The Grudge

I had hoped that this horror film would be a bit of good Halloween fun, but alas it’s just so-so.   It’s a remake by director Takashi Shimizu of his own “Ju-On” series of Japanese horror pictures.   I haven’t seen any of those but I’ve been given to understand that something has been lost in the translation.   Sarah Michelle Gellar plays an American student in Japan whose classroom-assigned community service gets ugly when she’s sent to care for an invalid in a house haunted by vengeful spirits that curse anyone who enters.   One wishes for Gellar to channel the ghoul-butt kicking chops she honed as Buffy.   “The Grudge” trots out the most shopworn of horror genre elements, down to menacing phone calls and even the hoariest one in the book: tension builds up as a character explores the shadows and then HISS!! –  a cat leaps at the camera.  

Actually, what happened last Tuesday, Nov. 2 was more horrifying than this film could ever be and will result in carnage that the horror movie industry might envy, although the blood won’t be of the stage variety.   And speaking of malevolent curses, if only we could put a doozy on 51.01% of Ohio voters!      

I include a link to the “Immigrating to Canada” website below.    

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.html

- Nov 5, 2004