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This film has been unfairly criticised is some circles because many people are trying to say it stole from "The Ring". I however, don't believe this is true. In many, if not most, Japanese horror films, the "killer" is usually an asian girl with long black hair covering her face with strange body movements. This is on par with the slasher always wearing a mask in American slasher films. A lot of people who tried to sound intellectual attempted to say that because The Grudge and The Ring share a similar LOOKING villan, that the makes of The Grudge greatly borrowed, and it's simply not true. Unlike The Ring, which wasn't that interesting until the last third, The Grudge grabs you in the first scene, and much like Kayako and Toshio, doesn't let go. The scares come at you a mile a minute and are relentless in their attempt to freak you out. Sure, some of the scares don't work, but for the most part, they're pretty well done (one scene in particular is the chase scene of the sister). Sarah Michelle Gellar has proven time and time again that she is a fine actress and one of the best of her generation when handed the right material. This character didn't have much a personality however, since the movie tended to focus more on...GASP...story rather than the actors and many believe the acting suffered for it. I however, believe the acting was fine and didn't really need any hefty changes, only a few minor things here and there. I also thought the story was strong and much better than the trite story that was "The Ring". If any film was going to be riddled with cliche's, it would be The Ring, with it's overdone, over cooked, quit using it storyline of "A girl who just wants to be loved!" Finally, I really felt that keeping the story set in Tokyo was a really smart move, although it could have hindered it with the American audience it was aimed at. I felt the city played it's own character in giving an overall sense of dread and hopelessness that extends through the actors (boarding the subway, shopping for groceries) and into the audience. The culture is used to the max in this movie and I really love that about it. Overall, I think The Grudge is the superior of the Japanese re-makes because of it's relentless scare tactics and it's ability to one-up it's predocessors, whereas "Ring" didn't. I also praise the film for its successful attempt to keep it's Japanese roots in (took place in Tokyo, Japanese actors made up a lot of the living characters, vengeful spirits are very much in the root of Japanese subculture and is mentioned in he movie). Overall, simply because it was scary in a way that doesn't involve tons of gore and scares you in a different way that clings to your subconcious for a few days after, I give the film 4 1/2 stars. email this review to a friend
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