It might pass the time, but then again … nah.
In 2002 The Ring arrived to scare the living shit out of us, and the Japanese horror remake had well and truly arrived in the mainstream. Although Japanese horrors have been popular for quite a long time now, it wasn’t well-known by the masses but as I said, The Ring made everyone pay attention and everyone was lapping it up. So when the inferior The Grudge came out two years later it still done very well at the box office. I didn’t think The Grudge was any good but because it was set in Japan, and showed some of the culture, everyone proclaimed it a worthy remake. I’m sorry, but a kid with face paint, staring stupidly at people just isn’t scary. A little girl in black and white, climbing out the tv, now that was creepy as hell!
Now that it’s gone full circle, we are now knocking out our own versions, like this stinker of a flick. Creepy kid in dungarees, scaring our main starlet all through the first and second act. By the third she wasn’t as scared but her acting had gotten a little better. Just a smidge better mind you, or dare I say, a smidge and a half!? The acting just wasn’t good, and a few times, thanks to the forced deliveries, it resembled the badly performed dialogue in porno’s, right before the carnal act is carried out. Not that I’ve ever seen one, you understand. Most of the acting was like that but we had the steady Daniel Baldwin (Zero Dark Thirty) to tip the scales a bit and make some it the movie easier to watch, but not by much.
It was rather slow and even as I tried my best to concentrate, my mind started to wander. It was also too long at one-hundred minutes. It’s not the worst movie I’ve seen of late, nor is it close to the best. Below average about sums it up. Most definitely below average.
It will pass the time, but little else.
Ed’s Grade: D+
Review by Ed Blackadder
