The Grudge Movie Trailer. Writer / Director Takashi Shimizu, who has been passionate about filmmaking since he was a child, explains the roots of his life-long interest: “When I was in primary school, I saw Steven Spielberg’s E.T. and realized that film was where I wanted to be. I began as an assistant director for three or four years, but since I didn’t have the chance to study more about camera work and lighting, I decided to go to film school.”
Prolific Japanese producer, Taka Ichise, whose credits include Ringu, the Japanese language horror movie that was remade into the Hollywood hit The Ring, is credited with taking a chance on Shimizu while he was still a film student. “Hiroshi Takashi, the screenwriter of Ringu, got in touch with me to tell me about Shimizu, a promising young student who was currently in his class at film school,” Ichise explains. Takashi had been impressed by one of Shimizu’s class projects and submitted it to Ichise who was, at the time, looking for someone to make a short horror drama that could be audible over a mobile phone.
“Shimizu showed me two shorts he had previously made, both of which were expertly done,” Ichise continues. “I had made these films after seeing Ringu,” says Shimizu, “and was determined to make a horror movie in a completely different style, something radically different, even if I failed miserably. My idea was to show ghosts, not as specters, but in a clearer, more realistic fashion.”
Ichise had an agreement with the Japanese company V-Cinema to make two movies for video distribution. He decided to hand the assignment to the promising young director. “I said to Shimizu, ‘Why don’t you make these two videos about anything you like as long as they are really scary.’ So he brought me a script that became the basis for the JUON series.”
The two JU-ON videos developed a major word-of-mouth following throughout Asia, catching the attention of executive producer Roy Lee who had previously discovered Ringu and championed its successful American remake The Ring starring Naomi Watts. “I first heard about it from a journalist named Alvin Lu who claimed that JU-ON was the scariest movie he had ever seen,” Lee recalls. “He sent me a copy of the movie and I watched it. Even though it was an un-subtitled print, it was powerfully frightening. I couldn’t shake its horrifying images from my mind.”
Lee approached a young screenwriter, Stephen Susco, to fashion an English-language script of JU-ON. “I had been an avid fan of Asian horror films for quite some time,” says Susco. “They seemed to be consistently pushing the envelope in terms of the genre.”
When I first saw the original JU-ON films, I was both frightened and fascinated. Shimizu had taken things a step further by adding a non-linear narrative structure that added a powerful new dynamic to the genre, a sense of emotional instability and disorientation. Not only was his use of a non-linear structure masterful, but he peppered the film with some of the most arresting and terrifying images I’d ever seen. I didn’t so much agree to write the script as I was compelled to do it.”
As the English-language version was being written, Ichise made a Japanese theatrical version of JU-ON. Lee decided to show the film to director Sam Raimi, himself a master of the genre. “I had a feeling Sam would appreciate the horror because it had a similar sensibility to Sam’s movie The Evil Dead.”
“JU-ON is one of the most terrifying films I’d ever seen,” says Raimi. “Shimizu crafted some unique onscreen scares. His style and pacing were relentless. He never left you any time to catch your breath. He had clearly elevated the genre to a new level.”
As soon as he saw it, Raimi was determined to back the American remake through his production company Ghost House Pictures and to have Shimizu direct the Englishlanguage version as well. Shimizu was, at first, unsure about redoing his film with an American cast. “Since I had already done this story, I thought it would be better for a U.S. director to try his hand at it instead,” says Shimizu. But after meeting with Raimi, Shimizu changed his mind.
“Sam talked with great passion and specificity about particular scenes in the original JU-ON,” says the director. “He also told me he wanted the American version to have the kinds of effects I had not been able to do because of budget constraints. My interest was piqued, because I realized I would have the creative freedom to explore different facets of the story than I had previously and to take things even further. I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity.”
About two years after Lee first screened JU-ON, Shimizu was behind the camera remaking it as The Grudge. “Perhaps the largest hurdle in refashioning the script,” says Ichise, “was in making allowances for the differing sensibilities of Japanese and American filmmakers and what they think is frightening to an audience. There are special characteristics that are unique in Japanese horror movies. For instance, in many cases the mystery is never solved, nor is a conclusion to the story reached. For Japanese audiences that open-ended quality in itself is considered scary. But American audiences seem to require a more definitive resolution.”
Adds screenwriter Susco, “There were challenges in the writing process that I hadn’t faced before. The most prominent was to find the proper way to blend my own original ideas with Shimizu’s. I didn’t want to step on his toes, nor create a story that didn’t live up to the high standard he had set with the original films. But throughout the entire process, Shimizu gave me the freedom to explore my own ideas, all the while guiding the script’s development with his steady and confident directorial vision. I am thankful for his collaborative spirit and honored to have worked with a man, who in my opinion, is already one of the most talented horror filmmakers working today.”
The American Cast
For his first English-language film, The Grudge, director Shimizu was able to gather a strong cast of prominent young American actors as well as seasoned veterans including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee Strickland, Clea DuVall, Grace Zabriskie, Rosa Blasi, William Mapother, Ted Raimi and, in a key cameo, Bill Pullman. The actors were drawn to the project for a variety of reasons, including the unique subject matter, the director’s compelling vision and the opportunity to work in Japan.
Coming off a seven-year stint in the wildly successful TV series “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” Sarah Michelle Gellar assumed the role of the central character, Karen. ”The fact that Sam Raimi placed such trust in Takashi Shimizu, though he’d never made an American film before and spoke no English, demonstrated to me an incredible amount of belief in his talent,” observes Gellar. “Knowing that, I really had to be involved. And as an actor, it really made me want to rise to the occasion. I love to be scared and, to me, the original JU-ON is a perfect example of that experience.”
Jason Behr, who assumed the role of Karen’s boyfriend Doug, says he was blown away by the original JU-ON. “I watched it in my living room with a bunch of friends and we all thought it was fantastic, different from any horror film we’d ever seen. So I really couldn’t pass up the chance to do a Japanese horror film in English. I immediately packed my bags for Japan.”
Veteran actor Bill Pullman has a cameo that will surprise audiences when they first see him. But that was only part of the reason he wanted to be involved in The Grudge. ”I’m always intrigued by a new situation, where somebody’s doing things differently,” says Pullman. “The Grudge had that and so much more. When I saw JU-ON, I thought this guy knows how to make something happen on film with a very clean style, very specific and artful. Then when I learned that it was going to be shot in Japan using the Japanese model of production, right down to the crew and craft services, I was sold. It was the kind of filmmaking experience I’d never had before.”
Grace Zabriskie, perhaps best known from her role in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks,” also relished the opportunity to work in Japan. “It has always been in the back of my mind as some place I would love to see, so that was part of my decision,” says Zabriskie. “But a large part of my response was to the script, which was genuinely scary. I had watched the original JU-ON and I thought the English-language script was in some ways even better. So there was no way I could say no.”
William Mapother, who won acclaim for his bad guy role in the Oscar-nominated independent feature In the Bedroom, was also taken with the original film. “I was excited to learn it would be remade by the same director because JU-ON scared the heck out of me.”
Not So Lost in Translation: On Working With Shimizu
Director Takashi Shimizu speaks only a few words of English, which producer Ichise cites as a key factor in the decision to shoot the film in Japan. “It is definitely an English language movie, with a great script and terrific American actors. But it will have a wonderful Japanese flavor to it.”
Gellar fondly remembers her initial meeting with the young Japanese director, whom she quickly learned had a delightful sense of humor that transcended the language barrier. “The first day we met he said to me, ‘My lady, your destination is approaching,’ and I thought maybe he was saying that I looked familiar. Then he explained to me that he learned what little English he knew from watching Star Wars,” she laughs.
“There was definitely a sense of being lost in translation at the start,” Behr says. “It was a bit of a challenge because you had to go through an interpreter to tell you exactly what Takashi was thinking and what he wanted from you as an actor. So you’d watch him speak in that wonderfully animated way he has and then the translator would tell you what he said in a sort of dispassionate, simplistic way. The lines of communication were a little jumbled at first. But Takashi and I both got used to it and eventually we developed a kind of shorthand between us.”
Mapother also had initial difficulties with the translation process. “I’d ask a question and wait a few seconds, like during an early overseas phone call,” he says. “It didn’t take long to realize that I had to be selective and to the point in my questions, which was better for everyone, believe me.”
Clea DuVall who had just finished working with the Spanish-speaking Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu on 21 Grams, had learned how to make herself understood and learn what she needed from that experience. “As a result it wasn’t that difficult to work with Takashi. Our communication was surprisingly fluid,” she confesses. “In a way it’s almost easier working with someone who doesn’t speak the same language because you don’t spend a lot of time over-analyzing. You’re not so much in your head about what you’re doing. You just kind of go with the experience instinctually. And because the director doesn’t understand what you’re saying, he has to focus on the emotions in your performance. Your face and your eyes can’t lie.”
Since most of his cast had never been to Japan before, Shimizu was able to transfer their real sense of disorientation to their performances. “Many of the actors had come to Japan for the first time,” he says. “I know that they were expecting me to have conversations with them about their roles, but I deliberately ignored them in order to heighten their nervousness. A great deal of that comes through in their work and it’s very real and very effective.”
The Ghosts
Japanese actors Takako Fuji and Yuya Ozeki reprise the roles they played throughout the evolution of JU-ON in the English-language version The Grudge. “It was unusual to work with the same actors in the same roles over such an extended period,” says Shimizu. “It was also rewarding, because we were able to find greater nuances in those roles in each successive version. It was also amazing for us to watch the evolution of this story from a Japanese short to an American movie.”
Fuji plays Kayako the haunting female ghost who stalks all those who enter the house. “At the beginning, I approached the part for what it was—a three-minute test piece, so I had no expectations. But since then, the JU-ON series has evolved in ways I never imagined. I can hardly believe what it has become.”
One consistent element throughout, however, has been the ease of her working experience with Shimizu. “Takashi always has a very clear idea of exactly what shot he wants in his head as well as a real sense of the character of Kayako and her movements. Just by following his direction, the character of Kayako deepened and became more meaningful to me as a performer.”
Shimizu is philosophical about the development of his relationship with Fuji, who is taking on the role of the female ghost for the fifth time, “Both of us get older each time we do this movie, so it does feel a bit strange,” he says. “But if I had to hire someone new for the role, I would have to teach her everything from scratch. Takako already has a strong sense of the role and she believes in me, which makes our working relationship as facile as it is fruitful.”
Fuji’s suitability for the role transcends her acting ability, Shimizu adds. “We originally met by chance. Later, when I glanced at her resume, I realized we were both born on the same day of the same year. At that point, I felt that fate had intervened and it was more than a coincidence that she was reading for this role.”
At age seven, the young Yuya Ozeki is also repeating the role he originally played in JU-ON. Fuji observes, “Yuya-kun has become much stronger and more attractive over the years. In the beginning, he hardly ever spoke to anyone except his mother. He was very quiet. The role of Toshio is such a sad part that as a mother I feel very sorry for him. I’m impressed that Takashi has been able to create such feelings of trust and love between us. Yuya plays a cute ghost who follows his mother around.”
Regarding the uniqueness of the film’s specters, Shimizu confides that, “Kayako sometimes utters a kind of ‘ahhhh’ sound. It was actually my voice in the original version. When I was a child I loved trying out my voice and I did it so often that I was scolded by my parents for making strange sounds. Even then, I felt I could use these sounds somewhere in my life. So when I found a good use for it in the original JU-ON series, this whole exercise made me realize that you never know when you might be doing something that seems odd at the time but might, one day, prove useful.”
Bearing Grudges
Actor Ted Raimi, best known from the popular TV series “Xena: Warrior Princess,” speaks of The Grudge as a psychological horror movie. “It’s the kind of film that affects you on a subconscious level. It deals with inner fears we have such as the transmogrifications of our bodies when we die. It also brings up the rather disturbing question that if you died and were not at peace or came to an untimely end, what would happen to you?”
Adds Gellar, “Everyone loves to go to a movie and be scared. And the scariest things are the ones that could actually happen, like something of the things in The Grudge. Those are the moments that frighten you to the core and resonate long after you’ve left the theater.”
KaDee Strickland says such complex emotional reactions were inevitable given Shimizu’s stylistic use of what seemed to be very simple images. “He’ll take something as sweet and lovely as a cat or a child and really make you question whether or not you want to be in the same space with them,” says Strickland. “He has an uncanny ability to take something traditional and make it very non-traditional. It’s one of his great gifts as a filmmaker.”
Rosa Blasi, who is a devoted fan of horror movies, says that by the end of the movie, when the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place, the audience will experience a great sense of satisfaction. “Shimizu and the writer Stephen Susco added a richness and intelligence to the mystery. This is no simple slasher film or haunted house movie.”
Pullman likens Shimizu’s approach to that of David Lynch. “The visual world he creates and his use of interesting and unpredictable camera moves is very precise and methodical. It’s very exciting to watch.”
After completing production, Gellar was confident that Shimizu had achieved something special with The Grudge. “Sometimes you just get a sense that what you’re working on is different, unique, even if you can’t quite put your finger on why. This film will benefit from an ensemble incorporating many different styles, a creatively different approach and a wide variety of approaches to acting. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve ever worked on before.”
Producer Ichise, who took a chance on Shimizu, is satisfied that the director continues to push the envelope creatively and has expanded the parameters of the horror genre. “What he has essentially done is make a Japanese horror movie in English that will be accessible to a worldwide audience. I think his growth as a filmmaker is filled with endless possibilities. This is just the beginning.”
Making the Movie Japanese Style
When Shimizu was brought in to direct the remake of JU-ON, producer Raimi also decided that he wanted the film to be produced in Japan. “It would have been easy to reconfigure the story and set it in the U.S., but it might have lost its impact,” he offers. “Since we were using the original director and the movie would be in the same style, it made sense to shoot it in Japan.”
Ichise echoes those sentiments. “Part of the horror of JU-ON relies on Japanese buildings and special configurations. It would have been a very different movie in an American setting.” The director also saw The Grudge as an excellent opportunity to showcase the expertise of Japanese film crews. “Such recent movies as Lost In Translation and The Last Samurai were filmed here mostly with U.S. crews,” Ichise points out. “This time around, the talent behind the camera is almost entirely Japanese, a great showcase to demonstrate the sophistication of our local film crews.”
Working in Japan required adherence to the customs of local filmmaking, which included a traditional blessing prior to the start of principal photography. “In Japan, there is always a purification ceremony to ensure safety of the filming and the crew,” says Ichise. “We also pray for the success of the film. It is all part of the process of making movies here.”
The filmmakers observed the Japanese custom of having everyone remove their shoes when working on the set, including the grips and electricians. “There’s something wonderful about everyone paying their respects on the set by taking their shoes off when they enter,” observes Gellar.
Job responsibilities differed as well. The props department was in charge of shoes, while stylists Miyuki Taniguchi and Shawn Holly Cookson purchased and fitted clothes for the American actors under the guidance of Shimizu.
“Also, there’s no food allowed on the set,” adds Gellar. “One morning I walked on set and I was eating. I looked up and everyone was staring at me. I quickly rushed off and dumped my breakfast into the nearest garbage bin. Since I was on a Japanese set, I wanted to respect their ways.”
Gellar also discovered other pronounced differences during production. One of the film’s opening scenes required Gellar to walk through the crowded Tokyo streets during rush hour. She was surprised to find that she did just that. “You see, in the U.S. when you’re filming in an urban area, the traffic is blocked off and the crowd is made up of extras,” she says. “In Japan, you just walk out on the street with the city’s population and they start filming. There I was in rush-hour traffic. It was an amazing experience. I had to make my way through the crowd just like everyone else. It was different from anything I’d ever done before professionally because you can’t really ask the person next to you to walk a little slower or tell them that they’re blocking your light. You just have to keep going. If you don’t get the shot, suddenly rush hour is over. That makes for a very brisk pace of filming.”
Behr had similarly unique experiences during the production. ”The very first day of work, Sarah and I had an outdoor scene with dialogue. Shimizu looked at us, smiled and said, ‘Okay.’ So I look at Sarah and she looks at me and we wondered whether okay meant we were going to do another take or shoot the scene from another angle. Then I turn around and notice that the camera tracker’s already moved, the camera has shifted and everyone was already in place. It was the most efficient crew I have ever worked with.”
Blasi is used to the fast-paced world of television. But this was even faster, she notes. “I was warned if you do something you don’t like, make sure you say ‘No, no, no’ right away, because as soon as the director says ‘Okay,’ the set is cleared and they’re onto the next scene.”
Mapother was also caught off guard initially, but quickly came to appreciate the Japanese approach to filmmaking. “While we blocked and rehearsed the next shot, the grips and electricians were setting up for it. We’d deliver our lines as we stepped around them and over cables. At first I was a little thrown, but I came to appreciate it. For actors, the American film system is medieval. You’re either working and coddled or unemployed and ignored. But in Japan actors are just another member of the crew, and on the set there’s a stronger sense of unity.”
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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