The Grudge
Reviews
Manuel São Bento
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com It's a brand new year, which means January gets to be the traditional "trash month" once again. In Portugal, it's actually one of the best months of the year since all of the Oscar-contender films are released (late) during these first few weeks. However, it still contains the formulaic action and/or horror movies. The Grudge, a reboot of a remake (because why not?), is the most recent addition to the group of horror flicks that no one really understands why they were produced. I was never a fan of the film series, so obviously, I wasn't expecting much from a reboot of a franchise that always looked like a lazily cheap way of filming a few jump scare sequences with no remarkable storytelling. Nicolas Pesce shows some hints of talent regarding his filmmaking skills with some efficiently suspenseful scenes, but the aspect to blame in this type of movies is always the same: screenplay. I can't remember the last film I saw that treated the audience like the dumbest people alive. It truly becomes disrespectful. It's like the producers thought that the target audience for a horror flick was 5-year-old children. It reaches a point where the movie itself feels like it's being very intelligent in the way it shares plot information. It creates this tense build-up, filled with characters almost dropping a big twist, and then... it's something so evident since the first few minutes of the film. This process repeats throughout the entire runtime. "Here comes a big twist! Are you ready? Watch out! Here it goes... BAM! You didn't saw that coming, did you?!" Yes. We did. Everyone did. Even the theater supervisor who only shows up for a couple of seconds each half an hour was able to figure out everything that was happening. During the screening, I didn't know if I should laugh due to the ridiculously explicit plot points or if I should be frustrated for being treated like I was totally brainless. Everything about The Grudge feels painfully obvious. I try my best not to think too far ahead. I try not to predict what's going to occur or when a jump scare is going to happen. But this movie is so incredibly generic that I couldn't avoid knowing everything instinctively. Story-wise or jump scares, it doesn't matter. Everything that Pesce tries to do, it's surrounded by such an aura of predictability that makes this horror film extremely dull. I mean, that's one of the worst feelings one can have while watching a horror movie, right? How can someone feel bored by a film constantly throwing jump scares and "massive" plot points every five minutes? Well, The Grudge was able to accomplish this miracle. I don't know why The Grudge, as a film series, continues to exist. The first installment, which was itself a remake of the Japanese original, was a surprising box office success. Still, the majority of the audience and critics didn't really like the movie. The consequent theater releases were a disappointment. So, let's do a reboot of the remake, right? Nicolas Pesce seems to be a great filmmaker, he's able to easily generate tension and a dark environment, but such a huge misstep like this can hurt his career. The talented cast tries their best to bring this film to safe harbor, but the absurdly obvious, generic, formulaic, cliche story sunk the movie pretty hard. Its lack of surprising features, the extremely predictable jump scares, and the complete disregard for the audience, treating the viewers like the dumbest people ever, make The Grudge one of the worst horror films of the last few years. Rating: D
Gimly
The fact that this is how my 2020 film-watching career starts seems like a **REAL** bad omen for this year. Update: Oh boy. _Final rating:★ - Of no value. Avoid at all costs._
JPV852
Despite a fine cast, this latest entry (and quasi reboot) is pretty dull. I did like some of Pesce's direction and shots, but far too many of the cliched zingers from these supernatural-horror films. Probably won't remember very much about this in a few days (if not less)... **1.75/5**
SWITCH.
Although handsomely shot, with several good actors doing their best and a small handful of unsettling visuals, 'The Grudge' is ultimately a dull, disjointed mess that is riddled with cheap “boo!“ moments. I hope Pesce rebounds quickly from this failed effort in franchise-building and gets back to making the kind of idiosyncratic films he's clearly capable of. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-grudge-the-movie-reboot-curse-claims-another-victim
Movie Recommendation
Redemption2019-07-19A young ex-con seeking redemption is surprised by a bank foreclosure that forces him to plot against a ruthless crime boss.More...
Black Christmas2019-12-11A group of sorority pledges are stalked by a stranger during their Christmas break. That is until the young women discover that the killer is part of an underground campus conspiracy.More...
The Amityville Murders2018-11-05On the night of November 13th, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. took a high powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial, DeFeo claimed that 'voices' in the house commanded him to kill. This is their story.More...
The Summers of It - Chapter Two: It Ends2019-12-10This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.More...
82020-03-13An old man, fated to collect souls for eternity, seeks atonement after trading his daughter's soul.More...
Ice 22020-02-14What happens in fairy tales after the wedding of the prince and princess? Figure skater Nadia and hockey player Sasha got married and more than anything else they dream of a child. True, the price they will have to pay for this dream will be unimaginably high. After such upheavals, it seems impossible to count on a happy ending. But if you think so, you do not know anything about real tales...More...
Hell Girl2019-04-02A demonic creature not of this world impregnates a woman. 160 years later a team of ghost hunters must set aside their quick buck party mentality when they discover one of their team is the offspring of the entity haunting the place - and its true target. The offspring and her friends become uneasy allies with the ghost of the mother to destroy the demon and restore harmony.More...
The Elephant Queen2019-10-18Join Athena, the majestic matriarch, as she leads her elephant herd across an unforgiving African landscape.More...
Followed2020-06-19Social media influencer, 'DropTheMike', seeks thrills and stardom in the most horrific places. When he’s offered the possibility of a lucrative sponsorship, he takes his online channel to one of the most haunted hotels in America. What begins as a fun challenge accompanied by friends descends into a personal hell, begging the timely question: how far would you go to pursue internet fame?More...
Two Heads Creek2019-10-12A timid butcher and his drama queen twin sister quit the hostile confines of post-Brexit Britain and venture to Australia in search of their birth mother, but the seemingly tolerant townsfolk are hiding a dark, meaty secret.More...
The Apology2022-12-16Twenty years after the disappearance of her daughter, a recovering alcoholic is preparing to host her family's Christmas celebration when her estranged ex-brother-in-law arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret.More...
Ghosthunters2016-07-05When one of their own loses his wife and daughter at the hands of a serial killer, a team of ghost hunters is determined to capture the spirits of the loved ones so their spirits can finally rest in peace. But as the team goes deeper into the house, the ghosts become more hostile, and the group discovers the true secrets of the house and its murderer.More...
Greed2019-09-07A retail billionaire's 60th birthday party is celebrated in an exclusive hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos.More...
Bugs2003-09-06A cop on the track of a criminal finds himself in the midst of an unfinished subway tunnel, when his flashlight reveals a startling discovery: a three meter long scorpion-like Bug. With one slice of its massive tail the bug fells the man and devours him. FBI agent Matt Pollack is brought in to investigate, and when forensics reveal the source of the problem, he turns to his friend and entomologist Emily Foster for help.More...
Attack of the Killer Donuts2016-07-17A chemical accident turns ordinary donuts into blood thirsty killers. Now it's up to Johnny, Michelle and Howard to save their sleepy town from...Killer Donuts.More...
Dollman vs. Demonic Toys1993-08-13The Demonic Toys are back, so policewoman Judith Grey seeks the help of 12 inch tall Dollman and his 12 inch tall girlfriend, Nurse Ginger. The Toys hole up in an evil deserted toy factory and it's up to Dollman to keep the Toys from summoning the powers of darkness to the Earth.More...
Blood Will Tell2019-02-28Thriller about a family whose ties are put to the test when the patriarch’s wife dies.More...
I Trapped the Devil2019-04-26A man descends into paranoia after trapping what he believes to be the devil in his basement, but things take a dark turn when his family unexpectedly arrive for Christmas.More...
Ghost in the Graveyard2019-11-05A small town comes under the thumb of Martha, a ghost who returns to haunt the children who witnessed her death during a "game" of Ghost in the Graveyard as young children.More...
30 Chưa Phải Tết2020-01-25There is no descriptionMore...
Similar Movies
What Lies Beneath
2000-07-21When Claire Spencer starts hearing ghostly voices and seeing spooky images, she wonders if an otherworldly spirit is trying to contact her. All the while, her husband tries to reassure her by telling her it's all in her head. But as Claire investigates, she discovers that the man she loves might know more than he's letting on.Ring
1998-01-31A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.Honto ni Atta! Noroi ...
2009-06-05A collection of horrifying psychic images submitted by general posts, "It was really there! Cursed video". Fear grows! Earth-bound spirits, grudges, floating spirits, guardian spirits ... Full of mysterious images that cannot be elucidated by science; including 'Sports day', 'Dog-walking', 'Club event', 'absence', 'Series surveillance camera Internet cafe refugee', 'taxi', 'Red person' and 'Twenty Seven Part 1'.Momo
1986-07-16Momo is a young orphan girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and becomes friends with everybody in the neighborhood. But when a powerful international corporation starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families. Momo, together with Master Hora, the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever.Thir13en Ghosts
2001-10-26Arthur and his two children inherit his uncle's estate: a glass house that serves as a prison to twelve ghosts. When the family, accompanied by a nanny and an attorney, enter the house they find themselves trapped inside an evil machine 'designed by the Devil and powered by the dead' to open the Eye of Hell. Aided by a ghost hunter and his rival, a ghost rights activist out to set the ghosts free, the group must do what they can to get out of the house alive.In the Line of Fire
1993-07-08Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.Creep
2004-08-10Trapped in a London subway station, a woman who's being pursued by a potential attacker heads into the unknown labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city's streetsThinner
1996-10-25An obese lawyer finds himself growing "Thinner" when an old Romani man places a hex on him. Now the lawyer must call upon his friends in organized crime to help him persuade the old man to lift the curse. Time is running out for the desperate lawyer as he draws closer to his own death, and grows ever thinner.Rings
2017-02-01Julia becomes worried about her boyfriend Holt when he explores the dark urban legend of a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after viewing. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a "movie within the movie" that no one has ever seen before.Hold That Ghost
1941-08-08Two bumbling service station attendants are left as the sole beneficiaries in a gangster's will. Their trip to claim their fortune is sidetracked when they are stranded in a haunted house along with several other strangers.The Ghost Breakers
1940-06-21After intrepid working girl Mary Carter becomes the new owner of a reputedly haunted mansion located off the Cuban coast, a stranger phones warning her to stay away from the castle. Undaunted, Mary sets sail for Cuba with a stowaway in her trunk—wise-cracking Larry Lawrence, a radio announcer who helps Mary get to the bottom of the voodoo magic, zombies and ghosts that supposedly curse the spooky estate.Hellboy Animated: Swo...
2006-10-28A folklore professor becomes unwittingly possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning. But when The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense dispatches a team of agents to investigate, a cursed samurai sword sends Hellboy to a supernatural dimension of ghosts, monsters, and feudal mayhem. Now while pyrokinetic Liz Sherman and fishboy Abe Sapien battle one very pissed-off dragon, a lost and cranky Hellboy must find his way home.Zombie Self-Defense F...
2006-04-25When a UFO crashes and releases radiation, the dead begin to rise in a cannibalistic frenzy. A group of soldiers and civilians make their way to a hotel and must fend off the zombie hordes.Drag Me to Hell
2009-05-27After denying a woman the extension she needs to keep her home, loan officer Christine Brown sees her once-promising life take a startling turn for the worse. Christine is convinced she's been cursed by a Gypsy, but her boyfriend is skeptical. Her only hope seems to lie in a psychic who claims he can help her lift the curse and keep her soul from being dragged straight to hell.The Girl Next Door
2007-07-19In a quiet suburban town in the summer of 1958, two recently orphaned sisters are placed in the care of their mentally unstable Aunt Ruth. But Ruth's depraved sense of discipline will soon lead to unspeakable acts of abuse and torture that involve her young sons, the neighborhood children, and one 12-year-old boy whose life will be changed forever.Lake Placid 2
2007-04-28Man-eating crocodiles return to the lake as two males and one aggressive female crocodile, which is protecting her nest, wreak havoc on the locals.At the Sign of the Ja...
1922-01-22When Harlan Carr inherited his Uncle Ebenezer's "Jack-O Lantern" house and too his bride there to live, he found himself the unwilling host of a score of hungry relatives within a week. Soon, strange things began to happen. A black cat made the house his headquarters, unexplained sounds could be heard and a shadowy figure floated through the halls at night.The Diary of Ellen Ri...
2003-05-12Set at the turn of the century, this is the tale of Ellen Rimbauer who just received this mysterious mansion as a wedding gift from her new husband...The Legend of Hell Ho...
1973-06-15A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic, and the only survivor of the previous visit are sent to the notorious Hell House to prove or disprove survival after death. Previous visitors have either been killed or gone mad, and it is up to the team to survive a full week in isolation, and solve the mystery of the Hell House.The Woman in Black
1989-12-24When a friendless old widow dies in the seaside town of Crythin, a young solicitor is sent by his firm to settle the estate. The lawyer finds the townspeople reluctant to talk about or go near the woman's dreary home and no one will explain or even acknowledge the menacing woman in black he keeps seeing.