The Grudge 2

What’s the Story?

THE GRUDGE 2 has three storylines that deal with the theme of vengeance that has shaped all of the movies in the Ju-on franchise. When Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn) learns that her sister, Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is in a Tokyo hospital, she flies to Japan to get Karen back. In addition to Aubrey's trip to Japan, the movie follows Trish (Jennifer Beals), who moves in with Bill (Christopher Cousins) and his two kids. All will suffer the effects of the Grudge curse. Trish's family arrangement repeats -- but also refracts -- that of the original Grudge family. The Japanese family appears again in grainy video images, signaling both their existence in the past and their continuing presence in a perpetual loop. Insanely jealous husband Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama) again breaks his wife's neck and drowns his young son. These original victims become the ghosts who terrorize new prey. Among these are schoolgirls Miyuki (Misako Uno), Vanessa (Teresa Palmer), and Allison (Arielle Kebbel), who come to the family's house on a dare and then pay dearly.

Is It Any Good?

Rethinking the very concepts of remake, sequel, and translation, director Takashi Shimizu's seventh film in the Ju-on/Grudge series is actually a series of events that must be assembled by the viewer at the end -- the events occur at different times, or maybe at the same time, but they most definitely don't occur in linear time.

For all its jump-out-at-you surprises, grim shadows, and anguished victims, The Grudge 2 isn't very scary. More abstract art than conventional horror cinema, it's more interested in parsing the idea of repetition and the basis and method of revenge. Rejecting formula by reconsidering formula, it is, perversely, singular.