekend earning $21.8 million, thereby becoming the first horror film to top the Halloween box office since House on Haunted Hill.
The film made US$110,359,362 in North America alone and a total of $187,281,115 worldwide, far exceeding the expectations of box office analysts and Sony Pictures executives. Sony also stated production costs of less than $10 million, making it one of the most profitable movies of the year.
The film is recognized as the second highest grossing horror remake of the past 40 years behind The Ring, however in front of horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and One Missed Call; the former two had successful franchises and were expected to be far more successful whereas the latter is also an Asian horror remake and did far less in terms of box office. It is also second in Japanese remakes but seventh in the highest openings for an October and Fall release, being beaten by family movies.
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The Grudge (2004)
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall, Bill Pullman, KaDee Strickland, Grace Zabriskie, Rosa Blasi, William Mapother, Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji
Screenplay by: Steven Susco
Production Design by: Iwao Saitô
Cinematography by: Hideo Yamamoto
Film Editing by: Jeff Betancourt
Costume Design by: Shawn Holly Cookson, Miyuki Taniguchi
Set Decoration by: Tatsuo Ozeki
Art Direction by: Kyôko Yauchi
Music by: Christopher Young
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material, disturbing images / terror / violence, sensuality
Distrubuted by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: October 22, 2004
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