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The Grudge 2 would be a pleasing
curiosity if it were a low budget
film festival entry from a fledgling
director offering an original
new idea, but the truth is that
this latest sequel to a remake
from a well-worn genre is simply
too tame and too lame to be
recommended.
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The Grudge 2 features
Sarah Michelle Gellar, though
all too briefly, returning as
Karen Davis, still hospitalized
after the trauma she experienced
in The Grudge.
Karen's sister Aubrey arrives
to take the distraught girl
home, but she quickly becomes
involved with the deadly curse
invoked by the vengeful spirit
Takako.
Surprisingly, The Grudge
2 offers none of the gruesome
shocks that peppered the original,
as if it were intentionally
stripped of its horrific bite
for the sake of catering to
a younger and broader audience.
Ironically and inexplicably,
Grudge 1 and 2 each carry the
same PG-13 rating.
There are a few scattered moments
of creepy special effects, particularly
one scene reminscent of Samara's
entry from image to reality
in The Ring. But for those who
have seen The Ring, Ringu, The
Grudge, Ju-On, Pulse, etc, the
kind of limp, predictable scares
and unconvincing acting to be
found in Grudge 2 just isn't
going to satisfy.
As in the original film, the
stories of several different
and seemingly unrelated Americans
are intermixed, though their
relationship to each other is
not known until the final scenes.
The result is a lot of murky
and disjointed plot development
in service to a weak denouement.
The coy secrecy involved in
the unfolding of the story ultimately
reveals that "the grudge"
has changed as a result of Karen's
burning of the accursed house.
Now one need not enter
the accursed house to be victims
of its ghosts, but merely to
come into contact with someone
who did. It's an idea that's
not played out with much effectiveness
at all.
Horror fans who are grudgingly
lured back to theatres for this
lame excercise in J-horror are
likely to leave harboring a
grudge of their own against
director Takashi Shimizu as
well as the venerated Sam Raimi
for placing his Ghost House
imprimatur on this near-camp
retread.
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar,
Amber Tamblyn,
Arielle Kebbel, Teresa Palmer,
Jennifer Beals
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
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