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In Tokyo, when the American student Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is called by a Japanese social support agency to replace her Japanese colleague Yoko (Yoko Maki) in the assistance of the American sick woman Emma (Grace Zabriskie), she realizes that something supernatural lives in the huge house. Inspector Nakagawa (Ryo Ishibashi) investigates a series of deaths of visitors of the subjected house, and based on a Japanese belief, he convinces himself that the place is cursed.

"The Grudge" is a different movie of haunted house. I have not had the chance to see the original "Ju-on: The Grudge" yet, but this story is much related to Japanese culture. The beginning of the film makes reference to a Japanese saying about rage, which is unknown in Western cultures. The non-linear screenplay works reasonably, but could be better and better. It gives me the impression that something is missing to be a great movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Grito" ("The Scream")

This movie definitely loses something in the translation. Unlike "The Ring" which equaled and even improved on the original story in some ways, this one just meanders along in an uninspired fashion.

The original Japanese film, "Ju-on", was pretty incoherent, mostly just a series of set pieces and great chills. The American version, directed by the same filmmaker, has done nothing towards clarifying the muddled story and, aside from the great opening sequences, is just a straight-forward recreation of the same suspenseful sequences that somehow don't play as well. I'd suggest renting the original instead.

5 out of 10.

This review is really a word of warning, if you've seen any of the earlier Japanese versions of this story you've seen this movie before. If you've seen all four of the earlier films, you've really seen everything (except the frightening opening with Bill Pullman) and you'd best wait for home video.

I understand that the film makers wanted to make sure that this film worked and made them money, so they repeated what worked, even casting the same Japanese actors for the kid and other roles; but it would have been nice if they had done more that was new beyond the opening sequence.

This isn't to say that the film is bad, its not, rather, its just that unless you're walking in to the film fresh odds are you're going to be like me and know what each five or ten minutes is going to bring because of the set up of the sequence.

For me it was a 6 out of 10, for fresh eyes probably higher.

With the new release of The Grudge, I went back and rewatched this original to see if it was as good as I had remembered.

Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) lives in Japan and works as a caretaker for the elderly people. Getting assigned a job, Karen visits the elder lady and begins to discover some unusual and mysterious behaviour coming from the house. After leaving the house, things become haunting for Karen with everywhere she goes and discovers a dark history of the house.

Honestly, for a film that came out in 2004, it's pretty good. I mean watching it now, the graphics aren't amazing, but again the film is 16 years old. I remember when the film came out that a lot of people said the original Japanese version was terrifying, but I still think this one is scary.

SMG was such an A Lister when this came out, after staring in Buffy and many other iconic movies, everyone knew who she was. She's not bad in the film, except when she runs like she's still in Buffy lol

Still would recommend this film to fans of horror. It's a great watch

'The Grudge' isn't the best horror film and it isn't the scariest either, but there's something about it that always manages to get to me. From the very first scene, which is appropriately bizarre, to the last, 'The Grudge' is a very creepy movie and I can't quite put my finger on why.

It is successfully unnerving partly due to the eerie and tense atmosphere that surround the whole story. There are a few jump scares but nothing that will scare the average horror fan, but it does have the ability to make you feel uneasy and does a good job at building and maintaining tension.

'The Grudge' is nothing special or new and there are certainly scarier horror films out there, but it does have the ability to put the viewer on edge every now and then. I've seen it several times and it still creeps me out.