The Grudge

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For the original film, see Ju-On: The Grudge. For the series, see The Grudge (film series). For the
franchise, see Ju-On (franchise). For other uses, see Grudge (disambiguation).

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The Grudge

Theatrical release poster

Directed by Takashi Shimizu

 Sam Raimi
Produced by
 Robert Tapert
 Takashige Ichise

Screenplay by Stephen Susco

 Based on Ju-on: The Grudge
by Takashi Shimizu

Starring  Sarah Michelle Gellar

 Jason Behr
 KaDee Strickland
 Clea DuVall
 Bill Pullman

Music by Christopher Young

Cinematography Hideo Yamamoto

Edited by Jeff Betancourt

Production Ghost House Pictures[1][2]

company

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

Release date  October 22, 2004

Running time 92 minutes

Country  United States

 Japan

Language  English
 Japanese

Budget $10 million

Box office $187.2 million

The Grudge is a 2004 supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu, written by Stephen
Susco, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Takashige Ichise. A remake of Shimizu's
2002 Japanese horror film Ju-on: The Grudge, it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, KaDee
Strickland, Clea DuVall, and Bill Pullman, and is the first installment in The Grudge film series which
is based on the Japanese Ju-On franchise. Takako Fuji, Yuya Ozeki, and Takashi
Matsuyama portray the characters Kayako Saeki, Toshio Saeki, and Takeo Saeki from the original
franchise. The plot is told through a nonlinear sequence of events, and includes several
intersecting subplots.
The Grudge was released in North America on October 22, 2004, by Columbia Pictures. The film
received mixed reviews, though Gellar's performance as Karen Davis was praised by critics and was
a box-office success, making over $187 million against a $10 million budget. The film was followed
by two sequels, The Grudge 2 (2006) and The Grudge 3 (2009). A reimagining entitled The Grudge,
which takes place concurrently with the events of this film, is set to be released in 2020.
 Contents

 1Plot
o 1.1The Saeki family
o 1.2The Williams family
o 1.3Karen Davis
 2Cast
 3Reception
o 3.1Box office
o 3.2Critical reception
 4Home media
o 4.1Formats
o 4.2Sales
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

Plot[edit]
The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or
extreme sorrow. The curse is an entity created where the person died. Those who encounter
this supernatural force die, and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passing from victim to victim in an
endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order; however,
the film is presented in a nonlinear narrative.
The Saeki family[edit]
Kayako Saeki, a housewife living in suburban Tokyo, was in love with her college professor, Peter
Kirk, and obsessively wrote about him in her diary. Her husband Takeo discovered the diary and
believed that Kayako was having an affair. He brutally murdered her, their young son Toshio, and
the pet cat Mar. After Takeo hid the bodies in the house, Toshio's ghost killed him by hanging him.
After receiving a letter from Kayako, Peter came to the Saeki house only to find both her and
Takeo's corpses and Toshio's ghost. Shocked, he fled and killed himself the next day. The
remainder of the Saeki family rose again as ghosts due to the curse, notably Kayako, who appears
as an onryō ghost.
The Williams family[edit]
A few years later, the Williams family from America move into the Saeki house. While Matt is thrilled
with the house, his wife Jennifer and dementia-ridden mother Emma feel uncomfortable. Matt and
Jennifer are quickly consumed by the curse. Yoko, a care worker, arrives at the house to find Emma
alone. She encounters Kayako, who drags her up into the attic.
Concerned about Yoko's disappearance, her employer Alex sends another care worker, Karen
Davis, to take over the care of Emma. At the house, Karen discovers Toshio sealed up in a
wardrobe and later on witnesses Kayako's spirit descending from the ceilings to claim Emma.
Alex arrives at the house shortly after and finds Emma dead and Karen in a state of shock. He calls
the police, including Detective Nakagawa. In the attic, Nakagawa and his partner Igarashi find Matt
and Jennifer's bodies, along with a human's lower jaw. Meanwhile, Matt's sister, Susan, is pursued
by Kayako around her office building. At home, Kayako attacks her and she vanishes. While leaving
work, Alex is killed by Yoko's jawless corpse.
Karen Davis[edit]
Kayako begins haunting Karen, who informs her boyfriend Doug of the situation. She researches the
house, eventually confronting Nakagawa, who explains that three of his colleagues investigating the
Saeki deaths were all consumed by the curse. That night, Nakagawa carries gasoline to the house in
an attempt to burn it down, but is killed by Takeo.
After learning that Doug has ventured to the Saeki house to look for her, Karen races there. She
finds a paralyzed Doug and attempts to flee with him. Kayako crawls down the stairs and latches
onto Doug, who dies of shock. As Kayako closes in, Karen sees the gasoline and ignites it.
Karen survives and in the hospital, she learns that the house also survived the fire. Visiting Doug's
body, Karen realizes that she is still haunted by Kayako.

Cast[edit]
Main article: List of The Grudge characters

 Sarah Michelle Gellar as Karen Davis, an exchange student

 Jason Behr as Doug McCarthy, Karen's boyfriend, who attends the University of Tokyo
 KaDee Strickland as Susan Williams, Matt's younger sister
 William Mapother as Matt Williams, who relocates to Tokyo for a promotion
 Clea DuVall as Jennifer Williams, Matt's wife
 Grace Zabriskie as Emma Williams, Matt and Susan's mother, who has severe lethargy
with mild dementia.
 Bill Pullman as Peter Kirk, a teacher working in Tokyo
 Rosa Blasi as Maria Kirk, Peter's wife
 Ted Raimi as Alex Jones, the director of the care centre where Yoko and Karen are stationed
 Ryo Ishibashi as Det. Nakagawa, a detective
 Yōko Maki as Yoko, a Japanese care worker assigned to care for Emma Williams
 Takako Fuji as Kayako Saeki, a married woman who is attracted to Peter Kirk
 Yuya Ozeki as Toshio Saeki, Kayako and Takeo Saeki's 10-year-old son.
 Takashi Matsuyama as Takeo Saeki, Kayako's husband

Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Grudge opened at 3,348 theaters in North America.[3] The film generated $39.1 million in ticket
sales in its first weekend (October 22–24, 2004). Ticket sales declined 43% on the second weekend,
earning $21.8 million, thereby becoming the first horror film to top the Halloween box office
since House on Haunted Hill.[4] The film made US$110,359,362 in North America alone and a total of
$187,281,115 worldwide, far exceeding the expectations of box-office analysts and Sony Pictures
executives. Sony also stated production costs of less than $10 million, making it one of the most
profitable movies of the year.[5] The film is recognized as the second-highest grossing horror remake
of the past 40 years behind The Ring, but in front of horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm
Street, Friday the 13th, and One Missed Call; the former two had successful franchises and were
expected to be far more successful, whereas the latter is also an Asian horror remake and did far
less in terms of box office.[6] It is also second in Japanese remakes, but seventh in the highest
openings for an October and fall release, being beaten by family movies.[6]
Critical reception[edit]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 39% of critics have given the film a
positive review based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 5.11/10. The site's critics consensus
reads, "There's some creepy imagery to be found, but not much in the way of logic or truly jarring
scares."[7] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average of critics' reviews, the film has a score of 49
out of 100 based on 32 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]
Classic FM's film critic Simon Bates deemed it the scariest film he had ever seen.[citation needed]

Home media[edit]
Formats[edit]
The Grudge was released on VHS, DVD, and UMD on February 1, 2005, as a standard version of
the film with only a few special features.[9] On May 17, 2005, the unrated director's cut of The
Grudge was released on DVD in North America. The release included several scenes that were cut
to achieve a lower rating from the MPAA, as well as others which were removed for pacing and plot
reasons. This version of the film was used as the theatrical run in Japan. The release also contained
new deleted scenes and commentaries, director Takashi Shimizu's original Ju-On short films,
"4444444444" and "In a Corner", and more.[10] The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in Germany in
2008[citation needed] and in the US on May 12, 2009, the same day that The Grudge 3 was released on
DVD. It was made available to purchase on iTunes in 2008.
Sales[edit]
The Grudge made $9.24 million from DVD sales in its first week, debuting at number two in the sales
chart behind Ray. It has made an estimated $20 million since.[11]