The Grudge 2 (2006)

Movie Info

Angel, where are you!

Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) hasn’t escaped the anger brewing inside the home Japanese home where Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji) and her son Toshio (Ohga Tanaka) were murdered by her husband Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama).  Hospitalized and accused of murder and arson, Karen’s sister Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn) has been sent to Japan to find out what happened.  Teamed with a reporter named Eason (Edison Chen), Aubrey seeks to find the source of the deaths.  Meanwhile in Chicago, a couple Trish and Bill Kimble (Jennifer Beals and Christopher Cousins) and their children Lacey and Jake (Sarah Roemer and Matthew Knight) find the evil moving in.  Also, a group of school girls Allison, Vanessa, and Miyuki (Arielle Kebbel, Teresa Palmer, and Misako Uno) in Japan are find themselves pursued by the horror, and the connections between these stories are revealed.

Good picture…jumps right off the page!

Directed by Takashi Shimizu, The Grudge 2 is the follow-up to the horror film The Grudge from 2004.  The movie was met by largely negative reviews and criticized for its story.  The film had a number of shorts lead up into film called Tales from the Grudge.

I have to say that The Grudge isn’t one of my favorite stories.  I saw the original film Ju-on:  The Grudge and the original remake of which this is a sequel.  This sequel incorporates some of the themes in the original Ju-on that didn’t make it into the film (like the school girls), but the story is entirely new.

When you find a naked Japanese boy in a phone booth with you…try not to stare

I honestly don’t mind the plot of The Grudge 2.  Both The Grudge and The Grudge 2 have non linear plots, but The Grudge 2’s plot was criticized for being difficult to follow.  I don’t think this is true, but you can criticize it for being jumpy.  The three storylines don’t really feel developed enough…that is the bigger problem with the format than the storytelling.  It does go further to explain what happened in the original house, and how the spirits initially were able to spread.

The acting of the story is fine.  Amber Tamblyn becomes the new young lead of the film taking over for Sarah Michelle Geller who reprises her role briefly.  I think Arielle Kebbel is decent as the school girl who brings the horror to America, but the storyline surrounding Allison, her friends, and Jennifer Beales’ family are under developed in their characterization…which hinders their part of the movie.

Peek-a-boo!

The visuals of The Grudge 2 remain creepy.  The PG-13 rating keeps it from getting really violent, but the croaking Kayako (Takako Fuji) and the meowing Toshio (Ohga Tanaka) remain creepy creations…I feel that they are both a bit scarier than the Samara character from The Ring because of their movements and sound (though The Ring is better than both movies).  It is kind of sad that the grossest scene is in which a girl drinks a quart of milk then proceeds to vomit it back into the jug.

The Grudge 2 is probably a good pairing with The Grudge but doesn’t really work as a stand-alone horror film.  If you want to see The Grudge 2, I recommend seeing it immediately after The Grudge in that it is a direct continuation of the series.  The Grudge 2 was followed by The Grudge 3 which continues the story in the United States.

Related Links:

Ju-on (Ju-on:  The Grudge) (2003)

The Grudge (2004)

The Grudge 3 (2009)