Plot Summary
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An American nurse by the name of Karen Davis moves to Tokyo with her boyfriend. After a fellow employee does not not appear for work, Karen is assigned to look after a woman with an apparent sleeping disorder, wherein she experiences a collection of strange unexplainable events. Karen soon discovers that the house belonging to this woman she is caring for is haunted by the deceased hosts of the previous occupants, killed in rage, now lingering the hallways of the cursed home, stalking and killing anyone whom dares to enter.
Never before in my life have I seen a film remade by its original creator. Takashi Shimizu directed both the 2002 original and the 2004 remake, the only difference being that the remake was produced by Sam Raimi, director of The Evil Dead (1981) franchise. There were significant differences in comparison to the original version, all of which made this film very unsuccessful in terms of what the original version achieved.
- Violence - this remake/interpretation had so much more gratuitous visual content, two events in particular; a character committing suicide in the first few minutes and the absent employee walking around her office building without her lower jaw.
- Predictability - like the previous remake/interpretation I investigated, this film was littered with predictable moments, driven of course by the audio and camera perspectives.
- Obviousness - this remake/interpretation was too obvious in its approach towards unveiling the appearance of the cursed beings, showing them constantly and at an earlier point in the film.
- Confusion - the events of the original were simpler and easier to understand how the curse came to be, however, in this remake/interpretation the events within the narrative time-line were random in nature, making it very difficult to keep track of what was going on
- Shocks - shocking and suddenly frightening moments were high in volume within this remake/interpretation, leaving no room for the intended frightening imagery of the beings inside the cursed home.
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- Setting - this remake/interpretation did very well to follow the setting. Although this film was enriched with many American actors, the location was still fixed to that of the 2002 original.
- Colour - this remake/interpretation did not do very well in terms of colour because high value colours were displayed more than low value colours, strangely failing to maintain colours depicted in Japanese directed horror considering the director was Japanese and the fact that he directed the 2002 original. Saturation was present now and again in this remake/interpretation, however, it was not displayed enough to truly capture the overall heightened grey-scale of the 2002 original, as well as other Japanese directed horror films.
- Lighting - Contrast lighting and three point lighting are both favoured lighting techniques of Japanese directed horror, however, in this remake/interpretation only three point lighting was visually evident, appearing primarily during close ups of characters. High and low key lighting were the favoured lighting techniques in this film, displaying little brightness during the day time sequences and too much illumination during the evening sequences.
- Composition - Like the previous two remakes/interpretations I have investigated, this remake/interpretation was not much different in terms of compositional value. The scaling of each frame and the objects/characters in each shot was one of few redeeming elements of the composition in this remake/interpretation. The shapes in this remake/interpretation followed the characteristics of Japanese directed horror by acting in a non-conflicting fashion. The depth of field in this film/remake failed to remain consistent, forever changing and leading focus towards too many places at once. The camera-work in this remake/interpretation was another element of the composition which failed to meet the identified characteristics of Japanese directed horror because lower and higher camera heights were barely used, as well as the preferred side angle used in Japanese directed horror.
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Still bewildered why a director would remake his own film, I discovered that yet again, like the previous two remakes/interpretations I have investigated, this film was met with less critical acclaim and feedback than the original version, "The Grudge doesn't even work as a travelogue of Japanese
spiritual beliefs, and it very well could have. By having a bunch of
Americans in the cast led by the callow Gellar, the movie could have
taken the opportunity to educate us ignorant gaijin about, say,
Shinto, or the noble history of spirits in religion and art. Instead,
the story might as well be set in Cleveland, and it adds the weird
subtext of Americans being terrified by damp-haired Japanese women. At
least 'The Ring' took what was universally eerie about 'Ringu' and
Americanized it; 'The Grudge' just cannibalizes itself, exploiting
Japanese spirituality for a few Saturday-night shocks to make teenagers
shriek and giggle." (Gonsalves, 2007)
This negative feedback continues, one of the central arguments being that another over-elaborated Americanized remake is not needed, "Indeed, the biggest problem with the film is that, like many American remakes (Wicker Park
is one recent example), feels it has to explain too much. We get a
helpful little ghost re-enactment of the whole story. Horror movies are
much more horrifying when they leave the explanation to that part of our
imagination where our own deepest fears lie, so each of us can feel
personally unsettled right where we live." (Minow, 2005)
The key point here, which I personally agree with, is that this film has been remade too many times and by the same director no less, "Shimizu shouldn't get too much credit for creating such a well-paced
movie -- it's the third time he's made "The Grudge" in two years, with a
Japanese version called "Ju-on" and its sequel released in 2003. If
that sounds like the pedigree of "The Ring," it's no coincidence. "The
Grudge" has the same producer as "The Ring" and uses a similar
combination of the undead and technology, with mysterious voices on
telephones, freaky little kids in a lot of gray makeup -- and yes, a
videotape does make its way into the plot" (Hartlaub, 2004)
Conclusion:
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This remake/interpretation was completely unnecessary, pardon me for reiterating the same point but I have never seen a director ruin their own creation. The plot, the Americanized clichés and the over-elaboration of the plot are all key elements as to why this film was such a failure, not to mention the lack of horror in the atmosphere besides a few shocking moments here and there. Finally, to clarify, I have identified no Japanese directed horror characteristics in this remake/interpretation.
References:
http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=11076&reviewer=416
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-grudge
http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Mindless-killing-weakens-Grudge-2679870.php
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