It’s been said there’s a thin line between comedy and horror. 2006 served up a prime illustration: “Scary Movie 4” made fun of “The Grudge” in April, and “The Grudge 2” was released in October. I recently watched both movies, and I found the first funny and the latter scary, as is intended. They do the same things, but with or without comic relief – that’s enough to make a difference.
The craft of scares
“The Grudge 2” is not for kids, but it’s also oddly safe. It’s goofy fun in a way not so different from “Scary Movie 4.” Director Takashi Shimizu and writer Stephen Susco return from the 2004 original starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, who is also back for a substantial cameo.
Shimizu (who also helmed the first two Japanese “Ju-Ons”) can do this stuff in his sleep, but he doesn’t phone it in (although there is a scare set in a phone booth). He expertly and effortlessly taps into that childhood sense that a ghost is somewhere in your room at night, making you want to hide under the covers.
“The Grudge 2” (2006)
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Writers: Stephen Susco
Stars: Amber Tamblyn, Edison Chen, Arielle Kebbel
“The Grudge 2” looks moody in that washed-out old-school aesthetic, and more than once Shimizu pulls a trick where someone searches a seemingly empty space and a person is suddenly right there, having been frozen in terror thanks to a Grudge.
A sloppy story
Susco’s narrative and mythology would’ve benefited from more effort, though. As I noted in my review of “The Grudge,” the titular ghost-monsters (a murdered mother and child) don’t follow any rules. They can do whatever they want.
That in some ways adds to the scares, in other ways lessens them. But at any rate, it makes “Grudge 2’s” attempt to explain the origin of Grudge Kayako (Takako Fuji) superfluous and ridiculous. Amber Tamblyn’s Aubrey – the sister of Gellar’s Karen (now strapped in a mental-ward bed) – finds out that Kayako’s mother poisoned her with evil … for no good reason.
Maybe to make a few bucks off people who seek to rid themselves of evil? It’s convoluted and dumb.
Luckily, this silly reveal comes late in the film. Until then, I engaged with “The Grudge 2” on the basic levels of more or less liking the characters (mostly actresses I was happy to see more of) and hoping they don’t get killed by the Grudges. There was no danger of me being deeply haunted, but I was engaged in the moment.
Likable actresses
As is the tradition in the “Grudges,” once you’re on their radar, you’re toast. Aided by Shimizu’s crisp direction of every fright sequence, the actors are all good at being scared. We follow three groups who can’t shake off Kayako or son Toshio (Ohga Tanaka).
In Tokyo, we have Aubrey and investigative journalist Eason (Edison Chen). And in a different thread, we follow students played by Arielle Kebbel (“Gilmore Girls,” “Life Unexpected”), Teresa Palmer and Misako Uno. In a Chicago apartment building, we follow cheerleader Sarah Roemer (“The Event”), her kid brother (Matthew Knight) and her best friend (Jenna Dewan).
Sprinklings of traits make the people real. Roemer and Knight have a sweet sibling bond. Aubrey and Eason start to care for each other. Those sorts of things.
Is there more to it?
As noted, the story itself is the weakness. Kebbel’s thread links to the Chicago thread, but Tamblyn’s remains separate … I think. When the movie ended, I thought “Well, that didn’t tie together” and I was ready to move on.
Still, Shimizu is such a sharp director that I almost want to seek out “ ‘The Grudge 2’ Explained” materials on the internet. Maybe there’s more to it. Even if there is, it would point to a failure of the film to be clear in its themes and connections.
I can’t begrudge the throwaway fun of watching a lot of actresses I enjoy be terrified in “The Grudge 2.” As a story, though, it’s kind of a mess.