The Grudge
Cast: Tara Westwood, Junko Bailey, David Lawrence Brown, Joey Fish, Andrea Riceborough, Demien Bichir, John J Hansen, Joel Marsh Garland
Director: Nicolas Pesce
Rating: 

A horror-thriller about a house being cursed by a vengeful ghost, this film, a remake of Takashi Shimizu's( credited for original story) 2004 hit co-starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr and Clea DuVall, is about an American nurse living and working in Tokyo being exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse - one that locks her in a powerful rage before claiming her and her family's life and thereafter spreading to another victim.

Takashi Shimizu managed to eke out quite a thorough scare fest in the 2004 version but Nicolas Pesce's underdeveloped skill set doesn't allow for the spine-chilling effect expected from this version. The narrative feels rather be-laboured, the plotting is uneventful and even the dialogues sound alien here. Other than the shadowy camerawork and some Post-production effects, there's little to appreciate in this miserly horror-thriller that fails to even create the typical 'jump scare' to work up some enthusiasm.