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57 reviews in total

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28 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Disgraceful, 14 May 2009

Author: John Goodson from United States

It seems the majority of the reviews thus far have been written by viewers who, after not enjoying either of the two previous films, decided to weigh in on what is ultimately a complete mockery of a great series.

First I'll tackle the good things about this film, of which there are few, but they deserve mentioning and as much of a reprieve as anyone can give them. Aiko Horiuchi replaces Takako Fuji as Kayako (creepy crackling voice lady) and picks up the role fairly well. Any fault in her appearance lies with the director, Toby Wilkins, who I will get to in a moment. The only other two notable performances come from the female leads, Johanna Braddy and Takatzuna Mukai and might not so much be notable as much as they just sharply contrast their terrible surroundings.

Now, on to the awful stuff. I think the large majority of the critics of the first two films, as I have understood them on here, find that the they were cryptic and difficult to follow. They have gotten their wish for an easy to interpret, spoon-fed, linear-flowing, cheesy horror film in The Grudge 3. Gone are the intelligent and subtle left-to-the-imagination disappearance kills. Artistic and suspenseful cinematography have been replaced by bland, formulaic and frightfully comical scenes. Brad Keene and Toby Wilkins have crafted an hour-and-a-half long slap in the face of director Takashi Shimizu who re-invented the haunted house horror film by making his own rules and breaking all the ones in the book.

Normally I am given pause when criticizing the artistic vision of writers, directors and actors who put their work on the line for what is largely a very unforgiving audience. In this case, however, the writer and director were toying with another man's vision and the hard work and creative energy he expended trying to bring something original into the world. I am dumbstruck by how a duo could miss the theme of a series so entirely. Ultimately, The Grudge 3 adds nothing to the mythology of the films and takes away a substantial amount.

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29 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Same Old Stuff, 1 February 2009

Author: HotShotC92 from United States

To be honest, i was expecting perhaps something, probably too much, that would perhaps be original and new to the third grudge. But i think this was even worse than the others. Nearly the entire movie takes place in the same apartment building with the same stupid people who don't believe anything. This is simply the same story told yet again. The ending wasn't really surprising. It ends so that yet another Grudge can come out in the future. Grudge 4 will most likely be announced, if it's not already announced, in the near future. Rated R because more blood, but not really gore so much. i would say this is a decent movie other than the fact that it is the same old stuff. Come on Hollywood! Give us some originality! 4 out of 10

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33 out of 54 people found the following review useful:
This 'Grudge' Has Got Tiresome..., 31 January 2009

Author: (Sam_Movie_Buff) from California

As a fan of "Ju-On" and the 2004 remake―starring "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" actress Sarah Michelle Gellar―I had high hopes for this third installment. I mean, after the abysmal 2006 sequel, it couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong. Granted not as tedious and insipid as the sequel, this 2009 follow-up starring actress Shawnee Smith still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Where to start... ?

Director Toby Wilkins tries to duplicate the eeriness and unpleasantness of the first movie, but sadly, fails miserably. With half-hearted acting, bad special effects, and a tiresome plot, the movie never picks up or satisfies. Whilst watching the movie, I realized the overall story of the franchise has never evolved; or more to the point, no one has tried to take a fresh approach. Much like the sequel, the third stab is a series of flat, horror-lacking murder sequences, and what makes this even worse is, we already know what's coming. Scene after scene after scene, the previous formula is recycled. We hear the now trademark 'Grudge' sound, we hear a small boy running, we hear the cry of a cat ― and that's pretty much it. There is only so many times you can show a pale-faced, dark haired Japanese woman with her dead son and their dead cat, until it's just not scary anymore. The franchise needs new ideas. We need new stories and new locations. Otherwise, this 'Grudge' is going to be on a constant loop.

My advice, stick with the original or the 2004 remake. There's nothing you haven't seen before here.

One thing I will say is, I'm surprised this movie is getting the direct-to-DVD treatment and the second one had theater status. Although both are severely mediocre, IMO, I wasn't left completely catatonic after watching the third.

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Horrible., 12 January 2010

Author: philip_roque from Denmark

First of all, I have been a huge fan of Japanese horror movies ever since I saw the original Japanese version of The Ring nearly 8-9 years ago. I have seen a lot of different horror movies but I have to say, my favourites are The Ring and the Ju-On franchise.

After seeing that there was a The Grudge 3, I had some hopes for it. But boy, if only I knew what was coming...Where to start? The acting was utterly horrible and the plot was forgettable. As for the scary parts, we all know whats coming, you see the boy in white, you hear that classic sound of ju-on and you see her approaching her victim, over and over and over again. There is nothing new to this movie and its about time to let the franchise take a rest.

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
kill this movie, 23 September 2009

Author: kai ringler from United States

don't know what i wanna attack first,, this one was so well off,, from the first two. you didn't have the fear of what lies beyond,, not knowing what is in front of you like the first two. the kills were too stylized, should have never set it in chicago.. the couple always wanted to have sex in the apartment building ruined it for me,, just another campy American horror movie. i dind't really care for the characters that much,, this film just really did not sit well with me at all,, i mean the storyline wasn't bad,, i just think that somewhere along the line things just went horribly wrong,, i think that i really wouldn't recommend this one if you like the first two.

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Every curse needs to to know when to hang it up and go home, 22 February 2009

Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Okay but passionless tale of attempts to end the curse by a Japanese woman who goes from Japan to Chicago where the curse has situated itself in an apartment building. Much too by the numbers to really be considered anything (you could have called this anything and it wouldn't have mattered), this is a film where its clear its time to call an end to the series (hell, the Japanese did). You know you're in trouble when the creepy white skin kid now looks like a not so creepy white skinned teen with a bad haircut. Worse is the fact that the sounds coming from him are badly done and far from creepy. The series has lost its way and become a waste of time.

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Actually not that terrible, 13 June 2009

Author: Nathaniel Kidd from United Kingdom

I had very low expectations for this film. I had read some of the reviews on here (good and bad) and wasn't holding out much hope. If you've fallen in love with the Ju-On and Grudge films in the way I have in the past month your curiosity will probably get the better of you. That's what happened to me, but being prepared for a bad movie I was able to enjoy it for what it was. Yes it changes the storyline, yes it's cashing in, yes parts of it were illogical, but something about it wasn't that bad. I'm not going to even bother going in to all the ways it's wrong because I'm sure people must have done that many times already on here. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen or even close. For me the Grudge 2 still had the power to scare but here the fear factor was gone completely which was a great shame. Some die hard fans of the series are saying it's just as scary as the first two, some people are even saying it's one of the scariest films they've seen which makes me question their mental age. If they found this film scary I don't know how they even got to it because by all rights the first two would have scared them so much they'd have probably had a heart attack - literally scared to death... This film wasn't even slightly scary but something about it was still quite enjoyable. Maybe it's just because I love the series so much, maybe it was the characters, the pace, I don't know, and sitting through the whole thing was worth it for the last twenty minutes which I found to be actually pretty exciting. It's no surprise to hear rumours that Grudge 4 is in the works , and after that Grudge 5 is a pretty safe bet, they'll be cashing in on this series 'til the cows come home. W*nkers. Thanks

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
"It's the past. The past can't hurt you"., 19 March 2010

Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.

I really liked the Japanese films (Ju-on and Ju-on 2), while the American remake was decent enough and it's sequel while I wasn't that taken by it still it had its moments. The latter two films received cinema releases where the remake was a big hit, but the second sequel (The Grudge 3) would see it hit the straight to DVD market. Watching you can see why. However that's not a bad thing, as I was actually surprised by it. It could've been worse. In some ways I prefer it over "The Grudge 2", but there's no doubts the story keeps within the same grounds of the first two films --- similar investigations, story progression, imagery and scares. We've seen it before, but there's one or two fresh developments regarding Kayako and another is its supposedly set entirely in America (except for one brief shot in Tokyo).

The third film continues on from the events of the last film where the curse was affecting an American family in a dingy apartment building. The sole survivor of the massacre a young boy is hospitalised, but is tortured by visions of the vengeful spirits Kayako and Toshio. Soon his fate is stamped, and now another family (an older brother and his two sisters) in the apartment find themselves in the path of these vengeful spirits. However there's a mysterious lady that has come Tokyo and moved in to the apartment to hopefully put a stop to this curse.

Very standard, but acceptable retread. The budget is considerably lower; as the make-up FX and special effects go on to show it. The ghosts and the jerky movements this time just seemed to lack that menacing and unnerving edge they once held, due to over-used make-up and too well lit scenes where they would creep up in. However the shuddery music score and sound FX is effectively skin-crawling and the air is dripping with a glum atmosphere of dread. Although the chills and tension falls on the uneven side, as some moments work while others fall a long way short. The problem might lie in that at times it was trying to be subtle, but then chooses to be blatant in its acts. Some stages felt bland (just like the second film) and the script is rather shallow, but the pacing seemed better handled. Compared to the other films, it goes against the grain with a linear storyline but remains just as slow-grinding with it growing darker the further along it went. As if there's no real escaping this stinging threat, as fate has a shocking twist or two waiting. The performances are able enough with the likes of Matthew Knight, Emi Ikehata, Johanna Braddy, Jadie Hobson and Shawnee Smith.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Watchable, but nothing more., 19 May 2009
Author: Prolox from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

In yet another addition to the GRUDGE series, more people fall prey to those pesky entities that refuse to stay dead, this time however it's set at the same apartment last seen in THE GRUDGE 2 & the targets are the apartments owners. When a young Japanise girl travels from Japan to America, she attempts to warn them of this terrifying evil before the curse brought on by the violent murders of the ghosts, spreads even further claiming their lives as well & when a psychiatrist of the young boy who survived his families massacre at the end of the last movie gets involved, the stage is set for yet another battle between the supernatural & the living. I'll be honest, I was never really a fan of this series to begin with, I saw & hated the original GRUDGE & although GRUDGE 2 made up for it's lame predecessor, it still lacked that special something that should have or could have, made it extra scary. The same holds true for this third installment to the series, while the acting & directing are up to par & the films many deaths well done & creepy, the film never reaches the creepy potential it's foreign predecessors did. Again we get lots of white pasty faced ghosts that sound like they have a bad case of bone breaking arthritis & cat like screams, though at this point this series is starting to repeat itself, the film offers nothing new, nor has it any new twists to help it rise above it's sequel. Gone is the creepy atmosphere of the first two & it's characters are none to likable either. All in all the film is still much better than the boring first film, but lacks the atmosphere & plot twists of it's sequel, making this film a good watch but nothing more. In an age of re-boots/re-imaginings (two fancy new words for remakes) this is one series that could benefit from it.

*** stars

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Preposterous!, 30 May 2009

Author: omega_work from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

If I can think of one word to sum this movie up it has to be "preposterous" because that is the word that was constantly running through my mind. Obviously there has to be some suspension of disbelief for this type of film, but the aspects that are grounded in reality should have some sort of credibility.

Would a doctor really show a teen-aged girl she'd only met once confidential medical videos of the deceased? Why on earth are this teen-aged girl and her sister so special that they are the only ones who can remove the curse? For the most part I found the movie more laughable and predicable than scary.

They attempted to create a love story that would grab our hearts, by having a good-looking girl bang a jock that we never see for more than thirty seconds at a time, and then when he pops by and says "I love you" what a shocker that the very next thing that happens is he gets killed. That one has to be one of the worst, because not only do we not care about the guy or their relationship, but they cheated on his "death" scene as well.

Yet another huge flaw seems to be that I doubt if the filmmakers have any concept of the rules that govern this curse. Whether someone becomes possessed, a ghost, or just dead appears to be either random or contrived.

The cinematography was bland, but at least it wasn't overdone, the story was pretty unimaginative and poorly thought out (i.e. what is Naoko doing while not stalking Lisa?). The acting is nothing special (but nothing offensively bad either).

All that said, I did not find the movie so bad that I was demanding 90 minutes of my life back, but it is not a film that is likely to scare you or make you have any inner dialogue outside of "yeah right".

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