Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Grudge

  • 20042004
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
147K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,101
319
The Grudge (2004)
Trailer for The Grudge
Play trailer1:25
1 Video
99+ Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another vi... Read allAn American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
147K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,101
319
    • Takashi Shimizu
    • Stephen Susco(screenplay)
    • Takashi Shimizu(film "Ju-On: The Grudge")
  • Stars
    • Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Jason Behr
    • Clea DuVall
    • Takashi Shimizu
    • Stephen Susco(screenplay)
    • Takashi Shimizu(film "Ju-On: The Grudge")
  • Stars
    • Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Jason Behr
    • Clea DuVall
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 953User reviews
    • 215Critic reviews
    • 49Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    The Grudge
    Trailer 1:25
    Watch The Grudge

    Photos205

    Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr in The Grudge (2004)
    Jason Behr in The Grudge (2004)
    Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryo Ishibashi in The Grudge (2004)
    Takako Fuji in The Grudge (2004)
    Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Grudge (2004)
    Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ted Raimi in The Grudge (2004)
    Bill Pullman and Yuya Ozeki in The Grudge (2004)
    Bill Pullman and Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Grudge (2004)
    Sarah Michelle Gellar in The Grudge (2004)
    Clea DuVall in The Grudge (2004)
    Sarah Michelle Gellar and Grace Zabriskie in The Grudge (2004)
    William Mapother in The Grudge (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sarah Michelle Gellar
    Sarah Michelle Gellar
    • Karen
    Jason Behr
    Jason Behr
    • Doug
    Clea DuVall
    Clea DuVall
    • Jennifer
    William Mapother
    William Mapother
    • Matthew
    KaDee Strickland
    KaDee Strickland
    • Susan
    Grace Zabriskie
    Grace Zabriskie
    • Emma
    Bill Pullman
    Bill Pullman
    • Peter
    Rosa Blasi
    Rosa Blasi
    • Maria
    Ted Raimi
    Ted Raimi
    • Alex
    Ryo Ishibashi
    Ryo Ishibashi
    • Nakagawa
    Yôko Maki
    Yôko Maki
    • Yoko
    Yuya Ozeki
    • Toshio
    Takako Fuji
    Takako Fuji
    • Kayako
    Takashi Matsuyama
    • Takeo
    Hiroshi Matsunaga
    • Igarashi
    Hajime Okayama
    • Suzuki
    Yoshiyuki Morishita
    Yoshiyuki Morishita
    • Guard
    Kazuyuki Tsumura
    • Peter's Co-Worker
      • Takashi Shimizu
      • Stephen Susco(screenplay)
      • Takashi Shimizu(film "Ju-On: The Grudge")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Grudge 2
    5.0
    The Grudge 2
    The Grudge 3
    4.6
    The Grudge 3
    Ju-on: The Grudge
    6.7
    Ju-on: The Grudge
    The Grudge
    4.4
    The Grudge
    The Ring Two
    5.4
    The Ring Two
    The Ring
    7.1
    The Ring
    Ju-on: The Curse
    6.8
    Ju-on: The Curse
    Ju-On: The Grudge 2
    6.3
    Ju-On: The Grudge 2
    The Exorcism of Emily Rose
    6.7
    The Exorcism of Emily Rose
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    5.8
    I Know What You Did Last Summer
    Final Destination 2
    6.2
    Final Destination 2
    The Amityville Horror
    5.9
    The Amityville Horror

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Before filming, the cast and crew went through a ceremony where they were blessed so that nothing bad could happen to them for filming.
    • Goofs
      (at around 10 mins) At the cemetery, Karen tells her boyfriend that burning incense is a Buddhist ritual, and that the smoke carries their prayers to the spirits of the departed. Buddhism doesn't acknowledge everlasting spirits. It is actually a Shinto ritual.
    • Quotes

      Kayako Saeki: Croakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!

    • Alternate versions
      The rated PG-13 version is run 91 minutes, and unrated is run 98 minutes.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Worst Films of 2004 (2005)

    User reviews953

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Just as good as the Japanese films (but with an ending rant against remakes of foreign films)
    Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), an exchange student in Japan who is just beginning to do some social work, is sent to aid an elderly semi-catatonic woman, Emma (Grace Zabriskie), after her previous caretaker, Yoko (Yoko Maki), disappears. Karen soon learns that something is not right in Emma's home, and she attempts to "see how deep the rabbit hole goes".

    Maybe it's a delayed influence from the success of M. Night Shyamalan's films, but slower-paced, understated horror films are a recent trend. In some cases, such as Hide and Seek (2005), the approach works remarkably well, and in others, such as White Noise (2005), the pacing tends to kill the film. I didn't like The Grudge quite as much as Hide and Seek, but this is still a very good film--it earns a 9 out of 10 from me.

    The Grudge has a couple significant differences from other recent examples of that trend, however. One, it is well known that this is a remake based on the Japanese film series that began with Ju-On (2000) (in particular, it's extremely close to the first half of Ju-On: The Grudge, aka Ju-On 3, from 2003). Two, as with many Japanese horror films, the slower pacing here isn't so much in the realm of realist drama as with surrealism. As is also the case with a large percentage of European horror, The Grudge should be looked at more as a filmed nightmare.

    Director Takashi Shimizu, also the director of the five Japanese entries in the Ju-On series to date (the fifth is currently in production), and writer Stephen Susco have largely dispensed with linearity and are not overly concerned with logic or plot holes when it comes to the horror behind the story. The idea instead is to present a dreamlike sequence of scenes, with dream logic, where the focus is atmosphere, creepiness, the uncanny, and for many viewers--scares. How well the film works for you will largely depend on how well you can adapt yourself to, or are used to, this different approach to film-making (although admittedly, some of the seeming gaps are filled in by previous entries in the Ju-On series). Traditionally, American audiences consider as flaws leaving plot threads hanging and abandoning "rules" for the "monster". A more poetic, metaphorical, surreal approach to film isn't yet accepted by the mainstream in the U.S.

    However, even if you're not used to it, it's worth trying to suspend your normal preconceptions about films and give The Grudge a shot. This is a well written, well directed, well acted film, filled with unusual properties, such as the story interweaving a large number of "main characters" (which is done better here than the more episodic Ju-On 3), good cinematography, subtle production design touches (check out Gellar's clothes, which match the color and texture of the exterior of Emma's house, when Gellar first approaches), and beautifully effective horror material.

    Even though it is more slowly paced that your average horror film of the past, the pacing usually enhances the eeriness, and there is no shortage of bizarre events to keep horror fans entertained. The supernatural premise of the film is absorbing, and based on interviews on the DVD with Shimizu, have prodded me to pay more attention to Japanese beliefs and folklore. Although the most interesting subtexts would probably arise with a more intimate knowledge of Japanese culture, it's interesting to ponder why so many Japanese horror films feature scary children and adults who look like scary children.

    I subtracted one point for the film slightly veering into clichéd mystery/thriller territory with a "here's what really happened" flashback, but even that was fairly well done, and otherwise, this would have been a 10 out of 10.

    Now that I've said all of the above, let me finish with a mini-rant: It's not that I'm anti-remake, but it is ridiculous that U.S. distributors and studios feel that we need remakes of foreign films to make them appropriate for consumption. The original versions of these films should just be playing in U.S. theaters in wide release. There is no need to present an almost identical film but just substituting white American actors for non-white or foreign actors. Yes, The Grudge is a fine film, but ultimately, I'd rather see something original using this talent, and be treated to the latest foreign horror films--not just Japanese, but also Indian, Spanish, Chinese, etc.--at my multiplex. In the hope that someone with some pull at the studios reads this, it is also more cost-effective to do this, as (1) you can completely avoid production costs, and simply make domestic distribution deals from which you receive profit, and (2) you can make money off of fans like myself who otherwise pick up the foreign film DVDs in foreign manufactured or even bootleg versions.
    helpful•128
    54
    • BrandtSponseller
    • Feb 4, 2005

    21st Century Scream Queens

    21st Century Scream Queens

    Florence Pugh, Mia Goth, Keke Palmer, and more modern women killing the horror game.
    See the gallery
    View image
    Photos

    FAQ15

    • What is 'The Grudge' about?
    • Is "The Grudge" based on a book?
    • What exactly is the grudge?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 22, 2004 (United States)
      • United States
      • Japan
      • Official site (Russia)
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Ghost House Pictures
      • Fellah Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 31 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.