Karen, an American student living in Japan and working as a caretaker visits a woman who is mentally ill. The woman seems to have lost contact with reality and sleeps most of the day. The house she lives in his haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her child, both deceased in the grip of a powerful rage.

Karen quickly understands that she is not welcomed. However, upon leaving the house she is followed by the evil spirits within that wish her demise, whether she likes it or not. Many people have preceded her and others will come afterwards unaware of the consequences.

From the get go, we learn the origin of The Grudge: when a person dies in the grip of a powerful rage, a curse is born. We learn that two people, including a child of about six years of age, were murdered.

Following this theme, The Grudge has only one thing in mind: to terrify you. And it succeeds. If The Ring (Ringu) scared you, this one will also nail you to your seat. The ghosts in this film are among the scariest ever imagined. They are sometimes polished by computers but the changes are not flagrant. Mostly, their screams do the work. One of them can abnormally grow his mouth and imitate a cat mewing aggressively and the other emits throat noises that will send shivers down your spine.

While place a film in Japan if most of the main roles are given to American actors? Why did I have the feeling I missed something when the credits started rolling? Does this scenario truly require a non-linear narration? Those were the questions that I pondered after seeing The Grudge. The original Japanese Ju-On series probably made more sense for an audience that conceives monsters and ghosts in a specific manner, a way that is exotic to foreign eyes ever since cinematography has been invented.

Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the main role. As with the supporting actors, notably Bill Pullman and Clea DuVall, her presence is limited but appreciated. This film can somewhat be characterized as a slasher. The character development is almost inexistent and people die one after the other. I don’t remember seeing a slasher flick in a haunted house but this definition appropriately summarizes The Grudge.